State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Hunt

2014 WI App 115, 856 N.W.2d 633, 358 Wis. 2d 379, 2014 Wisc. App. LEXIS 803
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin·Decided October 2, 2014·No. No. 2013AP2518·Published·Cited by 34 cases

Opinion

BLANCHARD, EJ.

¶ 1. This case arises from a collision between a vehicle driven by Barry Hunt and a snow plow owned by Dane County and operated by a county employee. Barry Hunt and his wife, Ashley Hunt, had a motor vehicle liability policy with State Farm Mutual Insurance Co. at the time of the collision. The damages recoverable from the county and its employee are capped by statute at $250,000, Wis. Stat. § 345.05(3) (2011-12), and the Hunts claimed damages greater than that amount. The issue presented is whether the Hunts can rely on their policy, as affected by the underinsured motorist coverage provisions found at Wis. Stat. § 632.32(2) and (4) (2009-10),1 to recover their damages arising out of this collision in excess of $250,000 and up to the limits of the underinsured motorist coverage required by statute.

¶ 2. The circuit court granted summary judgment to State Farm, concluding that the Hunts could not recover damages in excess of $250,000 under their policy as affected by the underinsured motorist coverage law for two reasons: (1) the Hunts are not "legally entitled to recover" damages, within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 632.32(2)(d), beyond the $250,000 statutory liability cap applicable to a claim against a municipality [385] for negligent operation of a vehicle; and (2) government owned vehicles are excluded from the definition of an underinsured motor vehicle under the terms of the Hunts' policy.

¶ 3. We conclude that the Hunts are "legally entitled to recover" damages within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 632.32(2)(d) and that, assuming that the definition of underinsured motor vehicle in the Hunts' policy included an exclusion for government-owned vehicles, this exclusion is void under § 632.32. Therefore, we reverse the decision of the circuit court granting summary judgment to State Farm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 4. The following facts or allegations are undisputed for the purposes of this appeal. Barry Hunt sustained serious injuries as a result of a collision between his vehicle and a Dane County snow plow in January 2012. These injuries were caused by a county employee's negligence. The Hunts filed a notice of claim, in accordance with Wis. Stat. § 893.80(ld) (2011-12), claiming $5,850,000 in damages against the county and its employee.

¶ 5. Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 345.05(3) (2011-12), the damages recoverable from the county and its employee are capped at $250,000.

¶ 6. At the time of the collision, the Hunts had a motor vehicle liability insurance policy with State Farm, which had been issued on October 10, 2011. The date matters because at that time Wis. Stat. § 632.32, which sets forth requirements for motor vehicle insurance, required all motor vehicle liability policies to provide underinsured motorist coverage. See § 632.32(1), [386] (4) (a)2m.2 Under this version of the law, underinsured motorist coverage was defined by statute as follows:

coverage for the protection of persons insured under that coverage who are legally entitled to recover damages for bodily injury, death, sickness, or disease from owners or operators of underinsured motor vehicles.

Sec. 632.32(2)(d). This statute further defined an underinsured motor vehicle as a motor vehicle to which the following subsections apply, as pertinent to the issues raised in this appeal:

2. At the time of the accident, a bodily injury liability insurance policy applies to the motor vehicle!,] or the owner or operator of the motor vehicle has furnished proof of financial responsibility... or is a self-insurer....
3. The limits under the bodily injury liability insurance policy or with respect to the proof of financial responsibility or self-insurance are less than the amount needed to fully compensate the insured for his or her damages.

Sec. 632.32(2)(e).

¶ 7. Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 632.32(4)(a)2m., the Hunts' State Farm policy provided underinsured motorist coverage in the amount of $100,000 per person or $300,000 per accident. The insuring agreement provided that State Farm "will pay compensatory damages for bodily injury an insured is legally entitled to recover from the owner or driver of an underinsured [387] motor vehicle . . . The Hunts' policy exempted vehicles "owned by or rented to any government" from its definition of an underinsured motor vehicle. However, an endorsement to the policy redefined an under-insured motor vehicle and, in doing so, did not include any language regarding an exclusion for government vehicles.

¶ 8. The Hunts sought recovery pursuant to their underinsured motorist coverage. State Farm filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and a motion for summary judgment seeking a declaration that the Hunts' policy, as affected by Wis. Stat. § 632.32, does not provide underinsured motorist coverage for the collision. State Farm argued that the only damages the Hunts are "legally entitled to recover" from the county and its employee are capped by statute at $250,000, and that there is no dispute that damages up to that amount are otherwise fully covered. State Farm also argued that the snow plow was not an underinsured motor vehicle because it was owned by a governmental unit.

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State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Hunt, 2014 WI App 115, 856 N.W.2d 633, 358 Wis. 2d 379, 2014 Wisc. App. LEXIS 803 (Wis. Ct. App. 2014).

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