Lepley v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.

334 F.3d 544
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJune 30, 2003
DocketNo. 01-4304
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 334 F.3d 544 (Lepley v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lepley v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., 334 F.3d 544 (6th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

GIBBONS, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-appellant Debbra Lepley brought suit against defendants-appellees Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company (Hartford) and St. Paul Surplus Lines Insurance Company (St.Paul) seeking a declaratory judgment that commercial liability insurance policies issued to her deceased husband’s employer provided unin-suredAmderinsured (UM7UIM) motorist coverage for his injuries in a motorcycle accident. Lepley also sought monetary recovery under the policies. The district court granted defendants-appellees’ motions for summary judgment on the grounds that Lepley was not entitled to coverage because she failed to satisfy the policies’ requirements of providing prompt notice of her claim and protecting the ap-pellees’ rights to subrogation. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I.

On September 10, 1986, Paula Rosvanis backed her car out of an alley, failed to yield, and hit Jack Showalter on his motorcycle. Ón September 15, 1986, Showalter died of injuries sustained in the accident. Showalter was survived by his wife Debbra (now Debbra Lepley) and two daughters. After Showalter’s death, Lepley sued Ros-vanis. Rosvanis and her insurer settled with Lepley for $100,000.00. The Probate Court of Marion County, Ohio, approved the settlement on August 4, 1987.

At the time of the accident and his death, Showalter was employed with the Stahl Metal Company, a subsidiary of the Scott & Fetzer Company. Showalter, however, was not acting in the scope of his employment at the time of the accident. Hartford issued Scott & Fetzer a commercial general liability insurance policy, Policy No. 45 CSE H15456E, with limits of liability of $1,000,000.00 for the policy period of December 1, 1985, to December 1, 1986. In addition, St. Paul insured Scott & Fetzer under an umbrella excess policy, Policy No. LCO-55-16673, with excess liability limits of $2,000,000.00 for the policy period of December 1, 1985, to December 1, 1986.

[546]*546Neither Hartford nor St. Paul received notice of the accident or the subsequent claim against and settlement with Rosvan-is prior to 2001. Hartford first received notice of the claim on March 7, 2001, the date Lepley filed this action, more than fourteen years after the accident.

On September 4, 2001, defendants-ap-pellees filed motions for summary judgment. On that same date Lepley moved for partial summary judgment against both Hartford and St. Paul. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants-appellees and denied Lep-ley’s motions for partial summary judgment on November 9, 2001. The district court found that Lepley did not comply with the policies’ notice provisions and caused Hartford and St. Paul to lose their subrogation rights. This timely appeal followed.

II.

This court reviews de novo a district court’s grant of a motion for summary judgment. Braithwaite v. Timken Co., 258 F.3d 488, 492-93 (6th Cir.2001). This court reviews an order denying summary judgment on the grounds that there is a genuine issue of material fact for an abuse of discretion; however, if the denial is based on purely legal grounds, then review of the denial is de novo. Garner v. Memphis Police Dep’t., 8 F.3d 358, 363 (6th Cir.1993). When reviewing the record, all inferences are to be drawn in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Braithwaite, 258 F.3d at 493 (citing Woythal v. Tex-Tenn Corp., 112 F.3d 243, 245-46 (6th Cir.1997)). However, a party opposing a motion for summary judgment “may not rest upon mere allegations or denials of his pleading, but ... must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Id. (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). The party opposing the motion must “do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). “If after reviewing the record as a whole a rational factfinder could not find for the nonmoving party, summary judgment is appropriate.” Braithwaite, 258 F.3d at 493 (quoting Ercegovich v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 154 F.3d 344, 349 (6th Cir.1998)) (citation omitted).

On appeal Lepley argues that the district court erred in finding that: (1) the notice and subrogation provisions apply even though UM/UIM coverage was imposed as a matter of law, and (2) Lepley is not entitled to coverage because she failed to comply with the notice and subrogation provisions. “[F]or the purpose of determining the scope of coverage of an under-insured motorist claim, the statutory law in effect at the time of entering into a contract for automobile liability insurance controls the rights and duties of the contracting parties.” Ross v. Farmers Ins. Group of Cos., 82 Ohio St.3d 281, 695 N.E.2d 732, 738 (1998). Ohio Revised Code § 3937.18 was amended by H.B. 261, which took effect September 3, 1997. Because the relevant policy periods were December 1, 1985 through December 1, 1986, the former Ohio Revised Code § 3937.18 applies. This version of § 3937.18 provides that an insurer must offer UM/UIM coverage in an amount equivalent to the automobile liability coverage whenever an automobile liability or motor vehicle liability policy is offered.1 “If UM/UIM cover-

[547]*547age is not offered, it becomes part of the policy by operation of law.” See Davidson v. Motorists Mut. Ins. Co., 91 Ohio St.3d 262, 744 N.E.2d 713, 715 (2001). It is undisputed that the policies at issue fall within the meaning of automobile liability or motor vehicle liability policies under Ohio law. See Selander v. Erie Ins. Group, 85 Ohio St.3d 541, 709 N.E.2d 1161, 1163 (1999) (noting that “[w]here motor vehicle coverage is provided, even in limited form, uninsured/underinsured coverage must be provided.”)

A.

Lepley first argues that the district court erred in finding that she was bound by the conditions contained in the Hartford and St. Paul policies because the UM7 UIM coverage under those policies is imposed as a matter of law.2 Specifically, Lepley contends that all conditions including the notice and subrogation provisions contained in the Hartford and St. Paul policies do not apply to UM/UIM motorist coverage that arises through operation of law. Relying in part on Scott—Pontzer v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 85 Ohio St.3d 660, 710 N.E.2d 1116 (1999), Lepley claims that the intent of the parties expressed in the more limited coverage provided in the policy cannot be extrapolated to UM/UIM coverage imposed by operation of law. In

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334 F.3d 544 (Sixth Circuit, 2003)

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334 F.3d 544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lepley-v-hartford-accident-indemnity-co-ca6-2003.