Jaudes v. Progressive Preferred Insurance

11 F. Supp. 3d 943, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41866, 2014 WL 1315225
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedMarch 28, 2014
DocketCase No. 4:13-CV-1068-SPM
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 11 F. Supp. 3d 943 (Jaudes v. Progressive Preferred Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jaudes v. Progressive Preferred Insurance, 11 F. Supp. 3d 943, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41866, 2014 WL 1315225 (E.D. Mo. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SHIRLEY PADMORE MENSAH, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter is before the Court on defendant Progressive Preferred Insurance Company’s (“Progressive’s”) motion for summary judgment and plaintiff James Jaudes’ (“Jaudes’ ”) cross-motion for summary judgment.1 For the following reasons, the Court will grant Progressive’s motion for summary judgment and deny Jaudes’ cross-motion for summary judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

Jaudes was injured on January 28, 2010, when his car collided with a vehicle being operated by Derick Cook (“Cook”). Cook carried liability insurance with policy limits of $50,000, and that amount was tendered [946]*946to Jaudes. Although the total amount of Jaudes’ damages is unclear from the record, in his Amended Complaint Jaudes asserts that his damages far exceed the limits of liability insurance tendered by Cook. At the time of the accident, Jaudes was insured under an auto liability insurance policy issued by Progressive. Progressive’s policy provided underinsured motor vehicle coverage in the amount of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per occurrence for each of three vehicles owned by Jaudes, including the vehicle involved in the collision with Cook. Jaudes made demand on Progressive for payment of $150,000 under the underinsured motorist (“UIM”) provisions. Progressive refused to make payment, and Jaudes brought this action for breach of contract.2

Progressive moved for summary judgment, arguing that Jaudes is not entitled to coverage because the definition of un-derinsured motor vehicle used in its policy is unambiguous and Cook’s vehicle does not meet the policy’s definition of an un-derinsured motor vehicle. Progressive also posits that its policy does not allow Jaudes to stack the three UIM limits of liability to create a total combined policy limit of $150,000. (Doc. 21, 22). Jaudes filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, contending that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law in light of an opinion that was issued by the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District just as the parties were completing their briefing of Progressive’s motion for summary judgment. More specifically, Jaudes contends that under Fanning v. Progressive Northwestern Insurance Co., 412 S.W.3d 360 (Mo.Ct.App.2013), the policy’s definition of underinsured motor vehicle is rendered ambiguous by the declarations page and other provisions in the policy. Jaudes further contends that, notwithstanding Progressive’s arguments to the contrary, Missouri law permits stacking of the three UIM limits in Progressive’s policy-

II. LEGAL STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

The standards applicable to summary judgment motions are well settled, and they do not change when both parties have moved for summary judgment. See Wermager v. Cormorant Twp. Bd., 716 F.2d 1211, 1214 (8th Cir.1983); Tower Rock Stone Co. v. Quarry & Allied Workers Local No. 830, 918 F.Supp.2d 902, 905 (E.D.Mo.2013). Summary judgment is proper “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); Hill v. Walker, 737 F.3d 1209, 1216 (8th Cir. 2013). The movant “bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion” and must identify “those portions of [the record] ... which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the movant does so, the nonmovant must respond by submitting evidentiary materials that set out “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (quotation marks omitted). “On a motion for summary judg[947]*947ment, ‘facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party only if there is a genuine dispute as to those facts.’ ” Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557, 586, 129 S.Ct. 2658, 174 L.Ed.2d 490 (2009) (quoting Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007) (internal quotation marks omitted)).

Where parties file cross-motions for summary judgment, each summary judgment motion must be evaluated independently to determine whether a genuine dispute of material fact exists and whether the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Husinga v. Federal-Mogul Ignition Co., 519 F.Supp.2d 929, 942 (S.D.Iowa 2007). “[T]he filing of cross motions for summary judgment does not necessarily indicate that there is no dispute as to a material fact, or have the effect of submitting the cause to a plenary determination on the merits.” Wermager, 716 F.2d at 1214.

III. FACTS3

The material facts are not in dispute. On January 28, 2010, Jaudes was involved in a motor vehicle collision with Derick Cook, in which Jaudes was injured. Jaudes claims that, as a result of the collision with Cook, Jaudes sustained damages in excess of $50,000.4 At the time of the accident, Jaudes was insured under an auto liability insurance policy issued by Progressive. At the time of the accident, Cook’s vehicle was insured with policy limits of $50,000. The policy limits of $50,000 were tendered to Jaudes.

The car Jaudes was driving at the time of the accident was insured under Progressive Policy No. 31245848-0, along with two other cars owned by Jaudes. The parties do not dispute the policy language contained therein.

The “Declarations Page” of the Progressive Policy states:

Auto Insurance Coverage Summary

This is your Declarations Page

This coverage summary replaces your prior one. Your insurance policy and any policy endorsements contain a full explanation of your coverage. The policy limits shown for a vehicle may not be combined with the limits for the same coverage on another vehicle....

The declarations page contains an “Outline of Coverage” that lists each of Jaudes’ vehicles. For each vehicle, there is a line indicating that the coverage includes “Un-derinsured Motorist” with “Limits” of “$50,000 each person/$100,000 each accident.” A separate underinsured motorist premium is listed for each vehicle.

The underinsured motorist provisions in the Progressive policy are contained in Part III(B) and provide in relevant part as follows:

Part 111(B) — UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE INSURING AGREEMENT

If you pay the premium for this coverage, we will pay for damages that an insured person is legally entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an underinsured motor vehicle because of bodily injury:

1. sustained by that insured person;

2. caused by an accident; and

[948]

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Bluebook (online)
11 F. Supp. 3d 943, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41866, 2014 WL 1315225, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jaudes-v-progressive-preferred-insurance-moed-2014.