Steinwinder v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co.

742 So. 2d 1150, 1999 WL 628669
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 19, 1999
Docket97-CA-00792-SCT, 98-CA-00100-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 742 So. 2d 1150 (Steinwinder v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Steinwinder v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co., 742 So. 2d 1150, 1999 WL 628669 (Mich. 1999).

Opinion

742 So.2d 1150 (1999)

Joseph Henry STEINWINDER, Jr. and Cynthia Myrick Steinwinder
v.
The AETNA CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY.

Nos. 97-CA-00792-SCT, 98-CA-00100-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

August 19, 1999.
Rehearing Denied October 7, 1999.

Dean Holleman, Billy W. Hood, Rodney D. Robinson, Gulfport, Attorneys for Appellants.

John Roger Miller, Enterprise, Attorney for Appellee.

BEFORE SULLIVAN, P.J., BANKS, AND WALLER, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

¶ 1. A majority of the court agrees that the judgment of the trial court must be reversed but fails to agree on the disposition thereafter. Because we cannot *1151 agree on any instructions to guide the lower court, we remand the case to be decided on such principles as the trial judge may deem right. See McNutt v. Lancaster, 17 Miss. 570 (1848).

BANKS, Justice, delivers the following opinion.

¶ 2. In this case, we are faced with the question of whether uninsured motorist coverage extends to the shareholders/officers of a corporation when the corporation is the only named insured under a corporate policy. Following the majority of jurisdictions which have been faced with this issue, we conclude that a shareholder is not entitled to uninsured motorist coverage in such instances solely by virtue of his status as a shareholder. In this present case, however, factual issues exist as to the extent of coverage agreed on by the parties which make a grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurer improper. Accordingly, the summary judgment below in favor of the insurer is reversed, and this case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I.

¶ 3. Steinwinder Enterprises, Inc. (SWI) is a corporation owned and operated by Joseph Steinwinder, Sr. (Joe, Sr.); his wife, Kit; their son, Joseph Steinwinder, Jr. (Joe, Jr.); and his sister. While SWI's principal place of business is Gulfport, Mississippi, its business as a wholesale distributor requires extensive travel both nationally and internationally. On July 13, 1990, Joe Steinwinder, Jr., was injured while in Chicago, Illinois on business when the taxi cab in which he was a passenger collided with another vehicle.

¶ 4. SWI possessed insurance coverage with Aetna Casualty and Surety Company. The insurance policy was acquired by Joe, Sr. for SWI through Sam Readman, an Aetna agent who had been SWI's insurance agent for about twenty-five years. The policy with Aetna was first acquired by Joe, Sr. around 1989 in the name of SWI. Under the policy in effect at the time of the accident, SWI carried a Worker's Compensation, Employer's Liability and a Business Auto Policy. SWI possessed uninsured motorist coverage in the amount of $300,000 for its business auto, one 1990 Ford truck. This amount had been changed from a $25,000 mistaken uninsured coverage limit upon renewal in 1990. The named insured under the policies was SWI.

¶ 5. As a result of the Chicago accident, Joe, Jr. made a claim for uninsured motorist coverage under the business auto policy. Aetna denied the claim on the basis that he did not qualify as an insured for uninsured motorist coverage under this policy. This denial provided grounds for a complaint filed by Joe, Jr. and his wife Cynthia. Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment were filed by both parties. After hearing on the motions, the trial court granted Aetna's summary judgment motion by order on February 7, 1997, holding that Joe, Jr. was not entitled to uninsured motorist benefits under the policy issued to SWI. Subsequently, Joe, Jr. filed a Motion to Alter, Amend or Clarify the trial court's order which the court denied on May 20, 1997.

¶ 6. Aggrieved, Joe, Jr. and Cynthia appealed to this Court for relief. Joe, Jr. filed Notice of Appeal to the Harrison County Circuit Court on June 20, 1997, one day after the deadline for filing such notice. On June 21, 1997, Joe, Jr. filed a motion to extend time for filing notice of appeal. After hearing on the motion, the trial court granted the motion by order dated January 14, 1998, finding the delay was the result of excusable neglect and extending the time for filing for period of ten days after the order date. Joe, Jr., thereafter filed a Re-Notice of Appeal on January 22, 1998.

II.

a.

¶ 7. This Court employs a de novo standard of review when reviewing a lower *1152 court's grant of summary judgment. Box v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 692 So.2d 54, 55 (Miss.1997) (citing Mississippi Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co. v. Curtis, 678 So.2d 983 (Miss.1996)). Evidentiary matters are viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and if any triable issues of fact exist, the lower court's decision to grant summary judgment will be reversed. Id.

b.

¶ 8. The Steinwinders contend that an officer and employee of a closely held family corporation is entitled to uninsured motorist coverage under the corporate policy for an accident which occurred while on company business, although not in a vehicle designated under the corporate policy. They assert that because Joe, Jr. was an officer and employee of SWI, acting in the scope of his employment while in Chicago, he falls within the uninsured motorist coverage under SWI's business auto policy, regardless of the fact that he was not in a covered auto. Aetna first counters that this appeal should be dismissed because the Steinwinders' Notice of Appeal was not timely filed pursuant to Rule 4 of the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure.[1] Aetna also argues that summary judgment was proper because under the terms of the policy, Joe, Jr. was not a named insured.

¶ 9. While the trial court allowed the Steinwinders an extension to file their appeal based on excusable neglect, Aetna argues that the reasons presented by the Steinwinders did not constitute excusable neglect. Aetna, however, makes this argument on appeal to this Court without first filing a cross-appeal. For an appellee to raise an argument other than in response to the appellant, the appellee must comply with the requirements for filing a cross appeal with this Court. Morrow v. Morrow, 591 So.2d 829, 832 (Miss.1991). Failure to file a notice of cross-appeal is usually considered fatal. Lindsey v. Lindsey, 612 So.2d 376, 378 (Miss.1992). Where an appellee raises an issue not raised by the appellant without filing a notice of cross-appeal, it is within this Court's discretion to address the issue. Morrow, 591 So.2d at 832. We decline to address the issue.

c.

¶ 10. It is a fundamental requirement that before a person is entitled to recover uninsured motorist coverage, they must first prove that they are an insured under the insurance policy or the uninsured motorist statute. Johnson v. Preferred Risk Auto. Ins. Co., 659 So.2d 866, 871 (Miss. 1995).

¶ 11. The language in the Uninsured Motorist Coverages section of the policy in this case provides:

We [Aetna] 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 or property damage caused by an accident.

WHO IS INSURED:

1. You
2. If you are an individual, any family member
3. Anyone else occupying a covered auto or a temporary substitute for a covered auto. The covered auto must be out of service because of its breakdown, repair, servicing, loss, or destruction.
4.

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Bluebook (online)
742 So. 2d 1150, 1999 WL 628669, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/steinwinder-v-aetna-cas-and-sur-co-miss-1999.