Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Riccadulli

183 A.D.2d 111, 589 N.Y.S.2d 356, 1992 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 12211
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided October 26, 1992·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Miller, J.

The issue to be determined on this appeal concerns the scope of coverage under a policy of automobile liability insurance bearing a standard New York uninsured motorist endorsement. The precise question before us is whether such an endorsement provides uninsured motorist coverage to the minor daughter of an insured where the child is injured as a result of an accident involving an uninsured all-terrain vehicle. For the reasons that follow, we hold that coverage does exist. Thus, we reverse the judgment which permanently stayed arbitration of the appellant’s uninsured motorist claim.

I

The facts underlying this appeal are not in serious dispute. On April 20, 1989, Christine Riccadulli was riding as a passenger on the rear of an uninsured all-terrain vehicle (hereinafter ATV) being operated by her 15-year-old neighbor, Michael Parado, upon property owned by a local school and abutting the rear of the adjacent Riccadulli and Parado properties. Michael Parado lost control of the three-wheeled ATV and drove it into a tree. As a result of the impact, Christine Riccadulli sustained a broken left femur.

Christine’s father, Ronald Riccadulli, filed a claim pursuant to the uninsured motorist endorsement of the policy of automobile insurance issued by the petitioner Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (hereinafter Nationwide) covering the Riccadulli family automobile. Pursuant to the standard uninsured motorist endorsement contained in the automobile policy, Nationwide agreed to pay damages for bodily injury caused by uninsured automobiles suffered by the insured or members of his household. The policy defined "uninsured automobile” as an "automobile” which is not covered by a policy of insurance or self-insurance bond as provided for by the New York Motor Vehicle Financial Security Act. The endorsement excluded from its definition of uninsured motor vehicles, vehicles owned by the insured or spouse, self-insured [113] vehicles, government-owned vehicles, farm tractors and like farm equipment, and certain other land motor vehicles not relevant herein. Thus, the policy did not expressly define the term automobile nor did it expressly exclude ATV’s from the definition of an uninsured automobile.

Following her father’s service upon Nationwide of his uninsured motorist claim, Nationwide interviewed Christine Riccadulli concerning the circumstances of the accident. Thereafter, a demand for arbitration was filed on behalf of Christine Riccadulli, to which Nationwide responded by seeking a stay. Notwithstanding that its exclusions did not expressly deny coverage for accidents involving uninsured ATV’s, Nationwide sought to disclaim coverage on this basis. Nationwide argued that an ATV was not an automobile as defined in the policy. Nor was it a motor vehicle as defined in Vehicle and Traffic Law § 125. Therefore, since an ATV was neither an automobile nor a motor vehicle, it could not be an uninsured automobile for purposes of the uninsured motorist endorsement. In opposition, Christine Riccadulli asserted that Nationwide’s attempt to disclaim coverage was untimely (see, Insurance Law § 3420 [d]). She further contended that the undefined term "automobile”, as used in the policy, did not exclude ATV’s since ATV’s are required to be covered by policies of liability insurance if operated on land other than that owned by the ATV owner (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 2407). Finally, Christine Riccadulli argued that an ATV could be construed to be an automobile for purposes of an uninsured motorist endorsement, just as other decisions had broadly construed motorcycles and motor scooters to be automobiles.

In reply, counsel for Nationwide conceded that pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 2407 an ATV must be insured if operated on lands other than those owned by the ATV owner. Nationwide argued, however, that the record was not sufficient to determine whether this accident occurred on lands owned by the Parado family or on school property as suggested by Christine Riccadulli. Nationwide requested a hearing on this issue to ascertain where the accident took place and thus "whether or not Section 2407 of Vehicle and Traffic Law applies in the case at bar”. Pursuant to this request, Nationwide sought a stay of arbitration "until the factual issue is decided at a hearing”.

The Supreme Court, however, found that no hearing was necessary. It found that an ATV is not an automobile, nor is it a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the court would not "rewrite” [114] the parties’ contract of insurance by "bootstrapping]” on the requirements of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 2407. Therefore, the court found that the uninsured motorist endorsement on Ronald Riccadulli’s policy of insurance issued by Nationwide did not provide coverage for injuries sustained as a result of the operation of an uninsured ATV, and permanently stayed arbitration on this claim. We now reverse.

II

Since ATV’s represent a relatively recent innovation, prior to 1985 the Legislature apparently perceived no need to enact any regulations governing their operation. In light of their more recent proliferation, however, it became clear that legislative action was necessary. Laws of 1985 (ch 671) represented a response to the growing problems associated with unrestricted ATV use. This enactment, inter alia, created a new Vehicle and Traffic Law article 48-B (§§ 2280-2291) which governed registration and licensing of ATV’s. It also created a new PRHPL article 26. Working on the assumption that ATV’s would be used primarily in parks, the Legislature conferred upon the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation the job of regulating the use of ATV’s. Of critical relevance to this appeal, this enactment also amended Vehicle and Traffic Law § 125 to exclude ATV’s from the definition of motor vehicle.

Among the provisions of PRHPL article 26, section 26.13 governed the need for ATV liability insurance. In pertinent part PRHPL 26.13 provided that any ATV registered in New York and operated on the roadway or shoulder of a highway, shall be covered by a policy of insurance with minimum coverage of $5,000 property damage and $10,000/$20,000 personal injury-death coverage.

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Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Riccadulli, 183 A.D.2d 111, 589 N.Y.S.2d 356, 1992 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 12211 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1992).

183 A.D.2d 111 (Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Riccadulli) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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