Garcia v. Federal Ins. Co.

969 So. 2d 288, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 657, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 1952, 2007 WL 3101820
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedOctober 25, 2007
DocketSC06-2524
StatusPublished
Cited by117 cases

This text of 969 So. 2d 288 (Garcia v. Federal Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garcia v. Federal Ins. Co., 969 So. 2d 288, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 657, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 1952, 2007 WL 3101820 (Fla. 2007).

Opinion

969 So.2d 288 (2007)

Maria N. GARCIA, Appellant,
v.
FEDERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee.

No. SC06-2524.

Supreme Court of Florida.

October 25, 2007.

*289 R. Hugh Lumpkin and Michael F. Huber of Ver, Ploeg and Lumpkin, P.A., Miami, FL, and Jorge L. Guerra of Rodriguez, Tramont, Guerra, and Nunez, P.A., Coral Gables, FL, for Appellant.

Irene Porter and Mark Hicks of Hicks and Kneale, P.A., Miami, FL, for Appellee.

CANTERO, J.

In this case, we must determine an insurance policy's scope of coverage for an additional insured. Appellant, Maria Garcia, seeks coverage under a homeowner's insurance policy issued to her employer by Appellee, Federal Insurance Company ("Federal"). The policy extends coverage to "any other person or organization with respect to liability because of acts or omissions" of the named insured. Reviewing the case on appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit noted that "the dispute between Garcia and Federal hinges on whether the additional insured clause covers only the additional insured's vicarious liability for the acts of the named insured." Garcia v. Fed. Ins. Co., 473 F.3d 1131, 1133 (11th Cir.2006). Garcia argues that Federal's policy is ambiguous and should be construed to cover her own acts as well as any vicarious liability for the named insured's negligence. Because this is an issue determinative of a cause pending in the Eleventh Circuit for which there appears to be no controlling precedent, that court certified two questions to us:

1. Is an insurance policy that defines a covered person as "any other person with respect to liability because of acts or omissions of the insured" ambiguous?
2. Does an insurance policy providing coverage for an additional insured "with respect to liability because of acts or omissions" of the named insured limit coverage to instances in which the additional insured is vicariously liable for acts of the named insured?

Id. at 1136. We have exercised our discretionary jurisdiction to answer them. See art. V, § 3(b)(6), Fla. Const. As explained below, we hold that Federal's policy is unambiguous and limits coverage to instances of vicarious liability. Therefore, we answer the first question "no" and the second question "yes."

I. BACKGROUND

Maria Garcia worked as a caregiver for the insured, Laura Anderson. As part of *290 her duties, Garcia ran errands using a 1994 Volvo owned by Anderson's son-in-law, Harry Mark Veith. One day, with permission from Veith and Anderson, Garcia drove the Volvo to the supermarket. As she drove into the parking lot, her foot slipped off the brake pedal. The car struck and seriously injured a pedestrian who had been withdrawing money from an ATM. The victim sued Veith, Anderson, and Garcia, among others. The complaint alleged that Veith, Anderson, and Garcia were each independently negligent for allowing the brake pedal to wear down to the point that bare metal was all that remained, causing Garcia's foot to slip.

At the time of the accident, Anderson was covered by Federal's homeowner's insurance policy. The policy included coverage for personal liability, which covers "damages a covered person is legally obligated to pay for personal injury or property damage which take place anytime during the policy period and are caused by an occurrence, unless stated otherwise or an exclusion applies." The policy defines a covered person as follows:

A covered person means:
[1] You or a family member;
[2] any other person or organization with respect to liability because of acts or omissions of you or a family member; or
[3] any combination of the above.
. . . .
Definitions
. . . .
You means the person named in the Coverage Summary, and a spouse who lives with that person.
. . . .
Family Member means your relative who lives with you, or any other person under 25 in your care or your relative's care who lives with you.

Federal settled the victim's claims against Anderson. Garcia settled with the victim and then sought coverage from Federal, arguing that she qualified as "any other person or organization with respect to liability because of acts or omissions" of Anderson. Federal denied her claim, arguing that the policy's additional insured clause only covers individuals who become vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of the named insured. Because the victim sued Garcia for her own negligent acts, not for any acts or omissions of Anderson, Federal concluded that she did not qualify as an additional insured.

Garcia sued Federal in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, seeking a declaration that she is a covered person under the policy. The district court concluded that Garcia would only be entitled to coverage under a theory of vicarious liability:

A plain reading of "with respect to liability because of acts or omissions of you" means, in this case, that Garcia is covered under the Policy if Garcia could be liable for striking the pedestrian because of Anderson's failure to maintain the brake pedal of the automobile in a safe condition.

Because the victim sued Garcia for her own negligence, the district court held that "Garcia is not a `covered person' under the Policy."

The district court also relied on our opinion in Container Corp. of America v. Maryland Casualty Co., 707 So.2d 733 (Fla.1998). In that case, we referred to Consolidation Coal Co. v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 406 F.Supp. 1292 (W.D.Pa.1976), as a case where an additional insured provision clearly limited coverage to vicarious liability. The policy in Consolidation Coal provided coverage for an additional insured, "but only with respect to acts or *291 omissions of the named insured." The district court noted that Federal's additional insured provision is nearly identical to the clause in Consolidation Coal. Based on its interpretation of the plain meaning of Federal's policy and our statements in Container Corp., the district court held that Garcia was not entitled to coverage.

On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit noted that although the policy in Consolidation Coal is similar to Federal's, it is not identical. Specifically, the clause in Consolidation Coal includes the words "but only," while Federal's policy does not. The court stated that "[i]t is therefore arguable that the language in Consolidation Coal, which the Florida Supreme Court considers to be clear, can be distinguished from the language in the instant case." Garcia, 473 F.3d at 1136. The Eleventh Circuit was also unsure how our opinion in Taurus Holdings, Inc. v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 913 So.2d 528 (Fla.2005), where we interpreted the phrase "arising out of," might affect our interpretation of Federal's policy. To resolve these uncertainties the Eleventh Circuit certified the two questions we address here.

II. ANALYSIS

This case raises a single issue of insurance contract interpretation. We must decide whether a clause covering "any other person with respect to liability because of acts or omissions" of the named insured covers only vicarious liability for the negligence of the named insured.

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Bluebook (online)
969 So. 2d 288, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 657, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 1952, 2007 WL 3101820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garcia-v-federal-ins-co-fla-2007.