Sicoli v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

464 N.W.2d 300, 1990 Minn. App. LEXIS 1254, 1990 WL 211556
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedDecember 24, 1990
DocketCX-90-1660
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 464 N.W.2d 300 (Sicoli v. State Farm Mutual Automobile 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
Sicoli v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 464 N.W.2d 300, 1990 Minn. App. LEXIS 1254, 1990 WL 211556 (Mich. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION

FORSBERG, Judge.

The Sicolis commenced this action in May of 1988, seeking underinsured motorist benefits. The case was tried to a jury which awarded the Sicolis their damages. The trial court ordered judgment of $100,-000 in favor of Nancy Sicoli and $100,000 in favor of Peter Sicoli. We reverse the award to Peter.

FACTS

On August 30, 1985, Nancy Sicoli was severely injured in an automobile accident while she was a passenger in a car. The driver’s liability coverage was not sufficient to compensate Nancy fully for her injuries.

The Sicolis were insured under a policy issued by appellant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The policy provided benefits, with bodily injury limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident arising out of the maintenance or use of an underinsured motor vehicle. The policy defined “bodily injury” to mean “bodily injury to a person and sickness, disease or death which results from it.” In addition, under the heading “Limits of Liability,” for underinsured motorist coverage, the policy provided:

The amount of coverage is shown on the declarations page under “Limits of Liability-W-Each Person, Each Accident.” Under “Each Person” is the amount of coverage for all damages due to bodily injury to one person. Under “Each Accident” is the total amount of coverage for all damages due to bodily injury to two or more persons in the same accident.

The Sicolis commenced the present action in May of 1988, seeking underinsured motorist benefits from State Farm. Peter Si-coli claimed damages as a result of his loss of Nancy’s services and companionship.

The case was tried to a jury, which awarded Nancy Sicoli $37,500 for future medical expenses, $300,000 for future loss of earning capacity, $325,000 for past pain and suffering, and $1,075,000 for future pain and suffering. The jury awarded Peter Sicoli $50,000 for past loss of Nancy’s services and companionship and $300,000 for his future loss of Nancy’s services and companionship.

Based on the jury’s verdict, the trial court awarded Nancy Sicoli $100,000, the “per person” limit under the policy, and *302 Peter Sicoli $100,000 for his loss of consortium claim. State Farm contended its maximum liability to both Nancy and Peter was $100,000. The trial court rejected this argument, stating:

The policy offers no strict definition of bodily injuries. It seems that bodily injury can be read to include loss of consortium and companionship for which the jury awarded $350,000.
Further, the policy issued to the Plaintiffs indicates that the amount of coverage is “$100,000 per person.” This could lead a policy owner to believe that each person injured in an accident is entitled to receive the full amount of the policy limits.

Judgment was entered pursuant to the court’s order, and State Farm has appealed.

ISSUES

1. Did the trial court err in awarding Peter Sicoli $100,000 for his loss of Nancy Sicoli’s services and companionship when Nancy had been awarded $100,000 for her injuries?

2. Does the doctrine of reasonable expectations require finding coverage for both respondents?

ANALYSIS

The trial court’s decision was based on its interpretation of the State Farm policy. Interpretation of an insurance policy is a question of law which this court reviews de novo on appeal. See Iowa Kemper Ins. Co. v. Stone, 269 N.W.2d 885, 886-87 (Minn.1978).

Insurance policies are similar to any other contracts. They are matters of agreement between the parties, and a court’s function is “to determine what the parties’ agreement was and enforce it.” Fillmore v. Iowa Nat’l Mut. Ins. Co., 344 N.W.2d 875, 877 (Minn.App.1984). The extent of an insurer’s liability is governed by the contract into which the parties have entered. Bobich v. Oja, 258 Minn. 287, 295, 104 N.W.2d 19, 24-25 (1960). Any ambiguities in the policy are to be strictly construed against the insurer, since the insurer drafted the agreement. Id. However, a court may not read an ambiguity into the plain language of a policy in order to create coverage where none otherwise exists. Id. In construing an insurance contract, the policy must be considered as a whole. Henning-Nelson Constr. Co. v. Fireman’s Fund American Life Ins. Co., 383 N.W.2d 645, 652 (Minn.1986).

Bodily Injury

The State Farm policy limits “all damages due to bodily injury to one person” to $100,000. Terms in an insurance policy must be given their ordinary and usual meanings. Dairyland Ins. Co. v. Implement Dealers Ins. Co., 294 Minn. 236, 244-45, 199 N.W.2d 806, 811 (1972).

The State Farm policy defines “bodily injury” to mean “bodily injury to a person and sickness, disease or death which results from it.” This definition has been criticized by some courts. See Allstate Ins. Co. v. Handegard, 70 Or.App. 262, 266, 688 P.2d 1387, 1389 n. 2 (1984), rev. denied, 298 Or. 704, 695 P.2d 1371 (1985) (“to say that ‘bodily injury’ means ‘bodily injury’ adds nothing to the understanding of the reader”); Dahlke v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 451 N.W.2d 813, 815 (Iowa 1990). Most courts, however, including this one, have found this definition to be unambiguous. Hamlin v. Western Nat’l Mut. Ins. Co., 461 N.W.2d 395 (Minn.App.1990).

Further, courts in a variety of foreign jurisdictions have held that loss of consortium is not bodily injury. See Izzo v. Colonial Penn Ins. Co., 203 Conn. 305, 313, 524 A.2d 641, 645 (1987) (“A claim of loss of consortium, although a ‘personal injury,’ is not a ‘bodily injury’ to the claimant”); Sheffield v. American Indem. Co., 245 S.C. 389, 394, 140 S.E.2d 787, 790 (1965) (damages for loss of consortium are personal, rather than bodily, injury); see also Sossamon v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 243 S.C. 552, 135 S.E.2d 87

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Bluebook (online)
464 N.W.2d 300, 1990 Minn. App. LEXIS 1254, 1990 WL 211556, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sicoli-v-state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-co-minnctapp-1990.