Morgenstern v. Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance

78 F. App'x 485
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedOctober 16, 2003
DocketNo. 01-4139
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 78 F. App'x 485 (Morgenstern v. Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance) 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
Morgenstern v. Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance, 78 F. App'x 485 (6th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

CLAY, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company (“Nationwide”) appeals from the judgment entered by the district court on September 18, 2001, granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff Debra L. Morgenstern. See Morgenstern v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co., No. C2-00-1284, 2001 WL 1681114, at *1 (S.D.Ohio Sept. 18, 2001). Plaintiff had brought this civil action seeking a declaratory judgment that she was legally entitled to underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage under Nationwide’s automobile policy, pursuant to the Ohio Supreme Court decisions of Scott-Pontzer v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co., 85 Ohio St.3d 660, 710 N.E.2d 1116 (1999) and Ezawa v. Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. of America, 86 Ohio St.3d 557, 715 N.E.2d 1142 (1999). On appeal, Nationwide claims that Scotir-Pontzer and Ezawa are distinguishable be[487]*487cause the motorist insurance policy in question had been issued to a school district, not to a corporation. Nationwide alternatively argues that the insurance policy’s “other-owned auto” exclusion precludes Plaintiff from recovering the policy’s proceeds under the facts of this case. Based on the following, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

The facts are not in dispute. On July 2, 1999, Plaintiffs son, Steven Morgenstern, was driving his motorcycle west on State Route 36 in Delaware County, Ohio. Also driving on Route 36 was James Norman, whose van negligently crossed the center line and struck Steven’s motorcycle, killing him.

At the time of the accident, Norman had liability insurance; however, due to various claims waged against him in the aftermath of the automobile accident, it is undisputed that Norman was “underinsured.” The parties also do not dispute that the amount of UIM coverage provided under Steven Morgenstern’s automobile insurance policy insufficiently compensated him for his injuries. It is also undisputed that Steven owned the motorcycle that he was operating at the time of the automobile accident.

At the time of the accident, Steven Morgenstern resided with Plaintiff, who was employed by Big Walnut Local School District (“Big Walnut”). Big Walnut owned and was the named insured on an insurance policy issued by Nationwide for a policy period covering the date of the accident (the “Nationwide policy” or the “policy”).1 The Nationwide policy included business automobile coverage with an uninsured/underinsured motorist (“UM/UIM”) coverage limit of $1,000,000. In the policy, an “insured” person is defined as follows:

B. Who is Insured:
1. You
2. If you are an individual, any “family member.”
3. Anyone else “occupying” a covered “auto” or a temporary substitute for a covered “auto.” The covered “auto” must be out of service because of its breakdown, repair, servicing loss or destruction.
4. Anyone for damages he or she is entitled to recover because of “bodily injury” sustained by another “insured.”

(J.A. at 230.) ‘You” is defined in the Nationwide policy as the “named insured,” and the “named insured” is listed in the policy as Big Walnut.

The Nationwide policy also contains several exclusions. The exclusion at issue is located in section 5b of the Ohio Uninsured Motorist Coverage—Bodily Injury section:

C. Exclusions
This insurance does not apply to:
5. Bodily injury sustained by:
a. You while “occupying” or when struck by any vehicle owned by you that is not a covered “auto” for Uninsured Motorists Coverage under this Coverage form;
b. Any “family member” while “occupying” or when struck by any vehicle owned by that “family member” that is not a covered “auto” for Uninsured Motorist Coverage under this Coverage Form....

(Id.) (emphasis added).

On October 10, 2000, Plaintiff, as the Administrator of the Estate of Steven [488]*488Morgenstern, filed an action in the Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County, Ohio, requesting a declaratory judgment that she was legally entitled to UIM coverage under the Nationwide policy. Nationwide removed the action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and then filed an answer.

The parties subsequently filed motions for summary judgment. The district court then issued an order directing the parties to file additional briefs on the issue of whether the “other-owned auto” exclusion in the Nationwide policy was enforceable with respect to Plaintiff. The parties filed additional briefs on the issue. On September 18, 2001, the district court issued an opinion and order granting Plaintiffs summary judgment motion and denying Nationwide’s summary judgment motion. Judgment for Plaintiff was entered on the same day, and this timely appeal followed.

II. JURISDICTION

The district court properly had subject matter jurisdiction over this civil action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332, because Plaintiff is a citizen of Ohio,2 Nationwide is a citizen of Iowa, and the amount in controversy for the case exceeds $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1).3 We have jurisdiction over Nationwide’s appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Herman v. Fabri-Centers of Am., Inc., 308 F.3d 580, 585 (6th Cir.2002). “Summary judgment is appropriate where there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” PDV Midwest Refining, L.L.C. v. Armada Oil & Gas Co., 305 F.3d 498, 505 (6th Cir.2002) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)). In doing so, we must draw all reasonable inferences from the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Id. (citing Williams v. Int’l Paper Co., 227 F.3d 706, 710 (6th Cir.2000)). However, “[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiffs position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

Furthermore, we review a district court’s interpretation of an insurance contract de novo. Vencor, Inc. v. Standard Life & Accident Ins. Co., 317 F.3d 629, 634 (6th Cir.2003) (citing BP Chemicals, Inc. v. First State Ins. Co.,

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78 F. App'x 485, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morgenstern-v-nationwide-agribusiness-insurance-ca6-2003.