Jones v. IDS Prop. Cas. Ins. Co.

238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 356, 27 Cal. App. 5th 625
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedSeptember 25, 2018
DocketC084065
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 356 (Jones v. IDS Prop. Cas. Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. IDS Prop. Cas. Ins. Co., 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 356, 27 Cal. App. 5th 625 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Duarte, J.

*358*628When a wife sues for loss of consortium after her husband is seriously injured in an automobile accident that is the defendant's fault, is her claim subject to the same per person limit of the defendant's insurance policy as her husband's claim for bodily injury? That is the issue presented in this case. All California cases except one have answered the question in the affirmative, finding the language of the policy was sufficient to aggregate the two claims. Here, the policy language reads: "The bodily injury liability limits for each person is the maximum we will pay as damages for bodily injury, including damages for care and loss of service, to one person per occurrence." Although the policy language at issue here differs slightly from the language in the published cases, we find it is sufficient to aggregate the two claims.

As we explain, the language makes clear that the damages for bodily injury include loss of consortium. Further, the policy language provides that so long as only one person suffered bodily injury, the per person limit applies. Although the plaintiffs here argue that the language "to one person" modifies "the maximum we will pay" rather than "bodily injury," we disagree. Because we agree with the trial court that the per person policy limit applies to all damages derived from bodily injury "to one person" rather than defining the maximum available payment to any single individual (that is, "to one person"), we affirm the judgment in favor of defendant IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company (IDS).

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In August 2013, the trial court entered a judgment against respondents Janet and Richard Buhler following a traffic accident in which appellant Mark Alan Jones was seriously injured. By stipulation, the judgment awarded Mark $1,350,000 and his wife Melanie Jones $150,000 for loss of consortium.

The Buhlers had an automobile insurance policy with IDS that provided coverage of $250,000 for bodily injury for each person and $500,000 for each occurrence. The policy set forth the limits of liability for bodily injury:

1. The bodily injury liability limits for each person is the maximum we will pay as damages for bodily injury, including damages for care and loss of services, to one person per occurrence.
2. Subject to the bodily injury liability for each person, the bodily injury liability limit for each occurrence is the maximum we will pay as damages *629for bodily injury, including damages for care and loss of services, to two or more persons in one occurrence.
[¶] ... [¶]
We will pay no more than these maximums regardless of the number of vehicles described in the declaration, Insured persons, claims, claimants, policies, or vehicles involved in the occurrence.

After IDS paid the Joneses $250,000, the per person limit, the Joneses brought suit against IDS and the Buhlers for declaratory relief. They sought a judicial declaration that under the terms of the policy, IDS had a duty to pay the full per person limits of $250,000, to both Mark Jones and Melanie Jones, for a total of $500,000, the per occurrence limit.

IDS moved for summary judgment. It argued that a single per person limit applied to both Mark's injuries and Melanie's loss of consortium resulting therefrom. It relied on United Services Automobile Assn. v. Warner (1976) 64 Cal.App.3d 957, 135 Cal.Rptr. 34 ( Warner ) and *359Mercury Ins. Co. v. Ayala (2004) 116 Cal.App.4th 1198, 11 Cal.Rptr.3d 158 ( Ayala ). Both cases held that a spouse's claim for loss of consortium was subject to the same per person policy limit as the injured spouse's damages. IDS distinguished Abellon v. Hartford Ins. Co. (1985) 167 Cal.App.3d 21, 212 Cal.Rptr. 852 ( Abellon ), in which a divided panel of the Fourth Appellate District, Division 1 reached a different result.

The trial court (Howard, J.) denied the motion, finding that Abellon controlled. The order was signed by Judge Hermanson.

The Buhlers filed for bankruptcy in November 2013. The Buhlers and the bankruptcy trustee filed a cross-complaint against IDS, for failure to defend, breach of the implied covenant, and breach of contract. They alleged IDS pursued its financial interests to the detriment of the Buhlers by claiming the applicable policy limit was only $250,000.

The Joneses filed an amended complaint. They added causes of action for fraud and negligent misrepresentation based on the allegedly false representation of IDS that the applicable policy limit was only $250,000.

IDS demurred to the fraud and negligent misrepresentation causes of action. The trial court (Day, J.) overruled the demurrer.

On the first day of the jury trial, the parties agreed that the court (Moody, J.) could first rule on the declaratory relief cause of action and certify that ruling for appeal pursuant to *630Code of Civil Procedure section 166.1.1 The court ruled in favor of IDS, finding Warner, Ayala, and the dissent in Abellon persuasive. It certified the order for appeal.

The Buhlers and the bankruptcy trustee petitioned this court for a writ of mandate, seeking to overturn the trial court's declaratory ruling. This court denied the petition. (Buhler v. Superior Court (Sept. 30, 2016) C082814.)

IDS moved for a nonsuit or judgment on the pleadings on the false representation claims, arguing the declaratory ruling established that the claims were not false. The trial court agreed and granted the motion for judgment on the pleadings. The court entered judgment for IDS.

DISCUSSION

I

Ruling on Request for Declaratory Relief

The Joneses contend the trial court erred in ruling the per person limit of the policy applied instead of the per occurrence limit. They argue that since loss of consortium is an independent tort and not a derivative claim ( Rodriguez v. Bethlehem Steel Corp. (1974) 12 Cal.3d 382, 115 Cal.Rptr. 765

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 356, 27 Cal. App. 5th 625, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-ids-prop-cas-ins-co-calctapp5d-2018.