Mahaffey v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.

679 So. 2d 129, 95 La.App. 3 Cir. 641, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 445, 1996 WL 81774
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 28, 1996
Docket95-641
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 679 So. 2d 129 (Mahaffey v. State Farm Mut. Auto. 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
Mahaffey v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 679 So. 2d 129, 95 La.App. 3 Cir. 641, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 445, 1996 WL 81774 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

679 So.2d 129 (1996)

Frank MAHAFFEY, Plaintiff-Appellant-Appellee,
v.
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al., Defendant-Appellee-Appellant.

No. 95-641.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 28, 1996.
Rehearing Denied May 30, 1996.
Writ Denied October 11, 1996.

*130 Steven William Hale, Lake Charles, for Frank Mahaffey.

Robert Samuel Dampf, Lake Charles, for State Farm Mutual Insurance Company, et al.

Byron Andrew Richie, Charles Vernon Richie, Shreveport, for Midland Risk Insurance Company.

Before KNOLL, THIBODEAUX, COOKS, SAUNDERS and WOODARD, JJ.

SAUNDERS, Judge.

FACTS

On November 12, 1992, Charles Carr was self-employed as the sole proprietor of his business, National Amusements. The company operates video poker machines, pool tables, juke boxes and cigarette vending machines. Mr. Carr employed Buddy Dale Fuselier as a service technician. As part of his compensation package, Mr. Carr furnished Buddy Dale Fuselier with a vehicle for his business and personal use. Mr. Fuselier's working hours were from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., in addition to being on call 24-hours of every 48-hour period.

Buddy Dale Fuselier had an ongoing romantic relationship with Stephanie Alexander. On November 12, 1992, he called Stephanie Alexander from the Fifth Quarter Bar and asked her to meet him. She acceded and the two subsequently retired to the Pelican Motel. Fatigued and intoxicated, Fuselier passed out while in the motel room.

Around 2:00 a.m. Ms. Alexander arose from the bed and retrieved Mr. Fuselier's keys to his Geo Metro and drove in search of something to eat. Ms. Alexander testified that she did not wish to awaken Mr. Fuselier because of his fatigued and intoxicated condition.

Finding no restaurants open, Ms. Alexander headed for her friend's house in Vinton. Along the way, she met Frank Mahaffey who agreed to ride with her. After visiting some friends, Ms. Alexander and Mr. Mahaffey traveled eastbound on U.S. Highway 90 in Calcasieu Parish, when the defendant, Stephanie Alexander, ran off the roadway and struck a tree, injuring Frank Mahaffey, plaintiff in these proceedings. The accident caused serious neck injuries to Mr. Mahaffey, ultimately requiring the removal of a disc from his neck.

This action was brought by guest passenger, Frank Mahaffey, following the accident. Named defendants include State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (hereinafter State Farm), the vehicle's insurer; Charles Carr d/b/a, National Amusements, Fuselier's employer and named insured of the 1992 Geo Metro involved in the accident; Midland Risk Insurance Company (hereinafter Midland), insurer of Stephanie Alexander, as omnibus insured under her mother's policy; and Stephanie Alexander the driver of the car.

The parties stipulated to the foregoing facts, leaving as the only material fact whether or not defendant, Stephanie Alexander, had permission, either express or implied, to operate the 1992 Geo Metro on the night of the accident.

This matter came to trial in the 14th Judicial District Court in Calcasieu Parish, solely on the permissive use issue. In a partial judgment signed by the trial court March 14, 1995, the trial court ruled in favor of Mahaffey and against defendant Midland, but dismissed Mahaffey's claims as to State Farm. The trial judge found that Ms. Alexander did not have permission to drive the Geo Metro and therefore was not covered under Fuselier's employer's State Farm insurance policy. The trial court did, however, find that defendant, Stephanie Alexander, "had reasonable belief that she was entitled to do what she did" and was therefore covered by her mother's liability policy with Midland.

Mahaffey appeals the partial judgment denying his claim against State Farm, while Midland appeals the trial court's finding of coverage on its part.

MIDLAND'S APPEAL

Midland's appeal is based on the language in its liability policy. The language in its policy states:

A. We do not provide liability coverage for any person: ...
*131 8. Using a vehicle without a reasonable belief that that person is entitled to do so.

. . . .

Ultimately, we agree that the trial judge was correct in finding that Ms. Alexander had a reasonable belief that she was entitled to use the Geo Metro on the night in question. Ms. Alexander had just shared an intimate encounter in a motel room with a man whom she had been dating for several months, became hungry, and thought it reasonable to use Mr. Fuselier's car to try and find something to eat.

Defendant, Midland, would label Ms. Alexander as a thief, but there is nothing in the record that supports this contention. To the contrary, the record supports Ms. Alexander's explanation that she did not awaken Mr. Fuselier because he was fatigued and intoxicated.

Consequently, having reviewed the record, we find no manifest error with the trial court's decision. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989); Arceneaux v. Domingue, 365 So.2d 1330 (La.1978); Canter v. Koehring, 283 So.2d 716 (La.1973). Ms. Alexander attained the reasonable belief necessary under the Midland policy.

MAHAFFEY'S APPEAL

Turning to Mahaffey's appeal, the sole issue is whether the driver, Stephanie Alexander, had legal permission from the owner, Charles Carr, to operate the Geo Metro on November 12, 1992, and therefore covered under the State Farm policy.

State Farm's insurance policy issued to Charles Carr, the owner, defines an insured as follows:

Who is an insured ...
When we refer to your car, a newly acquired car or a temporary substitute car, insured means: ...
4. Any other person while using such a car if its use is within the scope of consent of you or your spouse; and ...

In order for Mr. Mahaffey to succeed in establishing coverage under State Farm's policy, he must prove that Stephanie Alexander was permitted to drive the vehicle. This permission from the named insured may be implied, depending on the facts and circumstances of the particular case. The question of whether the vehicle's use was permitted is answered by determining whether it was reasonably foreseeable that the first permittee would allow someone else to drive the automobile. Perkins v. McDow, 615 So.2d 312 (La.1993); American Home Assurance Company v. Czarniecki, 255 La. 251, 230 So.2d 253 (La.1969). Therefore, we must answer the question of whether it was reasonably foreseeable that Buddy Dale Fuselier would allow someone else to drive the automobile owned by Charles Carr d/b/a National Amusements.

Where the named insured gives permission to another to use the car as his own, the possibility that the permittee might allow another to drive the automobile is clearly foreseeable. Hughes v. Southeastern Fidelity Insurance Company, 340 So.2d 293 (La.1976). A review of the record leads us to conclude that Charles Carr could reasonably foresee that Buddy Dale Fuselier, the first permittee, would allow a second permittee, Stephanie Alexander, to drive the automobile. While there is testimony to suggest that Carr told his employee that no one else was supposed to drive the car, it is well noted that admonition by the named insured to a permittee not to let anyone else drive the car is not, by itself, determinative of whether the use of the car by someone else is within the omnibus coverage of the policy, that is, with the implied permission or consent of the named insured.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
679 So. 2d 129, 95 La.App. 3 Cir. 641, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 445, 1996 WL 81774, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mahaffey-v-state-farm-mut-auto-ins-co-lactapp-1996.