Hodge v. Raab

151 Wash. 2d 351
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedApril 29, 2004
DocketNo. 74020-8
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 151 Wash. 2d 351 (Hodge v. Raab) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hodge v. Raab, 151 Wash. 2d 351 (Wash. 2004).

Opinion

Johnson, J.

This case requires us to determine whether a general liability garage policy that provides coverage for customers’ vehicles must also include uninsured motorist protection. The Court of Appeals held that only insurance policies issued with respect to a vehicle registered or principally garaged in Washington are required by RCW 48.22.030(2) to include uninsured motorist coverage. The policy issued in this case provided liability coverage for garage operations and not liability coverage for automobiles. We affirm the Court of Appeals.

[353]*353FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case arises out of injures sustained by Mark R. Hodge during the course of his employment with Larry Raab’s Auburn Valley Chevron (Raab). Auburn Valley Chevron is a service station that employed Hodge as a mechanic.

On May 8, 1998, Hodge was seriously injured while servicing a customer’s truck. Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 20. The customer engaged the ignition of the truck, causing the vehicle to lurch forward and pin Hodge against the wall of the garage. Br. of Appellant at 8. The truck, owned by Thomas Pullman, did not have automobile liability insurance at the time of the accident.1 CP at 215. Raab, however, had a general liability garage policy issued by Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Company (Mutual).

The policy stated that Mutual would “[p]ay all sums the insured legally must pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage to which this insurance applies caused by an accident and resulting from garage operations.” Part III Liability Insurance (A)(1); CP at 134. The policy specifically excluded “[a]ny auto used in connection with garage operations.” Part III Liability Insurance (B)(7); CP at 134. This exclusion, however, did not apply to customers’ vehicles. CP at 105.

Accordingly, an “Employer Non-Ownership Automobile Liability Insurance Endorsement” in the policy provided liability coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising out of the use of customers’ vehicles in the business of the named insured (Raab) but specifically excluded claims made by employees. CP at 108. The policy did not include uninsured motorist protection. Hodge then filed a claim with Mutual, which was denied.

On April 6, 2001, Hodge filed a declaratory judgment action in the King County Superior Court, seeking a determination that the policy issued by Mutual to Raab provided [354]*354coverage to employees injured by an uninsured vehicle while in the course and scope of their employment. Hodge named Raab, doing business as Auburn Valley Chevron, and Mutual as defendants. CP at 3. He then filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Mutual was required to offer uninsured coverage to Raab and/or obtain a waiver and that the employee exclusion in the policy did not apply.

On August 10, 2001, Raab and Mutual filed a motion for summary judgment. On November 8, 2001, the trial court granted Raab and Mutual’s motion for summary judgment and denied Hodge’s motion for summary judgment. The court concluded that the policy excluded Hodge’s claims for injuries and that Mutual was not required to offer uninsured motorist coverage to Raab under RCW 48.22.030(2).

Hodge then filed a timely notice of appeal to Division One of the Court of Appeals. CP at 251. Hodge argued that any insurance policy that provides coverage for any vehicle must also include uninsured motorist protection. The Court of Appeals disagreed and held that Mutual was not statutorily required to include uninsured motorist protection in the policy because it was not issued with respect to a vehicle registered or principally garaged in Washington. Hodge v. Raab, 116 Wn. App. 303, 307, 65 P.3d 679 (2003).

We granted review of the Court of Appeals decision to determine whether a general liability garage policy that provides coverage for customers’ vehicles is required by RCW 48.22.030(2) to include uninsured motorist protection.

ANALYSIS

On appeal from summary judgment, we engage in the same inquiry as the trial court. RAP 9.12. After considering all evidence and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. CR 56(c).

[355]*355This case involves a question of statutory interpretation which is subject to de novo review. State v. Bright, 129 Wn.2d 257, 265, 916 P.2d 922 (1996). The principal issue we must resolve is whether the general liability garage policy is subject to the requirements of RCW 48.22.030(2), compelling Mutual to provide uninsured motorist coverage to Raab or to waive such coverage in writing.

The statute provides in pertinent part that:

No new policy or renewal of an existing policy . . . arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle shall be issued with respect to any motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state unless coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto for the protection of persons insured [and] [t]he coverage required to be offered. . .is not applicable to general liability policies, commonly known as umbrella policies, or other policies which apply only as excess to the insurance directly applicable to the vehicle insured.

RCW 48.22.030(2) (emphasis added).

Hodge has not brought a claim in this case against the negligent party, Thomas Pullman, but seeks a declaratory judgment that Mutual should have been required to offer uninsured motorist coverage to Raab pursuant to RCW 48.22.030(2)2 because the underlying coverage in Raab’s general liability garage policy provided automobile liability protection for the insured. Specifically, Hodge maintains that an automobile liability endorsement for customers’ vehicles brings the garage policy under the ambit of RCW 48.22.030(2).

Hodge asks us to adopt a broad approach to RCW 48.22.030(2) and have it apply in any situation in which a general liability policy provides protection for injuries or damages resulting from nonowned vehicles. That argument is contrary to the plain wording and meaning of RCW 48.22.030

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
151 Wash. 2d 351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hodge-v-raab-wash-2004.