Grzeszczak v. Illinois Farmers Insurance

632 N.E.2d 1047, 260 Ill. App. 3d 850, 198 Ill. Dec. 436
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 2, 1994
Docket1-91-2941
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 632 N.E.2d 1047 (Grzeszczak v. Illinois Farmers Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grzeszczak v. Illinois Farmers Insurance, 632 N.E.2d 1047, 260 Ill. App. 3d 850, 198 Ill. Dec. 436 (Ill. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

JUSTICE BUCKLEY

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff Molly Grzeszczak brought suit on behalf of herself and her three minor children for declaratory judgment to determine their rights under the underinsured motorists provisions of two automobile policies issued by defendant Illinois Farmers Insurance Company. On August 6, 1991, the circuit court entered judgment on the pleadings in favor of defendant. Plaintiff appeals the above order.

On November 19, 1989, Jeffrey Grzeszczak (decedent) was a passenger in a car driven by his brother Richard Grzeszczak which was involved in a collision, resulting in decedent’s death. Decedent’s widow, plaintiff, filed suit on behalf of herself and her three minor children.

At the time of the collision, Richard Grzeszczak was insured by CNA Insurance Companies (CNA). The limits of his policy were $100,000 for each person and $300,000 for each occurrence. After plaintiff filed a suit against Richard, CNA settled with her for $100,000, the limit of Richard’s policy. Decedent, also, was named on two separate insurance policies which were purchased from defendant. The first policy named only decedent as the named insured and covered a 1984 Chevrolet. The second policy named decedent and plaintiff as the named insureds and covered a 1983 Oldsmobile. Each of the above policies provided underinsured motorist coverage of $100,000 for each person.

For underinsured motorist coverage on each policy, decedent was charged a premium of $23.30. Both of the above policies contained the following antistacking provision:

"PART V — CONDITIONS
* * *
6. Two or More Cars Insured
With respect to any accident or occurrence to which this and any other auto policy issued to you by any member company of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies applies, the total limit of liability under all the policies shall not exceed the highest applicable limit of liability under any one policy.”

The policies further provide:

"DEFINITIONS
Throughout this policy 'you’ and 'your’ mean the 'named insured’ shown in the Declarations and spouse if resident of the same household.”

In December 1990, plaintiff notified defendant of the settlement with CNA and demanded payment of an additional $100,000. Plaintiff’s theory was that decedent had $200,000 in underinsured motorist coverage, which was $100,000 under each policy. Defendant refused plaintiff’s claim for additional coverage, relying on the above-cited antistacking provisions in each of the policies.

Plaintiff filed suit against defendant, alleging that she was entitled to the additional coverage because the antistacking provisions were ambiguous. Plaintiff specifically claimed that the provisions were made ambiguous by the addition of plaintiff’s name as a named insured on one of the policies and by the payment of two premiums coupled with defendant’s alleged failure to adequately explain the policies.

Defendant moved for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Illinois Code of Civil Procedure section 2 — 615(e). (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 110, par. 2—615(e).) The circuit court granted defendant’s motion and entered judgment in favor of defendant. Plaintiff appeals.

When reviewing a circuit court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings, a reviewing court must determine whether allegations in plaintiff’s complaint, when viewed in a light most favorable to him, are sufficient to state a cause of action upon which relief may be granted. (Weil, Freiburg & Thomas, P.C. v. Sara Lee Corp. (1991), 218 Ill. App. 3d 383, 577 N.E.2d 1344.) We, therefore, should affirm the circuit court’s order for judgment on the pleadings in favor of defendant only if no set of facts can be proven under the pleadings which would entitle plaintiff to relief. Griffis v. Board of Education, District 122 (1979), 72 Ill. App. 3d 784, 391 N.E.2d 451.

On appeal, plaintiff’s underlying contention is that defendant’s policies regarding stacking of underinsured motorist coverage are ambiguous and inconsistent. When interpreting an insurance policy, a court should give the words contained in that policy their plain and ordinary meaning and should not insert ambiguities where none exist. (Georgantas v. Country Mutual Insurance Co. (1991), 212 Ill. App. 3d 1, 570 N.E.2d 870.) There is no need for construction if the policy is unambiguous. (Menke v. Country Mutual Insurance Co. (1980), 78 Ill. 2d 420, 401 N.E.2d 539.) Moreover, if the policy is unambiguous, it must be enforced according to its terms, and the parties should be bound to the agreement into which they entered. Allstate Insurance Co. v. Gonzalez-Loya (1992), 226 Ill. App. 3d 446, 589 N.E.2d 882.

Initially, plaintiff concedes that the language of the policy is facially unambiguous. Instead, plaintiff contends that the language of the policies is rendered ambiguous because the named insured on each policy was different. The named insured on each of the two policies in question is, however, not different. Contrary to plaintiff’s assertion, this case is not analogous to Goss v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (1986), 147 Ill. App. 3d 866, 498 N.E.2d 562, in which one automobile was insured under the husband’s name and the other automobile was insured under the wife’s name. In the instant case, the decedent is a named insured on both policies. Although plaintiff is a named insured on the policy covering the 1983 Oldsmobile, decedent’s name also appears as a named insured on that same policy. The policy covering the 1984 Chevrolet shows only decedent’s name as the named insured. The mere fact that plaintiff’s name appears along with decedent’s named as the named insured on the 1983 Oldsmobile does not create an ambiguity. Unlike the circumstances of the Goss case, the named insureds on the policies in the case at bar are not different because decedent is a named insured on both policies. Moreover, each policy contains a provision which explicitly states that "you” and "your” mean named insured and the spouse if residing in the same household. Therefore, plaintiff’s argument that the language of the policy is rendered ambiguous because the named insureds on the two policies in question are different is incorrect.

Next, plaintiff contends that this court should apply the "premium rule” to this case because defendant is guilty of overreaching. The essence of the premium rule is that an insurance company should not be permitted to collect premiums for a given amount of coverage and then apply limiting clauses to reduce its liability to the insureds.

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Related

Grzeszczak v. Illinois Farmers Insurance
659 N.E.2d 952 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
632 N.E.2d 1047, 260 Ill. App. 3d 850, 198 Ill. Dec. 436, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grzeszczak-v-illinois-farmers-insurance-illappct-1994.