Libdy v. Companion Insurance Co.

390 N.E.2d 1022, 181 Ind. App. 16, 1979 Ind. App. LEXIS 1212
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 12, 1979
Docket1-878A222
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 390 N.E.2d 1022 (Libdy v. Companion Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Libdy v. Companion Insurance Co., 390 N.E.2d 1022, 181 Ind. App. 16, 1979 Ind. App. LEXIS 1212 (Ind. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

LOWDERMILK, Presiding Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Plaintiff Companion Insurance Company was awarded a summary judgment in its declaratory judgment suit for determination of the rights of the Plaintiff and Defendant Mary S. Liddy and other Defendants under an automobile liability insurance policy issued by Companion. Defendants appeal, challenging the trial court’s interpretation of the insurance policy.

We affirm.

FACTS

Mary S. Liddy purchased an automobile liability insurance policy from Companion Insurance Company. The policy covered two automobiles, and it contained an uninsured motorist provision.

On November 8, 1973, Liddy was injured while riding in one of her insured automobiles, a 1968 Ford. The negligence of an uninsured motorist was the proximate cause of Liddy’s injuries. Liddy alleges that her damages exceed $30,000.

Companion tendered $15,000 to Mary Lid-dy and her husband Martin as payment in full of its liability under the uninsured motorist provision. Liddy refused to accept the $15,000 as payment in full on the ground that she had paid for uninsured motorist coverage of $30,000 per person and $60,000 for two or more persons in any one accident. Liddy made a demand for arbitration of the dispute. Companion filed an action for a declaration of the parties’ rights under the insurance contract and for an injunction against arbitration of the matters in dispute. Companion maintained that its uninsured motorist liability under the contract was limited to $15,000 per person and $30,000 for two or more persons in any one accident.

The Hancock Circuit Court entered the following decree and judgment on Companion’s motion for summary judgment:

“AMENDED DECREE AND FINAL JUDGMENT
The Court at the suggestion of the Defendants amends the Decree 'heretofore entered on the 20th day of March, 1978, so as to enter final judgment.
The uninsured motorist coverage contained in the insurance policy involved in this case is specifically excluded from the separability clause of the policy.
*1024 The United States Circuit Court of Appeals has held that ‘stacking’ of uninsured motorist coverage, provided in a single policy of insurance which is applicable to multiple vehicles, will not be permitted where the separability clause of the policy does not apply to the uninsured motorist clause, even though the premiums are charged on the basis of the number of cars involved.
There is no issue of fact in this case as to the wording of the policy and therefore summary judgment is appropriate. The Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment is sustained.
The court further declares that the arbitrator does not have jurisdiction to interpret the insurance contract.
The court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay and the court expressly enters judgment as to the above issues.
It is ordered, adjudged and declared that plaintiffs’ liability to defendant Mary J. Liddy, pursuant to the uninsured motorist clause of the policy in this case is limited to $15,000.00.
DATED this 16 day of May, 1978.
/s/ George B. Davis George B. Davis, Judge Hancock Circuit Court”
ISSUES

1. Whether or not the trial court erred in ruling that the arbitrator was without jurisdiction to interpret the insurance contract.

2. Whether or not the insurance contract was ambiguous and therefore should' have been construed to provide double uninsured motorist benefits.

3. Whether or not Ind.Code 27-7-5-1 requires that Liddy receive double uninsured motorist benefits.

4. Whether or not there was a material issue of fact which should have precluded summary judgment.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Issue One 1

Liddy’s contentions with regard to the arbitration question are focused upon the following paragraph from the uninsured motorist provision:

“Arbitration: If any person making claim hereunder and the company do not agree that such person is legally entitled to recover damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured automobile because of bodily injury to the insured, or do not agree as to the amount of payment which may be owing under this Coverage, then, upon written demand of either, the matter or matters upon which such person and the company do not agree shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Such person and the company each agree to consider itself bound and to be bound by any award made by the arbitrators pursuant to this Coverage.”

She argues, first, that the question of whether she is entitled to $15,000 or $30,000 under the uninsured motorist clause is a question “as to the amount of payment which may be owing under this Coverage,” and, that, consequently, it was a question reserved by the terms of the insurance policy for final decision by the arbitrator. She maintains that this agreement embodied in the insurance policy is final and does not violate public policy. Secondly, Liddy contends that this arbitration clause constitutes an enforceable written agreement to submit the question of the proper amount of proceeds owed by Companion to arbitration under Ind.Code 34-4-2-1. 2 Liddy cites no cases to support her arguments on this *1025 issue, presumably because this is a case of first impression in Indiana.

Companion, on the other hand, has cited numerous cases from other jurisdictions which, it contends, represent the majority rule that an arbitrator is without jurisdiction to determine the coverage of or to interpret an insurance policy. Companion relies primarily upon Flood v. Country Mutual Insurance Co. (1968) 41 Ill.2d 91, 242 N.E.2d 149, and Frager v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Co. (1967) 155 Conn. 270, 231 A.2d 531. Companion asserts that Flood held that the Illinois version of the Uniform Arbitration Act, which is very similar to IC 34-4-2-1 et seq., does not determine which issues are subject to arbitration and that the parties’ arbitration agreement is what controls on that question. Furthermore, Companion maintains that Flood and Frager held that uninsured motorist provisions very similar to those in the Companion policy authorized the arbitration of only two issues: (1) the liability of the uninsured motorist, and (2) the amount of damages suffered by the insured.

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Bluebook (online)
390 N.E.2d 1022, 181 Ind. App. 16, 1979 Ind. App. LEXIS 1212, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/libdy-v-companion-insurance-co-indctapp-1979.