Genzer v. James River Ins. Co.

934 F.3d 1156
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedAugust 20, 2019
DocketNo. 18-6105
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 934 F.3d 1156 (Genzer v. James River Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Genzer v. James River Ins. Co., 934 F.3d 1156 (10th Cir. 2019).

Opinion

PHILLIPS, Circuit Judge.

*1158In this appeal, Bonni J. Genzer, a rideshare driver for Uber Technologies, Inc., contends that James River Insurance Company, Uber's insurer, breached its contractual obligations by declining coverage for injuries she sustained in an accident on the return leg of a lengthy fare. Genzer also contends that, under Oklahoma law, the "mend the hold" doctrine limits James River to the grounds it gave for declining coverage before she sued. The district court granted summary judgment in James River's favor, first ruling that Oklahoma has not adopted the mend-the-hold doctrine, and next holding that Genzer's claim falls outside the scope of the governing insurance policy. We agree on both issues. Thus, exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

James River issued two Business Auto Coverage policies (the 100 Policy and 200 Policy)1 to Rasier LLC, Rasier-CA LLC, Rasier-DC LLC, and Rasier-PA LLC. The two policies were in force from March 1, 2017, to March 1, 2018. The Rasier entities are affiliates of Uber, a company that coordinates ridesharing transportation services through smartphone applications. As explained below, the two policies covered different stages of Uber's ridesharing process.

In rough terms, the 100 Policy applies when an Uber rideshare driver is fulfilling requests for transportation services. As part of this, the driver must be occupying a "covered auto," which the policy's "Covered Auto Designation Symbol," or covered-auto endorsement, defines to include:

Any passenger "auto" while being used by a "Rideshare Driver", in connection with the "UberPartner application" accessed using account credentials issued under a contract with a Named Insured, provided any of the following:
a. The "Rideshare Driver" has logged and recorded acceptance in the "UberPartner application" of a request to provide transportation services, and the "Rideshare Driver" is:
1) En route to the pick-up location of the requested transportation services including, but not limited to, picking-up of passenger(s); or
2) Traveling to the final destination of the requested transportation services including, but not limited to, dropping-off of passenger(s).
b. The "Rideshare Driver" has logged and recorded acceptance in the "UberPartner application" to provide transportation services and the "Rideshare Driver" is:
1) Located on a public airport premises during the course of the accepted transportation services including the picking-up and dropping-off of passenger(s); or
2) Located on a public airport premises immediately following the conclusion of the requested transportation services and while in the course of exiting the public airport premises.
c. The "Rideshare Driver" has logged into the "UberPartner application" and is "available to receive requests" for transportation services from TNC application *1159users and "Rideshare Driver" is located on a public airport premises.

J.A. at 90. The 200 Policy, by contrast, applies when Uber rideshare drivers are awaiting requests for transportation services. Under that policy's covered-auto endorsement, a "covered auto" includes:

Any passenger "auto" while being used by a "Rideshare Driver", in connection with the "UberPartner application" accessed using account credentials issued under a contract with a Named Insured provided the "Rideshare Driver":
a. has logged into the "UberPartner Application"; and
b. is "available to receive requests" for transportation services requested through the "UberPartner application"; and
c. has not accepted a request through the "UberPartner application" and is not en route to or providing transportation services in response to a request accepted in the "UberPartner application"; and
d. is not on a public airport premises.

Id. at 146.

On April 17, 2017, Genzer accepted a fare2 through UberPartner, Uber's smartphone application for drivers, to transport a passenger about 139 miles from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City to Woodward, Oklahoma.3 After dropping off the passenger in Woodward, Genzer began heading back to the Oklahoma City area.4 On the return journey, Genzer was injured when an oncoming semi-trailer truck ejected a semicircular metal object that crashed through her windshield and hit her face. The truck's driver continued traveling and was never identified.

On May 3, 2017, Genzer submitted a claim for uninsured-motorist,5 medical, rental-car, and collision coverage. Genzer claimed that, at the time of the accident, her UberPartner application was set to the "Available"6 trip status and that she was "returning from taking a rider to" Woodward.7 See id. at 248-52. On May 8, 2017, Michael Pitts, a claims examiner for James River, informed Genzer's then-counsel that Genzer appeared to have been "offline at the time of the accident." Id. at 260. Pitts disclaimed coverage for Genzer's injuries on that basis.8 On May 9, 2017, counsel *1160responded that Genzer "was logged onto the Uber system on her return trip and looking for a fare for the return trip home when th[e] accident happened." Id. at 259. On May 10, 2017, Pitts replied that, whether "available or offline, there isn't coverage." Id.9

On May 23, 2017, Pitts sent Genzer a disclaimer-of-coverage letter on James River's behalf.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
934 F.3d 1156, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/genzer-v-james-river-ins-co-ca10-2019.