State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. v. Counts

8 Ohio App. Unrep. 448
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 7, 1990
DocketCase No. 14490, 14492
StatusPublished

This text of 8 Ohio App. Unrep. 448 (State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. v. Counts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. v. Counts, 8 Ohio App. Unrep. 448 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

CIRIGLIANO, J.

The instant case arises from the trial court's order of declaratory judgment. We reverse.

On September 28, 1986, Bob Thomas requested that defendant-appellee Tracy Counts join him in making deliveries for their employer Dairy Mart. Counts, who was not scheduled to work that day, agreed to accompany Thomas on the delivery run.

After completing a delivery, Counts attempted to adjust the brakes on the Dairy Mart-owned tractor-trailer. While Counts was under the trailer, Thomas noticed that the trailer began to move. Thomas neglegently put the tractor-trailer in gear causing the vehicle to surge forward onto Counts' arm, severely injuring him.

The Dairy Mart vehicle was covered under a policy of insurance issued by defendant-appellee, Kemper Insurance Company ("Kemper"). Counts also claimed coverage [449]*449under an automobile insurance policy issued to him by plaintiff-appellant, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("State Farm"). Both policies contained provisions for uninsured motorist coverage.

On January 11, 1988, State Farm filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that Counts was not entitled to coverage from the uninsured motorist provisions in the State Farm policy for the injuries sustained in the accident. State Farm later amended its complaint to also seek a declaration that if Counts was entitled to uninsured motorist coverage, then the Kemper policy was the primary coverage over State Farm's policy.

Kemper filed an answer denying coverage and Counts filed a cross-claim against Kemper alleging coverage for his injuries.

The trial court subsequently tried the matter. The trial court found that Counts was entitled to coverage from State Farm under the uninsured motorist provisions of the policy. The trial court also found that Counts was not entitled to uninsured motorist coverage under the Kemper policy.

State Farm and Counts now appeal from the trial court's declaratory judgment order.

State Farm Assignment of Error I

"The trial court committed prejudicial error in finding that Tracy Counts was injured by an uninsured motor vehicle operated by Robert Thomas on September 28, 1986."

The State Farm uninsured motorist policy provides in part:

"We will pay damages for bodily injury an insured is legally entitled to collect from the owner or driver of an uninsured motor vehicle. The bodily injury must be caused by accident arising out of the operation, maintenance or use of an uninsured motor vehicle.

H*** II

The Kemper uninsured motorist policy provides in part:

"We will pay all sums the insured is legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or driver of an uninsured motor vehicle. The damages must result from bodily injury sustained by the insured caused by an accident. The owner's or driver's liability for these damages must result from the owership, maintenance or use of the uninsured motor vehicle."

II*** II

State Farm asserts that the trial court erred in allowing Counts to recover under an uninsured motorist policy, because the Dairy Mart tractor-trailer was not an uninsured motor vehicle.

The State Farm uninsured motorist policy defines uninsured motor vehicle as:

II***

"1. a land motor vehicle, the ownership, maintenance or use of which is:

"b. insured or bonded for bodily injury liability at the time of the accident; but

"(3) the insuring company denies coverage ***."

The Kemper uninsured motorist policy also defines uninsured motor vehicle as:

. «*** a jan(j motor vehicle or trailer:

"c. For which an insuring or bonding company denies coverage ***."

Moreover, R.C. 3937.18(D) provides in part:

"(D) For the purpose of this section, a motor vehicle is uninsured if the liability insurer denies coverage [.]"

In the case sub judice, Kemper denied coverage to Counts under the liability section of its policy based upon the following exclusions:

"C. WE WILL NOT COVER - EXCLUSIONS.

"This insurance does not apply to: ...

"2. Any obligation for which the insured or his or her insurer may be held liable under any workers' compensation or disability benefits law or under any similar law.

"4. Bodily injury to any fellow employee of the insured arising out of and in the course of his or her employment.

"5. Bodily injury to any employee of the insured arising out of and in the course of his or her employment by the insured. However, this exclusion does not apply to bodily injury to domestic employees not entitled to workers' compensation benefits."

M*** H

The appellants do not dispute that Kemper's denial of liability coverage to Counts through the application of the above exclusions was valid. Therefore, pursuant to [450]*450R.C. 3937.18(D), Kemper's denial of coverage rendered the Dairy Mart tractor-trailer an uninsured vehicle. See Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Jeffries (Jan. 14, 1988), Richland App. No. 2497, unreported.

State Farm cites Dairyland Ins. Co. v. Finch (1987), 32 Ohio St. 3d 360, in support of its argument that Kemper's denial of liability coverage does not render the Dairy Mart vehicle an uninsured vehicle. However, the Supreme Court in Dairyland, supra, only ruled upon the validity of an exclusionary clause in an uninsured motorist policy. We hold that the Dairy Mart tractor-trailer was an uninsured vehicle under both the State Farm and Kemper policies. State Farm's first assignment of error is overruled.

State Farm's Assignment of Error II

"The trial court committed prejudicial error in finding Tracy Counts legally entitled to recover damages since Counts had no right to recover from the alleged tortious fellow-employee." State Farm asserts that R.C. 4123.74 and R.C. 4123.741 prohibit Counts from recovering damages from an uninsured motorist policy as Counts was injured by a fellow employee in the course and scope of his employment, and because Counts also received workers' compensation benefits for his injuries.

R.C. 4123.74 and R.C. 4123.741. establish that Dairy Mart and Thomas are immune from responding in damages for Counts' injuries if Counts was injured by a fellow employee in the course and scope of his employment, and if the injuries were compensable through the Workers' Compensation Law of Ohio. In addition, an insurer is not liable to its insured on an uninsured motorist claim where the claim arises from an accident in which the tortfeasor causing the insured's injuries is immune pursuant to the statutory fellow-employee doctrine, because the insured is not legally entitled to recovery from the tortfeasor. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Co. v. Webb (1990), 54 Ohio St. 3d 61, syllabus. Accordingly, State Farm is not liable to Counts under the uninsured provisions of trie State Farm policy. State Farm's second assignment of error is sustained.

State Farm's Assignment of Error V

"The trial court erred in overruling sub silentio or in the alternative in failing to rule on the applicability of State Farm's regular or frequent use exclusion."

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Bluebook (online)
8 Ohio App. Unrep. 448, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-farm-mut-auto-ins-v-counts-ohioctapp-1990.