Forkwar v. Progressive Northern Insurance

910 F. Supp. 2d 815, 2012 WL 6562768, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177208
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedDecember 14, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 11-cv-03482-AW
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 910 F. Supp. 2d 815 (Forkwar v. Progressive Northern Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Forkwar v. Progressive Northern Insurance, 910 F. Supp. 2d 815, 2012 WL 6562768, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177208 (D. Md. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ALEXANDER WILLIAMS, JR., District Judge.

Pending before the Court are Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, Doc. No. 9, and Plaintiffs Motion to Stay, Doc. No. 12. The Court has reviewed the motion papers and concludes that no hearing is necessary. See Loe. R. 105.6 (D. Md. 2011). For the reasons discussed below, the Court will DENY Plaintiffs Motion to- Stay and GRANT Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.1

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The following undisputed facts are taken from the Complaint, motion papers and attached exhibits. This case arises from an automobile accident on November 26, 2004, in which Plaintiff Augustine Forkwar was severely injured when his vehicle collided with a truck driven by Hameed Mahdi. Mahdi’s vehicle was a 1987 Kenworth tractor which, at the time of the accident, Mahdi was driving without a trailer. Analysis of this case requires extensive discussion of the relevant policy provisions as well as prior state and federal court litigation that addressed issues relating to the November 26, 2004 accident.

A. The Progressive Northern Policy and MCS-90 Endorsement

At the time of the accident, J & J Logistics, Inc. was covered under a policy of commercial auto insurance (hereinafter, the Policy) by Defendant Progressive Northern Insurance Company (hereinafter Progressive Northern). J & J Logistics was the sole named insured under the Policy. Mahdi was not listed as a rated driver under the Policy, and Mahdi’s 1987 Kenworth tractor was not included among the Policy’s covered vehicles. Doc. No. 9 Ex. B, at PL60-62. Furthermore, the Policy’s definitions of “insured” and “insured auto” provided that neither Mahdi nor his tractor were covered by the Policy. Id. at PL87-89. The Policy also contained a federally mandated MCS-90 endorsement. Id. at PL81. This case largely depends on interpretation of the MCS-90 endorsement, discussed infra Part III.B.2.

B. The Prior State Court Action

On August 27, 2007, Plaintiff filed suit against Mahdi, J & J Logistics, and Fork-war’s uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage provider, New Hampshire Insurance Company (hereinafter New Hampshire Insurance), in the Circuit Court for [818]*818Prince George’s County, Maryland. The case was styled Augustine F. Forkwar v. J & J Logistics, et al, Case No. CAL0623064 (referred to hereinafter as “the state court action”).

The state court action proceeded to trial against all defendants on December 3, 2008. J & J Logistics was sued under theories of vicarious liability as the putative employer of Mahdi. During trial, Forkwar’s attorney called Marcus Johnson, owner of J & J Logistics, as a witness, and elicited the following testimony:

Q: [By Michael Blumenthal, attorney for Augustine Forkwar] Mr. Johnson, by whom are you employed, sir?
A: J & J Logistics.
Q: Was J & J Logistics in existence in November, 2004?
A: Yes, it was.
Q: Were you president of J & J Logistics in November 2004?
A: Yes, I was.
Q: Do you keep the records, is that your job, to make sure the records are kept in the ordinary course of business and are clear and true and all that stuff?
A: Yes.
Q: So you are the custodian of those records?
A: Yes.
Q: You do know Hameed Mahdi, is that correct?
A: Yes, I do.
Q: Can you tell the jury what relationship if any Hameed Mahdi had at any time with J & J Logistics, Incorporated?
A: Well, Hameed Mahdi, he’s an independent contractor. He had his own truck and he worked for J & J occasionally in the past.
Q: Was Mr. Mahdi an independent contractor for J & J Logistics in November 2004?
A: No.
Q: Did he have any ongoing business relationship with J & J Logistics in November 2004?
A: Not as I can recollect.
Q: You are aware that in November 2004 Mr. Mahdi got into a collision with a vehicle being operated by Augustine Forkwar, the plaintiff in this matter, correct?
A: Yes.
Q: While Mr. Mahdi was operating the vehicle involved in this collision, was Mr. Mahdi at the time of the collision under dispatch by J & J Logistics, Inc.?
A: No.
Q: Was Mr. Mahdi in any way acting within the scope of and in furtherance of the interest of J & J Logistics, Inc. at the time of that collision with Mr. Fork-war on November 26, 2004?
A: No.
Q: Mr. Mahdi has indicated to someone at J & J Logistics that at the time of the collision he was driving to a shop to get to or otherwise tend to some tires that he had to deal with, is that correct?
A: It’s been a long time. I would imagine it could have been.
Q: You did answer the interrogatories, correct? I’m going to offer these to you to see if I could refresh your recollection. Could you read to yourself the answer to Interrogatory No. 11?
Q: Sir, having reviewed that document, does it refresh your recollection as to whether or not there was a point in time that Mr. Mahdi indicated to someone at J & J Logistics that at the time of the collision he was doing something to attend to his tires on his vehicle.
[819]*819A: It could have been, you know, I have two other people in my office besides me that he could have, you know.
Q: And your answer was he told J & J Logistics he was driving to a shop to get tires or attend to tires at the time of the collision, correct?
A: It could be correct, yes.
Q: Who owned the truck that Mr. Mahdi was operating on November 2[6], 2004?
A: He owned the truck. He was an independent contractor.
Q: And the tru[c]k had J & J Logistics written on it, is that right?
A: No. The truck might would have had a sticker or something on it. We used stickers and stuff to put on the truck with our name and our MC number.
Q: But that doesn’t change the understanding between you and Mr. Mahdi with regard to his relationship with you, correct?
A: Well, I don’t understand what you’re saying.
Q: I mean the fact that his truck said J & J Logistics, Inc. on it on a sticker doesn’t change the contractual relationship with Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
910 F. Supp. 2d 815, 2012 WL 6562768, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177208, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/forkwar-v-progressive-northern-insurance-mdd-2012.