Johnson v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance

878 A.2d 615, 388 Md. 82, 2005 Md. LEXIS 429
CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland
DecidedJuly 15, 2005
DocketNo. 125
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 878 A.2d 615 (Johnson v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance, 878 A.2d 615, 388 Md. 82, 2005 Md. LEXIS 429 (Md. 2005).

Opinion

GREENE, J.

Jaedon Johnson is a minor child whose father, Jermal Thomas, was killed in an automobile accident on March 6, 2002. Mr. Thomas, riding in a car driven by Damon Gaither, was killed by the negligent actions of Mr. Gaither.1 Mr. [85]*85Gaither had no automobile insurance. Mr. Thomas was insured by Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company (“Hartford”) and his policy provided uninsured motorist coverage of $20,000. Jaedon’s mother, Tammika Johnson, was insured by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (“Nationwide”) and her policy provided uninsured motorist coverage in the amount of $25,000.

On October 2, 2002, Jadeon filed a Complaint against Mr. Gaither (Wrongful Death), Hartford (Breach of Contract), and Nationwide (Breach of Contract). The counts against Mr. Gaither and Hartford were resolved with the dismissal of the complaint against Mr. Gaither and the payment of $20,000 from Hartford. Jaedon continued to pursue his claim for uninsured motorist coverage under his mother’s policy, and on June 19, 2003, he filed a motion for partial summary judgment against Nationwide. On July 2, 2003, Nationwide filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. On July 28, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City held a hearing on the matter, granted Jaedon’s motion, and issued an order which states, in pertinent part:

[T]he plaintiffs motion is hereby GRANTED and the defendant Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company’s contract is determined to provide underinsured motorist coverage in the amount of $5,000.00 to Jaedon Johnson, in addition to the $20,000 in benefits available under the insurance policy of the decedent, Jermal Thomas. This issue is controlled by the Court of Appeals’ alternative holding in Forbes v. Harleysville Mutual Ins. Co., 322 Md. 689, 708-713, 589 A.2d 944 (1991), notwithstanding the language of Md.Code Ann. [Ins. Art.] § 19-509(c)(2).

Nationwide appealed and on October 6, 2004, the Court of Special Appeals, in a reported opinion, reversed the Circuit Court. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Johnson, 159 Md.App. 345, 859 A.2d 279 (2004). The Court of Special Appeals held that Jaedon’s claim for the wrongful death of his father (Mr. Thomas) was not covered under his mother’s Nationwide policy because Mr. Thomas was not an insured under that policy. Jaedon filed a petition for writ of certiorari, which we [86]*86granted. Johnson v. Nationwide, 384 Md. 581, 865 A.2d 589 (2005).

The question before us is whether § 19-509 of the Insurance Article requires an insurer to provide uninsured motorist coverage for the wrongful death of a person who was not an insured under the policy. We hold that § 19-509 does not require an insurer to provide such coverage.

FACTS

Jadeon lived with his mother at the time of Mr. Thomas’s accident. Mr. Thomas did not live with Ms. Johnson, nor was he ever married to Ms. Johnson. Mr. Thomas was not an “insured” on Ms. Johnson’s Nationwide policy. Ms. Johnson was the only named “insured” under her policy. The Nationwide policy issued to Ms. Johnson provides, in pertinent part:

We will pay compensatory damages, including derivative claims, which are due by law to you or a relative from the owner or driver of an uninsured motor vehicle because of bodily injury suffered by you or a relative, and because of property damage----
“You” and “Your” mean the policyholder and spouse if living in the same household.
“Relative” means one who regularly lives in your household and who is related to you by blood, marriage or adoption (including a ward or foster child). A relative may live temporarily outside your household.
“Insured” means one who is described as entitled to protection under each coverage.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

As stated in Md. Rule 2-501(f), “[t]he court shall enter judgment in favor of or against the moving party if the motion and response show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the party in whose favor judgment is entered is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Whether summary judgment was properly granted is a question of law, and we must determine whether the trial court was legally [87]*87correct in doing so. Goodwich v. Sinai Hosp. of Baltimore, 343 Md. 185, 204, 680 A.2d 1067, 1076 (1996). In the present case, the parties agree that there are no factual disputes. Rather, the application of case law and the interpretation of a particular section of the Insurance Article were the only questions before the trial court, and they are the only questions now before us. As such, it is clear that our review is de novo. See Walter v. Gunter, 367 Md. 386, 392, 788 A.2d 609, 612 (2002) (noting that where the order of the trial court “involves an interpretation and application of Maryland statutory and case law, our Court must determine whether the lower court’s conclusions are ‘legally correct’ under a de novo standard of review”).

DISCUSSION

No one argues that Mr. Thomas was a named insured on Ms. Johnson’s Nationwide policy and Jaedon is not arguing that the policy itself requires coverage. Rather, Jaedon argues that § 19-509(c)(2) of the Insurance Article requires Nationwide to pay the benefits sought. Section 19-509(a)(l) of the Insurance Article defines “uninsured motor vehicle” as a motor vehicle, “the ownership, maintenance, or use of which has resulted in the bodily injury or death of an insured [.]” Md.Code (1997, 2002 Repl.Vol.), § 19-509(a)(l) of the Insurance Article. (Emphasis added.)2 We note that the motor vehicle involved in the present case was not an “uninsured motor vehicle” as defined by § 19-509(a)(l), in relation to Ms. Johnson’s Nationwide policy, because Mr. Thomas was not an insured under that policy. Nonetheless, Jaedon is attempting to collect uninsured motorist benefits for the death of Mr. Thomas under Ms. Johnson’s Nationwide policy.

In support of this attempt, Jaedon relies on Section 19-509(c) of the Insurance article, which provides:

[88]*88In addition to any other coverage required by this subtitle, each motor vehicle liability insurance policy issued, sold, or delivered in the State after July 1, 1975, shall contain coverage for damages, subject to the policy limits, that:
(1) the insured is entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle because of bodily injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the uninsured motor vehicle; and
(2) a surviving relative of the insured, who is described in § 3-904 of the Courts Article, is entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle because the insured died as the result of a motor vehicle accident arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the uninsured motor vehicle.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
878 A.2d 615, 388 Md. 82, 2005 Md. LEXIS 429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-nationwide-mutual-insurance-md-2005.