Pergolese v. Standard Fire Insurance Co.

162 A.3d 481, 2017 Pa. Super. 96, 2017 WL 1337943, 2017 Pa. Super. LEXIS 243
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 11, 2017
DocketPergolese, J. v. Standard Fire Ins. Co. No. 1467 EDA 2014
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 162 A.3d 481 (Pergolese v. Standard Fire Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pergolese v. Standard Fire Insurance Co., 162 A.3d 481, 2017 Pa. Super. 96, 2017 WL 1337943, 2017 Pa. Super. LEXIS 243 (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinions

OPINION BY

FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.:

Standard Fire Insurance Company (“Standard Fire”) appeals from the judgment entered April 11, 2014, in this declaratory judgment action. The trial court granted appellees’ motion for summary judgment after finding that they were entitled to stacking of underinsured motorist benefits. After careful review, we affirm.

The relevant facts and procedural history underlying this appeal are as follows. Appellees are husband and wife who reside in Worcester, Montgomery County. In the early 1990s, Appellees applied for personal automobile insurance with Standard Fire’s predecessor in interest, Aetna Insurance Company, through their insurance agent. (Action for Declaratory Judgment (“Complaint”), filed 12/17/10, at ¶4; Answer with New Matter, filed 4/28/11, at ¶¶ 34-35; Appellant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, filed 12/12/13 (“Motion”), at ¶ 2). On July 27, 1994, Appellees signed an Aetna Option Selection Form indicating that they chose non-stacked underin-sured motorist (“UIM”) coverage on policy number 020185337-101-1 (“20185337”). (Motion, Exhibit C).
On May 29, 1996, Peggy Pergolese signed a rejection of stacked UIM coverage form for this policy on behalf of Appellees with John Pergolese’s full knowledge and consent. (Motion at ¶ 3). [483]*483At that time, the insurance policy covered four (4) vehicles. (Id. at ¶ 4). Specifically, for the 1996 coverage year, the policy insured the following vehicles: 1989 Chevy Corvette, 1989 Mazda B-2200, 1988 Plymouth Voyager and 1993 Mazda MX-6. (Cross Motion for Summary Judgment, filed 1/13/14 (“Cross Motion”), at ¶¶7-8; Exhibits F and G). On August 5,1996, Appellees executed a form waiving stacked UIM coverage for the second policy, number 036766029-101-1 (“36766029”). (Cross Motion at ¶ 6; Exhibit E). The second policy provided coverage for one (1) vehicle.
On or about November 19, 1996, Appellees sought to remove the 1988 Plymouth Voyager from coverage on policy number 20185337 and replace it with a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder. (Cross Motion at ¶ 9; Auto Change Form, Exhibit H). The amended declaration sheet effective November 19, 1996 reflected coverage for the following vehicles: 1989 Chevy Corvette; 1989 Mazda B-2200, 1993 Nissan Pathfinder and 1993 Mazda MX-6. (Id. at ¶ 10; Exhibit I). Appellees renewed the policy every six (6) months and the declaration sheets showed non-stacked UIM benefits in the amount of $100,000.00. The declaration sheets on policy number 20185337 dated up to and including January 27, 1998, also reflected coverage for the same four (4) vehicles. (Id. at ¶ 11; Exhibits J, K and L).
On February 23, 1998, Appellees asked their insurance agent to remove the 1989 Mazda B-2200 from their policy. Unlike their request on November 19, 1996, Appellees did not add a replacement vehicle. (Cross Motion at ¶ 12; Auto Change Form, Exhibit M). The amended declarations page effective February 23, 1998, lists coverage for only three (3) vehicles and a decreased premium. (Id. at ¶ 13; Exhibit N).
On April 8, 1998, forty-four (44) days later, John Pergolese called Appellees’ insurance agent to request auto insurance coverage for an additional vehicle before he took possession. Mr. Pergolese requested that the agent fax a copy of the insurance card so that Mr. Pergolese would have proof of insurance before taking ownership of a 1990 Ford F-150. (Id. at ¶ 14; Auto Change Form, Exhibit O). As requested, the agent faxed a copy of the insurance card with an effective date of April 8, 1998, to the location where Mr. Pergolese was obtaining the tags and title. (Id. at ¶ 14-15; Exhibit P). The amended declarations page effective April 8, 1998, showed the premium increase and. listed four vehicles as follows: 1989 Chevy Corvette, 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, 1993 Mazda MX-6 and 1990 Ford F-150. (Id. at ¶ 16, 18; Exhibit Q).
Appellees’ Standard Fire Auto Policy provides in pertinent part as follows:
J. “Your covered auto” means:
1. Any vehicle shown in the Declarations.
2. Any of the following types of vehicles on the date you become the owner:
a. a private passenger auto; or
b. a pickup or van.
This provision (J.2.) applies only if:
[484]*484a. you acquire the vehicle during the policy period;
b. you ask us to insure it within 30 days after you become the owner; and
c. with respect to a pickup or van, no other insurance policy provides coverage for that vehicle.
If the vehicle you acquire replaces one shown in the Declarations, it will have the same coverage as the vehicle it replaced. You must ask us to insure a replacement vehicle within 30 days only if:
a. you wish to add or continue Damage to Your Auto Coverages; or
b. it is a pickup or van used in any “business” other than farming or ranching.
(Policy No. 20185337, Personal Auto Policy at 1; Exhibit A to both Motions for Summary Judgment) (emphasis added).
Appellant did not request a new waiver of stacked coverage from Appellees after the addition of the 1990 Ford F-150 to the three vehicle policy under 20185337. (Cross Motion at ¶ 23). Appel-lees continued to insure the same four vehicles under policy number 20185337 through July 27, 2001. (Id. at ¶ 24; Exhibit A). For the period of July 30, 2000, to July 30, 2001, Appellees insured one vehicle, a 1992 Toyota Pickup under policy number 36766029. (Id. at ¶ 25; Exhibit B).
On July 23, 2001, John Pergolese suffered severe injuries when a drunk driver rear ended his 1993 Mazda MX-6. (Motion at ¶ 15; Cross Motion at ¶ 26). Appellees timely submitted a claim for underinsured motorist benefits to Appellant upon receiving the liability policy limits from the tortfeasor and after receiving Appellant’s consent to settle and waiver of subrogation. (Complaint at ¶ 8; Answer at ¶ 8; Motion at ¶ 16). Appel-lees asserted that they were entitled to stack UIM benefits according to the number of vehicles on their two (2) policies up to a limit of $500,000.00. (Complaint at ¶ 27; Motion at ¶ 17). Appellant denied that Appellees were entitled to stack their policy benefits. (Motion at ¶ 18).
On December 17, 2010, Appellees filed an action for declaratory judgment. On April 28, 2011, Appellant filed its answer with new matter. Appellees replied to the new matter on June 28, 2011. The parties conducted discovery, including requests for admissions and depositions.
In particular, an underwriter for Travelers Insurance testified at deposition as follows:
Q. Well, my question to you was from your understanding of Travelers, the insurance, if someone owns four vehicles on a policy and they delete a car, so now there’s [sic] three cars on that policy, and a month and a half or two months later that insured buys a new car and asks for it to be added to the policy?
A. That would be an additional vehicle.

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Pergolese v. Standard Fire Insurance Co.
162 A.3d 481 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Pergolese, J. v. Standard Fire Ins. Co.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017

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Bluebook (online)
162 A.3d 481, 2017 Pa. Super. 96, 2017 WL 1337943, 2017 Pa. Super. LEXIS 243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pergolese-v-standard-fire-insurance-co-pasuperct-2017.