Renda v. Brown

563 So. 2d 328, 1990 WL 69665
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 23, 1990
Docket88-1324
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 563 So. 2d 328 (Renda v. Brown) 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
Renda v. Brown, 563 So. 2d 328, 1990 WL 69665 (La. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

563 So.2d 328 (1990)

Debra RENDA, Tutrix of the Minor, Hope Elizabeth Nichols, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Travis W. BROWN, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 88-1324.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 23, 1990.
Writ Denied September 28, 1990.

Jack Owens, Harrisonburg, for plaintiff-appellant.

Norman Magee, Ferriday, Provosty, Sadler, Wm. H. DeLaunay, Jr., Stafford, Stewart, Larry A. Stewart, Alexandria, David H. Nelson, Monroe, Gold, Weems, Dee *329 Drell, Alexandria, Mark Foster, Minden, for defendants-appellees.

Before GUIDRY, DOUCET and KING, JJ.

KING, Judge.

This appeal presents for review the correctness of the granting of motions for summary judgment by the trial court and the denial of a motion for a new trial.

During the early morning hours of August 17, 1985, Travis Brown (hereinafter Travis) was driving a Chevrolet pickup truck (hereinafter the Chevrolet truck) which struck and killed Lucky Ellis (hereinafter Ellis). The tutrix of Hope Elizabeth Nichols, the natural daughter of Ellis (hereinafter plaintiff), brought a wrongful death action against the Insurance Company of North America (hereinafter I.N.A.), National Union Fire Insurance Company (hereinafter N.U.I.), and General Agents Insurance Company of America, Inc. (hereinafter G.A.I.), as well as other parties. Each of these three insurance companies filed motions for summary judgment which were granted by the trial court. Plaintiff filed a motion for new trial asking the trial judge to set aside the summary judgment rendered in favor of G.A.I. and the motion for a new trial was denied. Plaintiff timely appeals the granting of these summary judgments and the denial of her motion for a new trial. We affirm.

FACTS

Travis, who was driving the Chevrolet truck that struck Ellis and resulted in his death, is the son of Lannie Paul Brown and Nancy Brown. The Browns own and operate two businesses: a corporation known as Miss-Lou Truck Parts, Inc. and an unincorporated sole proprietorship known as Brown's Auto Ranch. Miss-Lou Truck Parts, Inc. is managed by Wayne Brown, the brother of Travis and the son of Lannie Brown. Brown's Auto Ranch is managed by Lannie Brown.

The truck involved in the accident was a 1984 Chevrolet pickup truck owned by and titled in the name of Brown's Auto Ranch, but the Chevrolet truck was, at least to a large extent, used by Lannie Brown as his personal vehicle. Travis, the driver of the Chevrolet truck at the time of the accident, was driving the Chevrolet truck with the permission of his father, Lannie Brown.

I.N.A., N.U.I., and G.A.I. all issued insurance policies which plaintiff argues provide coverage for the claim sued on. The trial court granted summary judgments in favor of I.N.A., N.U.I., and G.A.I. Plaintiff appeals each of these judgments, as well as the denial of her motion for a new trial from the judgment granting G.A.I.'s motion for summary judgment.

LAW

La.C.C.P. Art. 966 provides that a motion for summary judgment shall be rendered if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact, and that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.C.C.P. Art. 966(B). The mover has the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact in dispute. This burden is carried when the mover meets a strict standard of showing that it is quite clear as to what is the truth and that there has been excluded any real doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact. Indus. Sand and Abrasives, Inc. v. L. & N.R. Co., 427 So.2d 1152 (La.1983), and cases cited therein. Furthermore, any reasonable doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved in favor of trial on the merits. Indus. Sand and Abrasives, Inc. v. L. & N.R. Co., supra, and cases cited therein. The function of the court on a motion for summary judgment is not to determine the merits but to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact. Kinney v. Hutchinson, 449 So.2d 696 (La.App. 5 Cir.1984), writ not considered, 452 So.2d 170 (La.1984). See generally, Laufer v. Touro Infirmary, 334 So.2d 541 (La.App. 4 Cir.1976). Applying this legal standard we find that all the motions for summary judgment were properly granted. Each of the defendants' motions *330 for summary judgment will be separately discussed.

I.N.A.'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

I.N.A.'s policy was issued to "Lanie Brown dba/Miss-Lou Truck Parts, Inc. & Brown's Auto Ranch" and is a "business auto policy" providing coverage only for specified vehicles described in the policy as covered vehicles. The Chevrolet truck was not described and, therefore, there is no coverage for it.

The declaration page of the I.N.A. policy provides:

"ITEM TWO-SCHEDULE OF COVERAGES AND COVERED AUTOS: This policy provides only those coverages where a charge is shown in the `Premium' column below. Each of these coverages will apply only to those autos shown as covered autos. Autos are shown as covered autos for a particular coverage by the entry of one or more of the symbols from ITEM THREE next to the name of the coverage. Entry in the `Covered Autos' column of one or more of the symbols from ITEM THREE shows which autos are covered autos."

Immediately under this explanation are variously marked columns. In the "Covered Autos" column is listed the symbol 7 which is explained in Item Three on the declaration page and in the description on the reverse side as follows:

"ITEM THREE—(See other side for Description of Covered Auto Designation Symbols).
7 = SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBED AUTOS. Only those autos described in ITEM FOUR for which a premium charge is shown (and for liability coverage any trailers you don't own while attached to any power unit described in ITEM FOUR)."

The symbol "7" is defined as "specifically described autos," meaning those described in Item Four on the declaration page. Item Four on the declaration page refers to a schedule. The attached schedule for Item Four specifies that it represents the "SCHEDULE OF COVERED AUTOS YOU OWN." Described and listed on the schedule are three vehicles, none of which was the Chevrolet truck involved in the accident.

The meaning and use of numeral symbols to identify covered vehicles is further stated and explained in the policy as follows:

"PART II—WHICH AUTOS ARE COVERED AUTOS

A. ITEM TWO of the declarations shows the autos that are covered autos for each of your coverages. The numerical symbols explained in ITEM THREE of the declaration describe which autos are covered autos. The symbols entered next to a coverage designate the only autos that are covered autos.
* * * * * *
PART IV—LIABILITY INSURANCE
A. WE WILL PAY
1. We will pay all sums the insured legally must pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage to which this insurance applies, caused by an accident and resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of a covered auto."

Since I.N.A.'s policy only covers the specifically described or scheduled vehicles, and the Chevrolet truck was not listed, it is not covered by I.N.A.'s policy. There is no issue of material fact. It is not disputed that the Chevrolet truck was not specifically described or listed, and the policy is clear.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
563 So. 2d 328, 1990 WL 69665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/renda-v-brown-lactapp-1990.