Harlan v. United Fire & Casualty Co.

208 F. Supp. 3d 1168, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128397, 2016 WL 5109483
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedSeptember 20, 2016
DocketCase No. 14-cv-02419-DDC-JPO
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 208 F. Supp. 3d 1168 (Harlan v. United Fire & Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harlan v. United Fire & Casualty Co., 208 F. Supp. 3d 1168, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128397, 2016 WL 5109483 (D. Kan. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Daniel D. Crabtree, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs James Harlan and Carman Ange filed this breach of contract action on behalf of themselves, as the natural parents and heirs of Curtis Harlan, and as Special Administrators to the Estate of Curtis Harlan. Curtis Harlan’s former employer, R.A. Knapp Construction, Inc. (“R.A. Knapp”), maintained a Commercial General Liability Policy of Insurance (the “Policy”) with defendant United Fire and Casualty Company (“United”). R.A. Knapp employed Curtis Harlan as a member of its crew when a car struck and killed him while he was operating a device known as a “Georgia Buggy” near Topeka, Kansas, on Interstate 470 (“1-470”).

Plaintiffs allege that the Georgia Buggy Curtis was operating when the accident happened was a covered “auto” under the Policy. Because the driver of the car that killed Curtis was underinsured, plaintiffs seek to recover benefits under the Policy’s uninsured-motorist coverage. On February 5, 2015, United filed a motion for summary judgment. Doc. 24. The court denied United’s motion, granting plaintiffs’ request for more time to conduct discovery. Doc. 36.

Plaintiffs conducted more discovery, taking two additional depositions, and United timely filed this Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 40). Here, as in its original motion for summary judgment, United asserts that the accident did not trigger the Policy’s uninsured-motorist coverage because Curtis Harlan was not operating an auto as the Policy defines that term. And because the Georgia Buggy wasn’t an auto, United contends, the court should grant its Motion for Summary Judgment against plaintiffs’ breach of contract claim. For the reasons explained below, the court grants United’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. Legal Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party demonstrates that there is “no genuine dispute” about any material fact and that it is “entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). When it applies this standard, the court views the evidence and draws inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Nahno-Lopez v. Houser, 625 F.3d 1279, 1283 (10th Cir. 2010). A dispute of fact is genuine “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). “An issue of fact is ‘material’ ‘if under the substantive law it is essential to the proper disposition of the claim’ or defense.” Houser, 625 F.3d at 1283 (quoting Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 670 (10th Cir. 1998)).

The moving party bears “both the initial burden of production on a motion for summary judgment and the burden of establishing that summary judgment is appropriate as a matter of law.” Kannady v. City of Kiowa, 590 F.3d 1161, 1169 (10th Cir. 2010) (quoting Trainor v. Apollo Metal Specialties, Inc., 318 F.3d 976, 979 (10th Cir. 2002)). To meet this burden, the moving party “need not negate the non-mov-ant’s claim, but need only point to an absence of evidence to support the non-movant’s claim.” Id. (quoting Sigmon v. CommunityCare HMO, Inc., 234 F.3d 1121, 1125 (10th Cir. 2000)).

If the moving party satisfies its initial burden, the non-moving party “may not [1171]*1171rest on its pleadings but must bring forward specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial [about] those dispositive matters for which it carries the burden of proof.” Jenkins v. Wood, 81 F.3d 988, 990 (10th Cir. 1996); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). “To accomplish this, the facts must be identified by reference to affidavits, deposition transcripts, or specific exhibits incorporated therein.” Adler, 144 F.3d at 671 (citing Thomas v. Wichita Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 968 F.2d 1022, 1024 (10th Cir. 1992)).

Summary judgment is not a “disfavored procedural shortcut.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Instead, it is an important procedure “designed ‘to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.’ ” Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 1).

II. Uncontroverted Facts

The facts below either are uncontrovert-ed or, where controverted, are stated in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, the parties opposing summary judgment. Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 378, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007).1

In the early morning hours of August 5, 2012, an R.A. Knapp crew was patching and repaving parts of 1-470 near Topeka, Kansas. At that location, 1-470 is a four-lane divided highway. The crew was working on the right-hand lane of the two southbound lanes, and had used orange cones to close off the construction zone, which included the right-hand lane and shoulder. Plaintiffs’ son, Curtis Harlan, was working as part of that crew. His job was to drive a Georgia Buggy (the “Buggy”) carrying concrete sealant from patch-to-patch to finish the newly poured concrete. Around 6 a.m., Curtis backed the Buggy out of the construction zone and into the active lane of traffic. A passing car hit the Buggy and Curtis Harlan and he died from his injuries.

The driver, of that car had insurance, but plaintiffs allege that it is not enough to cover their' damages. So, they turned to R.A. Knapp’s insurance policy with United. Under that Policy’s uninsured-motorist-coverage endorsement (the “Uninsured Endorsement”), United agreed to pay “all sums the ‘insured’ is legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or driver of an” uninsured or underinsured vehicle. Doc. 41-9 at 1, Uninsured Endorsement Part A.l. The Uninsured Endorsement defines insured as “[a]nyone ‘occupying’ a covered ‘auto’.” Doc. 41-9 at 2, Uninsured Endorsement Part B.2. To determine what a covered auto is, one must look at the Policy’s business-auto-coverage endorsement (the “Business Endorsement”). Doc 41-10, Business Endorsement. The Business Endorsement defines an auto as:

1. A land motor vehicle, “trailer” or semitrailer designed for travel on public roads, or
2. Any other land vehicle that is subject to a compulsory or financial responsibility law or other motor vehicle insurance law where it is licensed or principally garaged.

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208 F. Supp. 3d 1168, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128397, 2016 WL 5109483, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harlan-v-united-fire-casualty-co-ksd-2016.