Galmiche v. Smith

269 So. 2d 490
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 21, 1972
Docket4976
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 269 So. 2d 490 (Galmiche v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Galmiche v. Smith, 269 So. 2d 490 (La. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

269 So.2d 490 (1972)

Frank GALMICHE, Administrator of the Estate of Linda Galmiche
v.
John R. SMITH, and Transportation Vehicles, Inc.

No. 4976.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

October 27, 1972.
Rehearing Denied November 21, 1972.
Writ Refused December 21, 1972.

*491 Bryan, Caraway & Schaefer, New Orleans (E. Gordon Schaefer, Jr., New Orleans) for defendant-appellee.

Juan A. Velasco, New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellant.

Brierre & Malone, New Orleans (Eugene D. Brierre, New Orleans), for defendant-appellant.

Before REDMANN, LEMMON and BAILES, JJ.

LEMMON, Judge.

Frank Galmiche, characterizing himself as administrator of the estate of his daughter, Linda Galmiche, sued to recover damages resulting from accidental injuries sustained by her while riding as a passenger in an automobile driven by Howard Smith, the 20 year old son of John R. Smith. The car was owned by Transportation Vehicles, Inc. (T.V.I.) and leased to Revlon, Inc., John R. Smith's employer.

John R. Smith, Revlon and T.V.I. were named as defendants, as well as Beneficial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, T. V.I.'s liability insurer, and Allstate Insurance Company, the insurer of Smith's family automobile. Linda subsequently attained the age of majority and was substituted as a party plaintiff.

After a trial on the merits, the district court rendered a judgment in favor of plaintiffs and against Smith, Beneficial and Allstate, and dismissed plaintiffs' claim against T.V.I. and Revlon. In a judgment following an application for a new trial, Allstate was not cast, presumably on the basis that it was an excess insurer and the *492 amount of the judgment did not exceed the limits of Beneficial's liability.

Beneficial and Allstate appealed, seeking a reversal of the judgment, and Linda Galmiche also appealed, primarily seeking an increase in the award.

Howard Smith and Linda Glamiche had gone to a restaurant on Lake Pontchartrain, where they admittedly had two or three exotic drinks. After they left the restaurant and were returning home, Howard lost control of the vehicle, which left the road and struck a telephone pole.

Linda testified that Howard fell asleep. He denied this and stated that he simply tried to avoid striking a dog in the road. The trial judge accepted Linda's version, and we find no manifest error in the conclusion that Howard was thus negligent. John R. Smith is responsible for the damage occasioned by his minor son, who was residing with him. C.C. art. 2318.

Defendants primarily contend Linda assumed the risk by consenting to ride with Howard when she knew or should have known that he had been drinking excessively and was in a fatigued condition. They further argue she assumed the risk by failing to protest when he drove at an excessive speed.

Howard did not recall his rate of speed and denied being intoxicated. Linda stated that, if the speed was excessive, she did not realize it. She and the investigating officer both verified that Howard did not act as if he were intoxicated. As to the fatigue, Linda simply testified Howard mentioned feeling sleepy before the accident occurred.

We agree with the conclusion of the trial judge that defendants failed to prove the facts necessary to establish that Linda Galmiche knew or should have known she was endangering herself by consenting to ride with Howard Smith. A passenger is not required to test the condition of the driver prior to entering a vehicle or to monitor the driving while in progress, but simply to make reasonable observations and to take reasonable actions based on these observations. Linda was under a duty to decline to ride only if Howard was so obviously intoxicated or fatigued that it was patently unsafe to ride with him, or to protest if he was driving at a manifestly excessive and dangerous rate of speed. Such circumstances were not proved by the evidence in this case, and the defense of assumption of risk was properly rejected.

INSURANCE POLICY COVERAGE

Beneficial admitted its policy provided coverage for this vehicle under certain circumstances, but argues that, according to the terms of the policy, the vehicle was not covered under the facts of this case.

Insuring Agreement III of the original policy had been amended prior to the accident, the following portion of the endorsement being pertinent to this case:

"1. Insuring Agreement III is amended to read as follows:

"With respect to the insurance afforded by the policy for Bodily Injury Liability and Property Damage Liability, the unqualified word `Insured' includes the Named Insured and except where specifically stated to the contrary, also included 1) Lessees, 2) Additional Insureds and 3) Provided the actual use of the automobile and any person or organization legally responsible for the use thereof."[1]

*493 Beneficial contends that in order for Howard Smith or John R. Smith to qualify as an insured under the policy, they must qualify either as a named insured, a lessee or an additional insured. It is undisputed that T.V.I. was the named insured and Revlon in this case was the lessee. Beneficial therefore argues there is no coverage, since neither Howard Smith nor John R. Smith was an additional insured.

We agree that neither qualified as an additional insured. Section 2.b. of the amendment of the Insuring Agreement III specifically provided:

"2. * * *

"b. The term `Additional Insured' means any person or organization to whom or to which a valid certificate of insurance has been issued by the company evidencing that the insurance afforded by this policy applies for the benefit of such person or organization, provided the insurance afforded to any such Additional Insured shall apply only to the liability of such Additional Insured arising out of the use of an automobile to which this policy applies by or on behalf of a Lessee." (Emphasis supplied)

There was no evidence that any certificate of insurance was issued to Howard Smith or John R. Smith. Furthermore, Beneficial restricted its coverage of an additional insured to liability for use by or on behalf of the lessee, and the use in this case was not by or on behalf of Revlon.

However, we do not agree that Insuring Agreement III afforded coverage only to named insureds, lessees, and additional insureds. The additional category, though absurdly defined in the erroneous amendment, was obviously intended to provide coverage to someone. Furthermore, the very next sentence of the amendment, providing that coverage "afforded with respect to any person or organization other than the Named Insured, a Lessee, or an Additional Insured" is excess insurance, makes it clear that Beneficial intended to provide excess coverage to an additional category of persons or organizations.

Considering the language of the amendment and of the original policy, we would perhaps be willing to construe the obvious minimum intent of the parties to include as an insured any person while using the automobile and any person or organization legally responsible for the use thereof, provided the actual use is by the named insured or its lessee or with the permission of either. Perhaps the parties intended even broader coverage, such as, for example, to include as an insured any person while using the automobile with the permission of the person to whom the lessee assigned the vehicle.

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Bluebook (online)
269 So. 2d 490, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/galmiche-v-smith-lactapp-1972.