King v. Louisiana Farm Bureau Ins. Co.

549 So. 2d 367, 1989 WL 100441
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 23, 1989
Docket20703-CA, 20704-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 549 So. 2d 367 (King v. Louisiana Farm Bureau Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
King v. Louisiana Farm Bureau Ins. Co., 549 So. 2d 367, 1989 WL 100441 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

549 So.2d 367 (1989)

Luvell KING, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
LOUISIANA FARM BUREAU INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.
Bernard HOBBS, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
LOUISIANA FARM BUREAU INSURANCE COMPANY and Jerry Foster, Defendants-Appellees.

Nos. 20703-CA, 20704-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

August 23, 1989.
Rehearing Denied September 21, 1989.
Writ Denied November 27, 1989.

*368 Travis M. Holley, Bastrep, for plaintiffs-appellants

John M. Hoychick, Jr., Rayville, for defendants-appellees.

Before HALL, MARVIN and LINDSAY, JJ.

LINDSAY, Judge.

The plaintiffs in this case are Luvell King, Wilbert Baker, Delcie Jones and Bernard Hobbs. Plaintiffs appeal a trial court ruling finding that the defendant, Jerry Foster, was operating a vehicle without the permission of the owner and therefore was not covered by the owner's insurance policy issued by Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance Company. For the following reasons, we reverse the trial court judgment.

FACTS

This case arose from a motor vehicle accident which occurred during the early morning hours of November 7, 1986. Jerry Foster was driving a 1977 Chevrolet pickup truck owned by his employer, John Allen Crymes. He was accompanied by Bernard Hobbs, one of the plaintiffs. Two ladies were also guest passengers. Foster and Hobbs had spent part of the evening at a bar and later picked up the two ladies at their homes. The group was en route to a truck stop when the accident occurred. Jerry Foster made a left turn into the path of an oncoming vehicle occupied by the other plaintiffs, Luvell King, who was the driver, and Wilbert Baker and Delcie Jones, his passengers.

King, Baker and Jones were injured. Bernard Hobbs was also injured. King, Baker and Jones filed suit against Jerry Foster and against John Allen Crymes' insurer, Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance Company. Hobbs filed a separate suit against Foster and Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance Company. The two suits were consolidated for trial. The trial was bifurcated and was limited to the issue of whether Jerry Foster was an insured under the policy issued on the vehicle by Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance Company.

The pickup truck involved in the accident, although owned by Crymes, had been entrusted by Crymes to James Foster, the defendant's brother, for use in Crymes' farming operation. Both Crymes and his father, John Crymes, instructed James Foster that the truck was to be used on the farm and could be used for personal errands in the community. However, James Foster was instructed not to take the truck on long trips without first seeking permission. James Foster was also instructed not to let others use the truck and specifically not to let his brother, Jerry, use the vehicle. Jerry Foster had several DWI convictions and had wrecked several of his own vehicles.

James Foster kept the vehicle at his home and had general use and control of the vehicle. When the vehicle was parked at Foster's home, the keys were usually left in the ignition. The vehicle was generally used on the farm by James and the other farm workers. It was also occasionally used by both James and the farm workers, to go to town on personal errands, according to Mr. Crymes' testimony, in spite of his restriction against James allowing others use of the vehicle. Mr. Crymes was aware that the vehicle was in general usage around the farm and community. Mr. John Allen Crymes testified that he had specifically instructed James Foster not to let Jerry drive the truck. However, Mr. Crymes did testify that he had seen Jerry use the vehicle in the fields and on the farm, notwithstanding his previous instructions. He stated that he had not seen Jerry drive on the public highway. He stated that if he had seen Jerry Foster driving the truck on the highway he would have stopped him from doing so.

James Foster testified he understood that Jerry was not to drive the truck, although he stated the he was aware that Jerry sometimes drove the truck on the farm.

*369 On the afternoon of November 6, 1986, Jerry Foster went to his brother's house and obtained the truck. Jerry testified that James gave him permission to take the truck. At trial, James denied giving express permission.

After getting the truck, Jerry attended to personal errands in the afternoon. That evening, while operating the vehicle on a personal outing, the accident occurred.

Louisiana Farm Bureau denied liability, claiming that Jerry Foster was not covered under the omnibus clause of the policy because he did not have the permission of the named insured, John Allen Crymes, to use the vehicle.

The plaintiffs sought to prove that Crymes was aware of Jerry Foster's operation of the truck and that Crymes had observed Jerry Foster driving the truck. Therefore, plaintiff contended that Jerry Foster had the implied permission of Crymes to operate the vehicle at the time the accident occurred and that coverage existed.

The plaintiffs also sought to show that James Foster was authorized to grant permission to Jerry to drive the truck and had done so on numerous occasions.

The trial court found that the plaintiffs failed to carry their burden of proving that Jerry Foster had the express or implied permission of John Allen Crymes to operate the vehicle and therefore, Jerry Foster was not covered by the insurance policy issued by Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance Company.

The plaintiffs appealed, arguing that coverage existed because Crymes admitted he knew Jerry Foster drove the truck on the farm and that under Moore v. Travelers Indemnity Insurance Company, 284 So.2d 165 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1973), writ denied, 286 So.2d 365 (La.1973), where a person had permission to drive a vehicle on private grounds, that person was covered by the omnibus insured clause when he deviated and drove the vehicle on a public highway.

The plaintiffs also cite Taylor v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 191 So.2d 786 (La.App.2d Cir.1966) for the proposition that when the named insured gives an original permittee general discretion and continuous control over the insured vehicle and where the named insured has acquiesced in the original permittee allowing others to use the vehicle, the second permittee is also covered by the policy of insurance.

Under the facts of this case, we find that the arguments raised by the plaintiffs have merit.

DISCUSSION

The insurance policy issued to John Allen Crymes by Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company covering the truck involved in this accident provides a definition of an "insured":

The unqualified word "Insured" includes the named insured and also includes...:
(b) Any other person while using an owned automobile with the permission of the named insured, providing his actual operation or (if he is not operating) his other actual use thereof is within the scope of such permission....

The issue of when "permission" has been granted for operation of a vehicle belonging to a named insured has been the subject of much litigation in this state.[1] In addressing this question, the courts began an examination of "permission" with cases in which the named insured gave a permittee permission to use a vehicle for a specific purpose, but the permittee deviated from that purpose.

In Parks v. Hall, 189 La. 849, 181 So. 191 (1938), the Louisiana Supreme Court found that as long as permission existed initially, deviation from the permitted purpose would not defeat coverage. In Parks v.

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549 So. 2d 367, 1989 WL 100441, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-louisiana-farm-bureau-ins-co-lactapp-1989.