Insurance Co. of North America v. Krigos

553 N.E.2d 708, 196 Ill. App. 3d 200, 143 Ill. Dec. 1, 1990 WL 20154, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 270
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 6, 1990
DocketNo. 1-88-3721
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 553 N.E.2d 708 (Insurance Co. of North America v. Krigos) 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
Insurance Co. of North America v. Krigos, 553 N.E.2d 708, 196 Ill. App. 3d 200, 143 Ill. Dec. 1, 1990 WL 20154, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 270 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE O’CONNOR

delivered the opinion of the court:

Insurance Company of North America (INA) brought a declaratory judgment action where summary judgments were entered denying coverage on underlying claims for negligent entrustment and negligent supervision. Johann Kraus, plaintiff in the underlying action, appeals. For the reasons below, we affirm.

Johann Kraus was injured in a traffic collision with Dino Krigos, who was driving a car belonging to his mother, Voula Krigos. Kraus sued Ms. Krigos, seeking recovery for negligent entrustment of the car and negligent supervision of Dino. Ms. Krigos filed a claim under her homeowner’s insurance policy, written by INA.

INA brought a declaratory judgment action alleging that Ms. Krigos was not covered under her homeowner’s policy because it specifically excluded claims arising from motor vehicles, including automobiles. The exclusion stated:

“We will not cover claims that arise because you or another covered person owns, rents, operates or borrows a motor vehicle.
We will not cover claims that arise because you or another person entrusts a motor vehicle to any person.”

The trial court entered summary judgment on INA’s motion, denying coverage for negligent entrustment, finding that the policy excluded such coverage, and on an amended motion, entered a summary judgment denying coverage for negligent supervision. Kraus, whose underlying action for personal injuries is pending, appeals.

Whether an underlying claim is potentially covered by a policy depends on the language of the policy and the allegations of the underlying complaint. (See State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Mann (1988), 172 Ill. App. 3d 68, 526 N.E.2d 389.) Here, the record does not contain the underlying complaint, except the allegations that Ms. Krigos “failed to assert parental guidance and supervision” and was “negligent in asserting parental values.” Without the full complaint before us, we presume that the trial court was correct. (Robles v. Chicago Transit Authority (1988), 173 Ill. App. 3d 46, 55, 527 N.E.2d 361; Cooper v. United Development Co. (1984), 122 Ill. App. 3d 850, 860, 462 N.E.2d 679; Hirn v. Edgewater Hospital (1980), 88 Ill. App. 3d 939, 952, 408 N.E.2d 970.) Moreover, independent analysis, taking into consideration the undisputed allegations that were available in the record and resolving any doubts against Kraus, whose duty it was to provide a sufficient record (Cooper v. United Development Co. (1984), 122 Ill. App. 3d 850, 860, 462 N.E.2d 679; Hirn v. Edgewater Hospital (1980), 88 Ill. App. 3d 939, 952, 408 N.E.2d 970), reveals nothing to overcome the presumption that the trial court’s rulings were correct.

First, the language of Ms. Krigos’ policy clearly and unambiguously excluded coverage for negligent entrustment. Kraus argues without merit that the failure to include the term “use” in the exclusionary clause made the policy ambiguous, and construing against the drafter, INA, required coverage. But case law, including that cited by Kraus (see State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. McGlawn (1980), 84 Ill. App. 3d 107, 404 N.E.2d 1122; United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (1987), 152 Ill. App. 3d 46, 504 N.E.2d 123 (USF&G II)), makes clear that how a piece of property became the instrument of injury is irrelevant to claims for negligent entrustment.

A claim for negligent entrustment requires an allegation of a negligent entrustment and that the inexperience or recklessness of the person to whom the property was entrusted was the proximate cause of the injury. (Allstate Insurance Co. v. Panzica (1987), 162 Ill. App. 3d 589, 593, 515 N.E.2d 1299; State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. McGlawn (1980), 84 Ill. App. 3d 107, 404 N.E.2d 1122.) The first element concerns the conduct of the person entrusting the instrument; the second concerns both the incompetence of the person to whom the instrument was entrusted and the instrument itself. Because the instrumentality is a necessary element of the claim, there can be no coverage where the instrumentality was excluded (Panzica, 162 Ill. App. 3d at 593); if the instrumentality was excluded, it is unnecessary to inquire into how it was involved. Thus, although Ms. Krigos’ policy did not specifically exclude the “use” of an automobile, it clearly excluded entrustment of an automobile.

Kraus further contends that Ms. Krigos’ policy was ambiguous as it failed to specify whether the term “any person” included a “covered person.” Kraus asserts, without basis, that “any person” excluded “covered person,” then maintains that because Ms. Krigos entrusted her car to Dino, a covered person, the claim for negligent entrustment was not excluded.

But, the adjective “any” typically implies an indeterminate, unqualified, all-inclusive designation, and the policy indicates no intention to limit “any.” Kraus contends that INA could easily have drafted the policy to include covered persons in the term “any person,” but, as INA notes, qualifying “any person” might have created ambiguity by implying a meaning for “any” more restrictive than its ordinary meaning. Ms. Krigos’ policy clearly and unambiguously excluded negligent entrustment, and the trial court properly denied coverage.

Second, the available record reveals nothing to indicate that the trial court incorrectly denied coverage for the negligent supervision claim. Kraus relies on his ambiguity argument to support his contention that his claim for negligent supervision was covered; but as the policy was unambiguous, the argument is without merit.

Kraus further argues, however, that because Ms. Krigos’ policy did not specifically exclude negligent supervision, the claim should be covered. INA counters that because the injuries were caused by an excluded instrumentality, the claim should not be covered. INA’s argument is incorrect, but we find no indication that the trial court erred.

INA relies on State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Mann (1988), 172 Ill. App. 3d 86, 526 N.E.2d 389, and Allstate Insurance Co. v. Pruitt (1988), 177 Ill. App. 3d 407, 532 N.E.2d 401, to support its contention that where an injury was caused by an excluded instrumentality, the claim for negligent supervision was excluded. Both cases arose from mishaps involving motor bikes driven by children of the insured, and both denied coverage for negligent supervision.

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553 N.E.2d 708, 196 Ill. App. 3d 200, 143 Ill. Dec. 1, 1990 WL 20154, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 270, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/insurance-co-of-north-america-v-krigos-illappct-1990.