Rascoe v. Wilburn

295 So. 2d 201
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 24, 1974
Docket4537
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 295 So. 2d 201 (Rascoe v. Wilburn) 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
Rascoe v. Wilburn, 295 So. 2d 201 (La. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

295 So.2d 201 (1974)

Audry Nell Wilson RASCOE et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
Joe Lee WILBURN et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 4537.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 24, 1974.

*202 Stafford, Pitts & Stafford by John W. Scott, Alexandria, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Gist, Methvin & Trimble by David A. Hughes, Gold, Hall, Hammill & Little by Leo Gold, Alexandria, for defendants-appellees.

Before CULPEPPER, MILLER and WATSON, JJ.

MILLER, Judge.

Plaintiffs Audry Wilson Rascoe, Sharon Wilson Wilkinson, and Joann Wilson Malone appeal the trial court's summary judgment in favor of their uninsured motorist insurer, defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. We reverse and remand.

Plaintiffs are daughters of Sherman O. Wilson who was killed in an automobile accident caused by Joe Lee Wilburn. Wilson was driving his 1972 pickup truck when it was struck by an automobile driven by Wilburn. Wilburn was insured by Stonewall Insurance Company in the amount of $5,000 for bodily injury to one person and $5,000 property damage per accident. State Farm, Wilburn, and Stonewall were named defendants.

Wilson had two policies with State Farm, one on the 1972 pickup truck and one on a 1968 truck. Each policy was in the amount of $5,000/$10,000, and each had uninsured motorist protection in a like amount. Sharon Wilson Wilkinson also had a $5/10 policy with a like amount of uninsured motorist coverage issued by State Farm. Plaintiffs alleged that they were members of the same household, and that their father was deemed an insured under terms of the uninsured motorist coverage in all policies.

State Farm filed for summary judgment, alleging generally that the petition disclosed no genuine issue of material fact as to its liability, and specifically that since Wilburn was insured, the terms and conditions of mover's policies deny recovery. State Farm's motion was predicated on the notion that its uninsured motorist coverage was not extended to damages caused by the owner or operator of an insured automobile.[1]

The trial judge, without written reasons, granted summary judgment pursuant to State Farm's motion.[2] After plaintiffs' motion for appeal and the appeal bond were filed, the trial judge handed down *203 written reasons stating that his judgment was erroneous. Since he no longer had jurisdiction he could not correct his error.

The three issues presented by opposing counsel are considered in the order discussed by counsel.

ISSUE NUMBER 1.

Plaintiffs contend that the uninsured motorist coverages of several insurance policies available to the same insured, although issued on different vehicles, should be stacked. Plaintiff relies upon several decisions, both of the Supreme Court and this circuit. State Farm relies upon the following exclusionary clause in its uninsured motorist coverage:

EXCLUSIONS. This policy does not apply under Part IV: (a) to bodily injury to an insured while occupying an automobile (other than an insured automobile) owned by the named insured or a relative, or through being struck by such an automobile; ....

The term "insured automobile" is defined in the State Farm policies in pertinent part as:

(a) An automobile described in the policy for which a specific premium charge indicates that coverage is afforded.

This question was considered in Roberie v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 291 So.2d 923 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1974 No. 4438). The identical policy provisions and factual circumstances were considered. Roberie was injured while driving one automobile and owned another automobile, both of which had uninsured motorist protection. State Farm there urged the same exclusionary clauses. We allowed "stacking" of both policies and denied effect to the exclusionary clause.

This was based upon Crenwelge v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 277 So.2d 155 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1973). In Crenwelge we relied upon the rationale utilized in Graham v. American Casualty Co. of Reading, Pa., 261 La. 85, 259 So.2d 22 (1972) and Deane v. McGee, 261 La. 686, 260 So.2d 669 (1972). Graham held that standard "pro rata" clauses are invalid where they serve to reduce recovery on individual policies below the $5,000 statutory minimum. The Deane case resulted in the same ruling on the validity of the standard "excess" clause. We resolved the conflict between the rationale implicit in the Graham and Deane cases and the exclusionary clause in Crenwelge at 277 So.2d 158.

In Crenwelge and Roberie, we did not place primary significance on the fact that Graham and Deane both purported to strike clauses which have the effect of reducing the minimum statutory coverage in cases where coverage under uninsured motorist protection is available. In effect, we decided that the disputed exclusionary clause had the effect of reducing the minimum statutory coverage. In Crenwelge and Roberie and in the instant case plaintiff motorists had uninsured motorist protection available from multiple sources and were injured while driving an insured vehicle. We have decided that the exclusionary clause in question could not have the effect of completely excluding coverage where by mere happenstance plaintiff was injured while driving a vehicle insured under another policy. We thus made a policy decision in refusing to apply that specific exclusionary clause, a policy decision based upon the rationale of Graham and Deane that insurers who have undertaken to provide uninsured motorist protection are held liable to the full extent required by the statutory minimum provisions.

It is of no moment whether the obligation to comply with those provisions is attempted to be avoided through the operation of reduced exposure via other insurance clauses or through complete avoidance via the particular exclusionary clause urged as a defense in Crenwelge, Roberie, and in this case. The decision has been made, and we follow that decision in the instant case, limiting the effect of our *204 judgment to the particular exclusionary clause here involved.

State Farm points to Rushing v. Allstate Insurance Company, 216 So.2d 875 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1968), which upheld the exclusionary clause in question. We distinguish that case in two significant respects. First, and most importantly, the vehicle which plaintiff was operating at the time of the accident was not a described insured vehicle in a policy owned by plaintiff. There was only one policy owned by plaintiff, it being issued upon another vehicle owned by plaintiff. Second, the First Circuit has stated in Thomas v. Nelson, 280 So.2d 290 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1973) that it may reassess its position on that issue.

Also argued in this portion of counsels' arguments is the effect to be given the policy issued Sharon Wilson Wilkinson. We defer momentarily our consideration of that issue.

ISSUE NUMBER 2.

Plaintiffs argue that an uninsured motor vehicle includes a motor vehicle with automobile liability coverage in an amount less than the uninsured motorist coverage available to the insured tort victim. This argument is based upon a 1972 amendment to LSA-R.S. 22:1406(D). We are thus confronted with the perplexing problem of deciding whether an insured motorist can be an uninsured motorist.

Act 137 of 1972 has as its stated purpose "[t]o amend and reenact paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection D of Section 1406

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Bluebook (online)
295 So. 2d 201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rascoe-v-wilburn-lactapp-1974.