Schoer v. West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.

473 N.W.2d 73, 1991 Minn. App. LEXIS 688, 1991 WL 119837
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJuly 9, 1991
DocketC8-90-2404
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 473 N.W.2d 73 (Schoer v. West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schoer v. West Bend Mutual Insurance Co., 473 N.W.2d 73, 1991 Minn. App. LEXIS 688, 1991 WL 119837 (Mich. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

OPINION

NORTON, Judge.

Appellant, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company (West Bend), seeks review of judgment declaring respondent, Jeffrey Robert Schoer, a resident of his mother’s household under her automobile insurance policy issued in Wisconsin.

FACTS

Schoer was injured in a single vehicle accident while riding as a passenger in an automobile near Waseca, Minnesota on August 25, 1988. He received a partial recovery for his injuries from the driver’s automobile insurance carrier. Because Schoer did not have his own automobile insurance policy, he sought underinsured motorist benefits from his mother’s policy issued by West Bend. West Bend denied coverage saying that Schoer was not living with his mother, Ruth Ann Schoer, in her home in Stevens Point, Wisconsin as required under the terms of the policy.

Since 1984, when his parents divorced and he left high school, Schoer has spent a considerable amount of time away from his mother’s home. He would live with his mother and work in Wisconsin for a few months and then stay with his father or friends and work in Minnesota for a few months. He also stayed, periodically for a year, with a girlfriend with whom he had a child. However, he frequently went home to his mother. Schoer lived out of a suitcase when he was away from his mother’s home. At the time of the accident, Schoer had completed his first year as a student at Southwest Technical Institute and was living in Jackson, Minnesota.

ISSUES

1. Are the legal issues raised in West Bend’s motion for summary judgment properly before this court on appeal?

*75 2. Does Minnesota statute section 65B.50 require that the nonresident West Bend insured vehicle be present in Minnesota at the time of the accident giving rise to Schoer’s claim?

3. Does the evidence support the jury’s finding that Schoer was a resident of his mother’s household?

4. Should the limit of underinsured coverage be the statutory minimum rather than as stated in the policy?

ANALYSIS

I.

On appeal from a judgment, this court may review any order involving the merits or affecting the judgment. Minn.R.Civ.App.P. 103.04. Although an order denying summary judgment is not appeal-able, it may be reviewed as part of an appealable judgment. Peterson v. Brown, 457 N.W.2d 745, 748 (Minn.App.1990), pet. for rev. denied (Minn. Aug. 23, 1990).

In this case, West Bend’s motion for summary judgment was denied. West Bend properly appealed from judgment for Schoer. Therefore, the issues raised in the summary judgment motion are reviewable in this appeal.

II.

Both parties agree that Minnesota law is controlling in this case. Construction of the Minnesota no-fault automobile insurance act is a question of law and is subject to de novo review on appeal. Doe v. State Bd. of Medical Examiners, 435 N.W.2d 45, 48 (Minn.1989).

West Bend contends that Ruth Ann Schoer’s nonresident automobile insurance policy should be interpreted under Minn. Stat. § 65B.50 (1988) which states in pertinent part:

Subdivision 1. Every insurer licensed to write motor vehicle accident reparation and liability insurance in this state shall * * * afford at least the minimum security provided by section 65B.49 to all policy holders, except that in the case of nonresident policyholders it need only certify that security is provided with respect to accidents occurring in this state.
Subd. 2. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in it, every contract of liability insurance for injury, wherever issued, covering obligations arising from ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle * * * includes basic economic loss benefit coverages and residual liability coverages * * * while the vehicle is in this state * * *.

West Bend concludes that the insured vehicle would have to be in Minnesota at the time of Schoer’s accident before West Bend is required to extend underinsured coverage to Schoer.

Section 65B.50 imposes underin-sured liability coverage in a nonresident’s automobile insurance policy issued by an out-of-state insurer, licensed to do business in Minnesota, where there is no provision for coverage already existing in the policy. See Western Nat’l Mut. Ins. Co. v. State Farm Ins. Co., 374 N.W.2d 441, 445 (Minn.1985). Subdivision 1 requires that insurers licensed in Minnesota provide the minimum coverage mandated by the act or in the case of nonresident policyholders, certification of the same with respect to accidents occurring in this state. Subdivision 2 requires that a covered nonresident vehicle be in Minnesota at the time of an accident giving rise to a nonresident’s claim before liability can be imposed on the nonresident’s insurer. See id.

In this case, underinsured coverage does not need to be imposed by section 65B.50 because it is already written into the West Bend insurance policy and premiums were paid for the coverage. See id. at 442 (where nonresident insured paid no premiums for no-fault coverage, coverage is imposed under 65B.50 if insured vehicle is in state at time of accident). Therefore, section 65B.50 does not apply under the facts of this case and the West Bend insured vehicle was not required to be in Minnesota at the time of the accident to extend coverage to Schoer.

III.

Whether Schoer was a resident of his mother’s household at the time of the *76 accident is a fact question. See Fruchtman v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 274 Minn. 54, 55, 142 N.W.2d 299, 300 (1966). On appeal, the jury’s verdict that Schoer is a resident of his mother’s household must be upheld unless it is manifestly and palpably contrary to the weight of the evidence when considered in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. See Flom v. Flom, 291 N.W.2d 914, 916 (Minn.1980).

West Bend argues that Schoer is not insured because he was not living with his mother at the time of the accident. The terms of her nonresident policy stated that a relative must be living with the named insured to be included under the insurance coverage.

An insured under the Minnesota no-fault automobile insurance act includes:

persons not identified by name as an insured while * * * residing in the same household with the named insured * * *.
* # * * * *
(2)other relative of a named insured
⅝ * # * % *

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Bluebook (online)
473 N.W.2d 73, 1991 Minn. App. LEXIS 688, 1991 WL 119837, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schoer-v-west-bend-mutual-insurance-co-minnctapp-1991.