Hellmers v. Nicholas

737 So. 2d 781, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 0652, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 52, 1999 WL 23210
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 6, 1999
DocketNo. 98-CA-0652
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 737 So. 2d 781 (Hellmers v. Nicholas) 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
Hellmers v. Nicholas, 737 So. 2d 781, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 0652, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 52, 1999 WL 23210 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

L JONES, Judge.

Defendant/appellant, Prudential Property and Casualty Insurance Company (Prudential), appeal the judgment of the trial court finding that its umbrella policy for Julian G. Baudier primes the plaintiffs’ uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) policy with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (STATE FARM). After reviewing the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

This action arises out of an automobile accident that occurred on February 10, 1995 in Orleans Parish. The plaintiff, Niles A. Hellmers, was a guest passenger in the host vehicle, which was owned and operated by Julian G. Baudier. The second vehicle was owned and operated by the tortfeasor, Anatole Nicholas. As a result of this accident, plaintiff sustained severe injuries to his neck, back, shoulders, and head.

Plaintiff and his wife, Mary A. Hellmers, filed a Petition for Damages on February 2, 1996, against Nicholas, Baudier, - and their respective insurers, Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate), and Prudential Property and Casualty Insurance Company (Prudential). Plaintiffs alleged in their petition that all listed defendants were ha-ble for the injuries Mr. Hellmers sustained in the accident. Plaintiffs ^subsequently amended their petition, and added State Farm, their UM carrier, as a defendant.

At the time the accident occurred, there existed several insurance policies in effect which provided coverage for the accident sued upon. First, Allstate, Nicholas’ insurer, provided $10,000/$20,000 liability coverage, and Prudential, Baudier’s insurer, offered $100,000/$300,000 in UM coverage. Additionally, Baudier held an umbrella policy with Prudential insuring [782]*782“Personal Catastrophic Liability.” The umbrella policy provided $1,000,000 in liability coverage once the underlying automobile policies issued by Prudential were exhausted. Finally, the plaintiffs’ UM carrier provided $100,000/$300,000 coverage for any injuries the Hellmers would sustain while occupying a non-owned vehicle.

Plaintiffs subsequently dismissed their claim against Nicholas and her insurer once Allstate tendered $10,000 to the plaintiffs, which was the maximum amount of coverage for injuries to one person under the Nicholas policy. Prudential tendered $100,000 under its UM policy for Baudier, but refused to tender any funds under its umbrella policy. Prudential argued that it refused to tender any funds under its umbrella policy because its umbrella policy did not provide primary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under the circumstances. In other words, Prudential argues the plaintiffs’ UM policy with State Farm is primary.

On April 23, 1997, State Farm filed a Motion for Declaratory Judgment seeking to declare the Prudential umbrella policy with Baudier to be primary to the plaintiffs’ UM policy. The trial court granted State Farm’s motion on September 5, 1997. From this ruling, Prudential appeals.

\%The sole issue on appeal is which of the two policies (Prudential or State Farm) is primary.

Prudential argues that the plaintiffs’ State Farm UM policy should prime its umbrella policy because the “true nature” of an umbrella policy is that it is an “excess policy.” Because State Farm is a primary insurer and Prudential is a “true excess” insurer, Prudential argues that the policies at issue are non-concurrent. Thus, Prudential contends that in order for its umbrella policy to become effective, all other primary collectible UM policies (i.e., plaintiffs’ UM coverage) must first be exhausted. Prudential supports its contention with the Supreme Court’s decision in Lee v. USAA Casualty Insurance Company of America, 571 So.2d 127 (La.1990), along with La. R.S. 22:1406(D)(1).

State Farm, in rebuttal, argues Lee, 571 So.2d 127 is not controlling in the case sub judice because the facts in Lee, 571 So.2d 127 are distinct from the facts in this case. State Farm also argues that the language included in its UM policy with the Hellm-ers specifically states that the “uninsured motorist vehicle coverage on the vehicle in which the insured [Niles or Mary Hellm-ers] is an occupant will be primary." This language, State Farm argues, is echoed in La. R.S. 22:1406(D)(l)(a), thereby supporting the premise that the UM coverage for the vehicle in which the injured party was an occupant (i.e., Prudential’s umbrella policy) primes all other collectible insurance available to the claimants. Furthermore, State Farm contends that the holding in Capone v. King, 467 So.2d 574 (La. App. 5 Cir.1985), writ denied, 468 So.2d 1205 (La.1985) is directly on point to the issue presented in the instant matter, not the decision in Lee, 571 So.2d 127. We agree.

pin Lee, 571 So.2d 127, the insured’s daughter was involved in an automobile accident in one of the insured’s vehicles. She had liability insurance with USAA Casualty Insurance Company in the amount of $100,000, and the vehicle involved in the accident was insured with two UM policies. The insured’s second vehicle was also covered with the same UM policies.

The insured’s first UM policy was issued by Safeco with $250,000/$500,000 UM coverage limits. The second policy, which was issued by Continental Casualty Company (CNA), was a personal umbrella excess policy providing a per accident limit of $1,000,000 in UM coverage over both of the insured’s vehicles.

The trial court entered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $1,626,600, and required Safeco to tender the sum of $500,000 ($250,000 for each covered vehicle) plus legal interest. The appellate court reduced the award to [783]*783$1,506,600. USAA paid its policy limits for its insured in the amount of $100,000, thereby leaving a balance of $1,406,600. When the plaintiffs sought to collect $500,-000 from Safeco, and $906,600 from CNA, Safeco refused arguing that the umbrella policy with CNA was primary. On review, the court of appeal ranked the -UM policies as follows:

1. USAA, as liability insurer of the insured’s daughter, for its policy limits of $100,000.
2. Safeco, as “primary” UM insurer of the vehicle which the insured’s daughter was occupying at the time of the accident, for its UM policy limits of $250,000.
3. CNA, as statutory “primary” UM insurer of the vehicle in which the insured’s daughter was occupying at the time of the accident, for its aggregate limit of $1,000,000.
| s4. Safeco, as “excess” UM insurer of the other vehicle listed in the same policy, but not occupied at the time of the accident. Safeco was to pay $250,000 under its UM coverage thereby placing Safeco’s total liability at $500,000 for the accident.

See Lee, 571 So.2d at 128.

Following this judgment, the plaintiffs and CNA took separate writ applications to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court disagreed with Safeco’s argument that CNA’s umbrella policy primed its UM policy for the insured’s second vehicle. The Supreme Court opined that the language of Safeco’s UM policy made both of the Safeco policies primary after USAA paid the policy limit for its insured.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court found CNA to be a “true excess” policy because the language of the policy stated that CNA was to “provide extra liability insurance over and above what is covered by [the insured’s] basic policies.” (Emphasis added).

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Related

Adams v. Allstate Ins. Co.
809 So. 2d 1169 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
737 So. 2d 781, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 0652, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 52, 1999 WL 23210, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hellmers-v-nicholas-lactapp-1999.