Illinois Farmers Insurance v. Cisco

687 N.E.2d 807, 178 Ill. 2d 386, 227 Ill. Dec. 325, 1997 Ill. LEXIS 404
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 11, 1997
Docket80980, 81048
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 687 N.E.2d 807 (Illinois Farmers Insurance v. Cisco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Illinois Farmers Insurance v. Cisco, 687 N.E.2d 807, 178 Ill. 2d 386, 227 Ill. Dec. 325, 1997 Ill. LEXIS 404 (Ill. 1997).

Opinions

JUSTICE MILLER

delivered the opinion of the court:

In these consolidated cases, Richard Cisco and Charles Shane were involved in separate motor vehicle accidents with uninsured motorists. Cisco and Shane were driving vehicles owned by their respective employers. The vehicles being driven by Cisco and Shane were insured by their employers under policies of motor vehicle insurance providing uninsured-motorist benefits in the amounts of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per occurrence, the mínimums required under section 143a of the Illinois Insurance Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 73, par. 755a) and section 7 — 203 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 7 — 203). Cisco’s estate and Shane sought to collect additional uninsured-motorist benefits under automobile insurance policies issued to them on their personal vehicles by Illinois Farmers Insurance Company. In both cases, Illinois Farmers denied coverage based on an uninsured-motorist coverage exclusion.

The appellate court, in each case, found that Illinois Farmers’ exclusionary language violated section 143a— 2(1) of the Insurance Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 73, par. 755a — 2(1)). Section 143a — 2(1) provides:

"No policy insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for bodily injury or death suffered by any person arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle shall be renewed or delivered or issued for delivery in this State with respect to any motor vehicle designed for use on public highways and required to be registered in this State unless uninsured motorist coverage as required in Section 143a of this Code is offered in an amount up to the insured’s bodily injury liability limits.” Ill. Rev. Stat; 1989, ch. 73, par. 755a — 2(1).

In Cisco’s case, the appellate court affirmed the trial judge’s ruling in favor of Cisco’s estate. 278 Ill. App. 3d 1022. In Shane’s case, the appellate court reversed the trial judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Illinois Farmers. No. 1 — 95—1870 (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23). Thus, the appellate court’s rulings allowed Cisco’s estate and Shane to collect uninsured-motorist benefits under the policies issued by Illinois Farmers.

Illinois Farmers filed a petition for leave to appeal in each case. 155 Ill. 2d R. 315(a). We allowed both of Illinois Farmers’ petitions and consolidated them for purposes of this appeal. We affirm the judgments of the appellate court.

BACKGROUND

Cause No. 80980

In cause No. 80980, Richard Cisco was fatally injured in a motor vehicle accident involving an uninsured motorist. The vehicle driven by Cisco was owned by his employer and insured under a policy issued by the Insurance Company of North America (INA). The INA policy provided uninsured-motorist benefits of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per occurrence. INA paid Cisco’s estate $20,000 in uninsured-motorist benefits as a result of Cisco’s death.

At the time of the accident, Cisco and his wife, Gloria, were insured under automobile insurance policies issued by Illinois Farmers for the two vehicles owned by the Ciscos. Each policy provided bodily injury liability coverage and uninsured-motorist coverage in the amounts of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence. Gloria, on behalf of Richard’s estate, sought uninsured-motorist benefits from Illinois Farmers under the policies. Illinois Farmers denied coverage based on paragraph 4 of the policies’ "Other Insurance” provision. Each policy contains the following pertinent language:

"PART II — UNINSURED MOTORIST
Coverage C — Uninsured Motorist Coverage
(Including Underinsured Motorist Coverage)
We will pay all sums which an insured person is legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle because of bodily injury sustained by the insured person. The bodily injury must be caused by accident and arise out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the uninsured motor vehicle.
* * *
Other Insurance
* * *
4. We will not provide insurance for a vehicle other than your insured car, unless the owner of that vehicle has no other insurance applicable to this part.”

Illinois Farmers, as plaintiff, filed a declaratory judgment action in the circuit court of Cook County against defendant, Gloria Cisco, seeking a declaration of Illinois Farmers’ rights and liabilities under the two automobile insurance policies. The parties filed cross-motions for judgment on the pleadings. The trial judge denied Illinois Farmers’ motion and granted Gloria Cisco’s motion. Illinois Farmers appealed.

The appellate court affirmed. 278 Ill. App. 3d 1022. The appellate court explained that under section 143a— 2(1) Illinois Farmers was required to offer the Ciscos uninsured-motorist benefits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence because these were the limits of the Ciscos’ bodily injury liability coverage. The Ciscos accepted the offer of uninsured-motorist benefits in excess of the mínimums required by section 143a of the Insurance Code and section 7 — 203 of the Vehicle Code. Given the Ciscos’ acceptance of this offer, the appellate court found that Illinois Farmers could not condition the availability of uninsured-motorist coverage under its policy on "the total lack of uninsured motorist coverage on the vehicle in which the insured [was] riding when injured.” 278 Ill. App. 3d at 1026.

The appellate court stated the Ciscos’ case was distinguishable from the cases relied on by Illinois Farmers. Illinois Farmers relied on Vanek v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co., 268 Ill. App. 3d 731 (1994), Shefner v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co., 243 Ill. App. 3d 683 (1993), Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Heeker, 183 Ill. App. 3d 13 (1989), and on remand and reconsideration, Luechtefeld v. Allstate Insurance Co., 167 Ill. 2d 148 (1995): In these cases, the insured in question owned multiple vehicles and obtained insurance coverage for the vehicles. In each case, at least one of the vehicles owned by the insured had a lower level of uninsured-motorist benefits than did the insured’s other vehicles. The insured was injured by an uninsured motorist while the insured was occupying one of the owned vehicles covered by a lower level of benefits. The insured in each case attempted to claim a higher level of benefits under one of the policies of insurance covering a vehicle not involved in the accident.

The courts in Luechtefeld, Vanek, Shefner, and Hecker found that the uninsured-motorist coverage under the policy purchased for the vehicle involved in the accident applied. Thus, the insured in question received the level of uninsured-motorist benefits selected for the particular vehicle the insured occupied when injured by an uninsured motorist. See Luechtefeld, 167 Ill. 2d 148; Vanek, 268 Ill. App. 3d 731; Shefner, 243 Ill. App. 3d 683; Hecker, 183 Ill. App. 3d 13. The appellate court found the Ciscos’ case distinguishable.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
687 N.E.2d 807, 178 Ill. 2d 386, 227 Ill. Dec. 325, 1997 Ill. LEXIS 404, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/illinois-farmers-insurance-v-cisco-ill-1997.