St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co. v. Andrews

321 N.W.2d 483, 29 A.L.R. 4th 1, 1982 N.D. LEXIS 291
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 1, 1982
DocketCiv. 10151
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 321 N.W.2d 483 (St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co. v. Andrews) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co. v. Andrews, 321 N.W.2d 483, 29 A.L.R. 4th 1, 1982 N.D. LEXIS 291 (N.D. 1982).

Opinions

PEDERSON, Justice.

Is “stacking” prohibited under the mandatory uninsured motorist statute in North Dakota? The trial court said it is not and we agree.

Is “stacking” of basic no-fault benefits prohibited under the North Dakota Auto Accident Reparations Act? The trial court said it is not. We do not agree.

Are provisions in an insurance policy which clearly prohibit “stacking” of uninsured motorist coverage enforceable in this state? We conclude that even though insurance policies are contracts of adhesion and the benefit of all doubts is given to the insured, the policy here leaves no doubt.

The judgment is reversed.

In 1971 the Legislature adopted “Mandatory Uninsured Motorist Coverage” (Ch. 279, S.L.1971 — see § 26-02-42, NDCC). This statutory provision prohibited the issuance of any motor vehicle liability insurance policy unless it provided the insured with at least $10,000 personal injury coverage for injuries caused by an uninsured motorist. (The amount of coverage which is governed by § 39-16.1-11, NDCC, has subsequently been raised to $25,000.) Although § 26-02-42, NDCC, required that no liability policy could be issued without uninsured motorist coverage, there was, at that time, no mandatory requirement for liability insurance. This changed in 1975, however, when the Legislature made it compulsory that liability coverage be in effect before any vehicle be driven in this state (Ch. 340, S.L.1975 — see § 39-08-20, NDCC).

Also, in 1975 (Ch. 265, S.L.1975 — see Ch. 26-41, NDCC), the Legislature enacted the North Dakota version of mandatory no-fault insurance. One of its provisions (§ 26-41-07, NDCC) made “basic no-fault benefits” payable to the owner of the motor vehicle or to any relative residing in the same household (§ 26-41-03(14), NDCC).

In 1976, St. Paul issued an insurance policy to Conrad Andrews covering his 1976 Honda Hatchback. Andrews paid a premium of $1.00 for uninsured motorist coverage and $26.00 for basic no-fault benefits. In June 1979, St. Paul amended the policy to cover a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro. For this vehicle, Andrews paid a premium of $.90 for uninsured motorist coverage and $24.00 for basic no-fault benefits. His premium for basic no-fault benefits was reduced by $14.00 for the Honda Hatchback. In July 1979 St. Paul again amended the policy to cover a 1979 Honda station wagon. For this vehicle, Andrews paid a premium of $.80 for uninsured motorist coverage and $9.00 for basic no-fault benefits. Because Andrews’ daughter, Eileen, was identified as an occasional operator of the 1976 Honda Hatchback, the premium for basic no-fault benefits for that car was increased by $10.00.

The policy, in plain words, limited St. Paul’s liability under the uninsured motorist coverage “regardless of the number of covered persons, claims made, vehicles or premiums . . . [up to $25,000]” and, under the basic no-fault coverage “regardless of the number of persons insured, policies ..., claims made or insured motor vehicles to which this coverage applies . .. [up to $15,-000].”

On July 15, 1979, Eileen was injured in a one-car accident. She was a passenger in a [485]*485car owned by Randy Johnson and driven by Dale A. Anderson. The car involved in the accident was an uninsured motor vehicle. There was also no insurance applicable to Randy Johnson nor to Dale E. Anderson. Eileen’s injuries far exceed the total of the benefits payable, even if coverage is “stacked.” The facts in this case are undisputed.

Following the accident, Andrews submitted a claim to St. Paul seeking compensation for her injuries. St. Paul contended that “stacking” was not permitted in North Dakota, and subsequently paid Andrews $15,000 in basic no-fault benefits and $25,-000 in uninsured motorist benefits. It is conceded that the benefits in these amounts would have been payable if only one of the Andrews’ vehicles had been covered and only one premium paid.

This suit was then commenced by St. Paul, seeking a declaratory judgment to determine the extent of its liability. St. Paul argued that it had complied with the statutory provisions in North Dakota, as well as the terms and conditions of the policy, when it made payments of $25,000 of uninsured motorist benefits and $15,000 of basic no-fault benefits. Andrews argues that Eileen should be compensated also under the remaining two coverages. Andrews contends that Eileen should be able to “stack” the additional two coverages up to the extent of her injuries.

The district court agreed with Andrews and ordered St. Paul to pay an additional $30,000 of basic no-fault benefits and an additional $50,000 of uninsured motorist benefits. St. Paul appealed from the judgment and we reverse.

The question of whether or not “stacking” is prohibited under any North Dakota law is one of first impression in this court, albeit we did indicate approval of “stacking” in an obiter statement in St. Alexius Hospital v. Eckert, 284 N.W.2d 441 (N.D.1979). The subject was also peripherally raised but not analyzed by the federal court in Hughes v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 604 F.2d 573, 580 (8th Cir. 1979).

“When the wording of a statute is clear and free of all ambiguity, the letter of it is not to be disregarded under the pretext of pursuing its spirit.” Section 1-02-05, NDCC. If the statute is ambiguous, we are authorized to consider all pertinent, extrinsic evidence of legislative intent. See Morton County v. Henke, 308 N.W.2d 372 (N.D.1981). Pertinent matters to be considered include:

“1. The object sought to be attained.
“2. The circumstances under which the statute was enacted.
“3. The legislative history.
“4. The common law or former statutory provisions, including laws upon the same or similar subjects.
“5. The consequences of a particular construction.
“6. The administrative construction of the statute.
“7. The preamble.” See § 1-02-39, NDCC.

We will first examine the 1971 statute requiring that every motor vehicle liability policy include uninsured motorist coverage. It is clearly stated therein that no policy shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state “unless coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto in amounts not less than that set forth in section 39-16.1-11 .... ” Section 26-02-42, NDCC. That language is not patently ambiguous and no extrinsic evidence should be necessary to lead to the conclusion that “stacking” is not prohibited thereby.

Assuming, however, that insurance industry custom, other insurance law, or attending circumstances disclose a latent ambiguity, we examine the statute in the light of the canons set forth in § 1-02-39.

Neither the stated purpose nor the legislative history is revealing. The circumstances under which the statute was enacted were not described for us. We know that this is not common law nor a uniform state law; however, we are told that nearly all of the states had enacted similar statutes prior to 1971. There is a presumption that when we adopt a statute

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
321 N.W.2d 483, 29 A.L.R. 4th 1, 1982 N.D. LEXIS 291, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-paul-mercury-insurance-co-v-andrews-nd-1982.