Gross v. Sidorski

654 So. 2d 864, 94 La.App. 4 Cir. 2015, 1995 La. App. LEXIS 1043, 1995 WL 239531
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 26, 1995
DocketNo. 94-CA-2015
StatusPublished

This text of 654 So. 2d 864 (Gross v. Sidorski) 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
Gross v. Sidorski, 654 So. 2d 864, 94 La.App. 4 Cir. 2015, 1995 La. App. LEXIS 1043, 1995 WL 239531 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

|1PLOTKIN, Judge.

Plaintiff Luke Henry Gross Sr. appeals a trial court judgment dismissing his personal injury action against defendant Allstate Insurance Co. on a motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

Facts

Gross suffered personal injuries on December 31, 1993, when he was struck by a motor vehicle owned and operated by defendant Robert Sidorski while Gross was a pedestrian standing near his cab parked in front of the Westin Canal Place Hotel in the City of New Orleans. As a result of that accident, Gross filed the instant suit, seeking recovery [865]*865of his damages against Sidorsky and his insurer, Allstate.

Allstate filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that Sidorski was a Florida resident and that the automobile involved in the accident was registered and garaged in Florida. Further, Allstate claimed that the insurance policy issued to Sidorski included only Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and property damage liability coverage, but did not include bodily injury liability coverage, all in accordance with Florida’s no-fault motor vehicle insurance statute. Additionally, Allstate asserted that the PIP portion of the policy does not apply to and, in fact, specifically excludes coverage for any pedestrian who was not a legal | ¿resident of Florida. Allstate thus argued that because Gross is not a Florida 2’esident, his claims are excluded under the policy.

The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment, giving the following reasons for judgment:

As I understand Florida no fault law, a victim of a vehicular accident may not claim damages from the adverse driver, absent permanent injury. Rather, he is to recover a percentage of his wages and medical expenses from his own insurance carrier.
In response to Florida law, Allstate issued to the tortfeasor Personal Injury Protection Policy (PIP). It can be likened generally to a collision policy.
Because a pedestrian may not own a vehicle and would not carry a P.I.P. policy of his own, Florida law required Allstate to provide coverage for pedestrians that may be damaged by an insured vehicle. The statute requiring such coverage does not limit such protection of Florida residents in Section 1 of 627.736 entitled “Required Benefits”. But Section 4(d) [sic] does limit pedestrian coverage to Florida accidents damaging Florida residents.
Mr. Sidorski did not buy liability insurance from Allstate.
I conclude the P.I.P. policy does not cover this accident, and the Allstate motion for summary judgment will be granted.

On appeal, Gross challenges the trial court judgment, claiming that Florida law requires that insurance policies include coverage for pedestrians injured by an insured vehicle.

Applicable Florida no-fault automobile insurance law

The minimum required benefits under the Florida no-fault motor vehicle insurance law are set forth in § 627.736 of the Florida statutes. That provision provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

(1) REQUIRED BENEFITS. — Every insurance policy complying with the security requirements of § 627.733 shall provide personal injury protection to the named insured, relatives residing in the same household, persons operating the insured motor vehicle, passengers in such motor vehicle, and other persons struck by such motor vehicle and suffering bodily injury while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle, subject to the provisions of subsection (2) and paragraph (4)(d), to a limit of $10,000 for loss sustained by any such person as a result of bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle....

^Subparagraph (2) of that section, referred to in subparagraph (1), provides “authorized exclusions” to the requirements, as follows:

(a) For injury sustained by the named insured and relatives residing in the same household while occupying another motor vehicle owned by the named insured and not insured under the policy or for injury sustained by any person operating the insured motor vehicle without the express or implied consent of the insured.
(b) To any injured person, if such person’s conduct contributed to his injury under any of the following circumstances:
1. Causing injury to himself intentionally; or
2. Being injured while committing a felony.

Gross argues the above two provisions, when read together, require that the Allstate policy issued to Sidorski provide coverage for the injuries he received in the pedestrian/motor vehicle accident. Gross notes that Sub-[866]*866paragraph (1) of § 626.736 generally requires that every insurance policy provide personal injury protection to persons other than the named insured who are struck by the insured vehicle “and sufferL ] bodily injury while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle.” Further, Gross argues that the only exceptions to that requirement are the “authorized exclusions” listed in subparagraph (2) of the same section. Because subparagraph (2) does not provide an exclusion that includes the factual circumstances of the instant case, Gross claims that the trial court improperly granted the motion for summary judgment.

However, Gross’ interpretation of the law ignores the fact that the minimum required benefits provision of subparagraph (1) of § 627.736 is subject, not only to the provisions of subparagraph (e), but also to the provisions of subparagraph (4)(d). Subpara-graph (4)(d) provides as follows:

(d) the insurer of the owner of a motor vehicle shall pay personal injury protection benefits for:
1. Accidental bodily injury sustained in this state by the owner while occupying a motor vehicle, or while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle if the injury is caused by physical contact with a motor vehicle.
2. Accidental bodily injury sustained outside this state, but within the United States of American or its territories or possessions of Canada, by the owner while occupying the owner’s motor vehicle.
3. Accidental bodily injury sustained by a relative of the owner residing in the same household, under the circumstances described in subparagraph 1 or subpara-graph 2, provided the relative at the time of the accident is domiciled in the owner’s | household and is not himself the owner of a motor vehicle with respect to which security is required under §§ 627.730— 627.7405.
4. Accidental bodily injury sustained in this state by any other person while occupying the owner’s motor vehicle or, if a resident of this state, while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle, if the injury is caused by physical contact with such motor vehicle, provided the injured person is not himself.

(Emphasis added.)

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422 So. 2d 247 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1982)
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Bluebook (online)
654 So. 2d 864, 94 La.App. 4 Cir. 2015, 1995 La. App. LEXIS 1043, 1995 WL 239531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gross-v-sidorski-lactapp-1995.