Knight v. Heritage Mutual Insurance

239 N.W.2d 348, 71 Wis. 2d 821, 1976 Wisc. LEXIS 1273
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 12, 1976
Docket579 (1974)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 239 N.W.2d 348 (Knight v. Heritage Mutual Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Knight v. Heritage Mutual Insurance, 239 N.W.2d 348, 71 Wis. 2d 821, 1976 Wisc. LEXIS 1273 (Wis. 1976).

Opinion

Day, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of contribution against the third-party defendant and appellant, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, in favor of Heritage Mutual Insurance Company, defendant and third-party plaintiff-respondent, entered April 29, 1974.

On May 9, 1970, Edward A. Podolske, a resident of Watertown, Wisconsin, whose insurance carrier was Heritage Mutual Insurance Company, a domestic insurance corporation, was driving a car involved in an accident in Dane County, Wisconsin, with a car driven by one Harvey M. Knight, a resident of East Peoria, Illinois. His insurance carrier was State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, an Illinois insurance corporation. Accompanying Mr. Knight was his wife, Ruby, who was a passenger in his car at the time of the accident. She suffered injuries as a result of the collision.

Following the accident, Mr. Knight filed an SR-21 with the division of motor vehicles pursuant to Wisconsin’s financial responsibility law. State Farm did not correct this filing.

Ruby Knight then commenced a personal injury action in Wisconsin against Mr. Podolske and Heritage, who, in turn, impleaded and complained against Mr. Harvey Knight and State Farm for contribution.

The policy under which State Farm insured Mr. Knight included a family exclusion clause which in pertinent part provided:

*823 “This insurance does not apply under: . . .
“(h) . . . to bodily injury to . . . any member of the family of an insured . . .”

The policy also provided:

“FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LAWS
“When certified as proof of future financial responsibility under any motor vehicle financial responsibility law and while such proof is required during the policy period, this policy shall comply with such law if applicable, to the extent of the coverage and limits required thereby; but not in excess of the limits of liability stated in this policy. The insured agrees to reimburse the company for any payment made by the company which it would not have been obliged to make under the terms of this policy except for the agreement contained in this paragraph.”

Based on the household exclusion clause, State Farm moved for summary judgment on May 23, 1972, and the court entered a formal order denying said motion on September 15, 1972. After the denial of State Farm’s motion for summary judgment, the claim of Ruby Knight was settled by stipulation. It was stipulated that Harvey Knight was 85 percent causally negligent in the accident, and that Mr. Podolske was 15 percent causally negligent, that Ruby Knight’s damages were $6,000 to be paid by Heritage Mutual, and that Ruby Knight would execute general releases running to Heritage Mutual, Edward A. Podolske, Harvey Knight, and State Farm Mutual for all damages arising from the accident. It was further stipulated that the third-party complaint by Heritage against Mr. Knight and State Farm should not be dismissed, that Heritage should be entitled to a judgment of contribution against Mr. Knight without further notice, and that the right to contribution against State Farm was reserved pending a ruling of the court upon the affirmative defenses of State Farm based upon the terms of its policy.

*824 Heritage applied for contribution upon the stipulation referred to, and the court granted a judgment of contribution in favor of Heritage against Mr. Knight and State Farm in the amount of $5,100, representing 85 percent of the stipulated damages of Ruby Knight. The principal question on appeal is whether or not the family exclusion clause in the State Farm policy issued in Illinois to an Illinois resident, Mr. Knight, is effective in Wisconsin. When raised as a defense to an accident occurring in this state, we conclude that the clause is effective and, accordingly, reverse. Other issues raised in the briefs will be dealt with in this opinion.

Heritage and the court below rely on the provisions in the Wisconsin Statute that forbid the so-called family exclusion clause in policies issued in Wisconsin. 1 This court has previously noted that the clause is valid in Illinois and will be enforced by the courts of that state. Zelinger v. State Sand & Gravel Co. (1968), 38 Wis. 2d 98, 108, 156 N. W. 2d 466; Henderson v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. (1973), 59 Wis. 2d 451, 455, 208 N. W. 2d 423. This court has also held that this exclusion has been given effect in Wisconsin when valid in the state of policy issuance. Zelinger, supra, at p. 108. In Urhammer v. Olson (1968), 39 Wis. 2d 447, 451, 159 N. W. 2d 688, this court said:

“Although Wisconsin does not permit such a family exclusion in an insurance contract written and issued in Wisconsin ... it is not against Wisconsin policy to recognize and enforce such a provision in the foreign *825 contract . . .” See also: Korth v. Mueller (D. C. Wis. 1970), 310 Fed. Supp. 878, 882, 883 (W. D. Wis.); Ford v. Graf (D. C. Wis. 1968), 279 Fed. Supp. 692, 694 (W. D. Wis.).

It is clear that a family exclusion provision in a policy issued in Illinois is not contrary to Wisconsin law since the statute provides only that such a clause may not be contained in a policy issued in this state. The policy in this case was issued in Illinois to an Illinois resident. There is no issue of a conflict of law between Illinois and Wisconsin, since Wisconsin law only applies to policies issued in Wisconsin. From the case law cited, it is clear that even if there were a conflict of law issue here, Wisconsin would recognize the provision and enforce the clause in a policy issued elsewhere, as long as the clause is enforceable in the state where it was issued.

Heritage claims that State Farm, in effect, waived its defense by the inclusion of the following clause in its policy:

“When certified as proof of future financial responsibility under any motor vehicle financial responsibility law . . . this policy shall comply with such law if applicable, to the extent of the coverage and limits required thereby . . . .” (Emphasis added.)

Chapter 344 of the Statutes, “Financial Responsibility,” provides for security for past accidents, and for proof of financial responsibility for the future. Sec. 344.24, Stats. 2 Proof of financial responsibility for the future may be made by filing a certificate of insurance *826 under sec. 344.30 (1). Under sec. 344.32 (1) (b), 3 such a policy filed for future security could not contain any family exclusion clause. However, as to security for past accidents, the issue has been settled by this court’s holding in Pinkerton v. United Services Automobile Assn. (1958), 5 Wis. 2d 54, 56, 92 N. W. 2d 256, where this court said:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Allstate Insurance v. Hart
611 A.2d 100 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1992)
Keane v. Auto-Owners Insurance Co.
464 N.W.2d 830 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1991)
Belland Ex Rel. Rosenberg v. Allstate Insurance Co.
410 N.W.2d 611 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1987)
Sentinel Woodtreating, Inc. v. Cascade Development Corp.
599 S.W.2d 268 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1980)
Sherman v. Heiser
270 N.W.2d 397 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
239 N.W.2d 348, 71 Wis. 2d 821, 1976 Wisc. LEXIS 1273, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/knight-v-heritage-mutual-insurance-wis-1976.