Sweeden v. Farmers Insurance Group

30 S.W.3d 783, 71 Ark. App. 381, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 731
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 15, 2000
DocketCA 99-988
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 30 S.W.3d 783 (Sweeden v. Farmers Insurance Group) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sweeden v. Farmers Insurance Group, 30 S.W.3d 783, 71 Ark. App. 381, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 731 (Ark. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

JOHN MAUZY PITTMAN, Judge.

The issues in this appeal concern the extent of liability coverage available under three separate automobile insurance policies, each having per-person bodily injury limits of $100,000. The policies were issued to appellant Kenneth White (and, in the case of one policy, Kenneth White and Kenneth’s Auto Sales) by appellees Mid-Century Insurance Company, Farmers Insurance Company, and Farmers Insurance Exchange, all members of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies. Coverage issues arose in 1996 when an automobile accident occurred between a vehicle driven by appellant Raymond Sweeden and a vehicle driven by Kenneth White’s son, Randall. As a result of the accident, Sweeden and his wife, appellant Ileen Sweeden, sued the White family seeking compensation for Raymond’s injuries and for Ileen’s loss of consortium. Before that suit was resolved, however, the Sweedens filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against appellees claiming that, to obtain redress for their injuries, liability coverage should be available under all three of the Whites’ insurance policies. Appellees moved for summary judgment and argued that, as a matter of law, their coverage obligation was limited to the $100,000 limit of one of the policies. The circuit judge agreed and granted summary judgment in their favor. We affirm.

The accident in which Raymond Sweeden was injured occurred on May 9, 1996. His vehicle was struck from the rear by a 1989 Chevrolet CIO pickup driven by seventeen-year-old Randall White. Following the accident, the Sweedens sued Randall and his parents, Kenneth and Brenda White, alleging that the accident was proximately caused by Randall’s negligence. They further alleged that Randall’s negligence should be imputed to Kenneth and Brenda White pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 27-16-702 (Supp. 1999). That statute provides that the negligence of a minor driver shall be imputed to the person who either signs or is authorized to sign the minor’s driver’s license application.

As a result of the Sweedens’ lawsuit against the Whites, questions arose concerning the extent of liability coverage owed by appellees under the following three policies: 1) a policy issued by Mid-Century Insurance Company to Kenneth White on the 1989 Chevrolet CIO pickup with bodily injury liability limits of $100,000 for each person and $300,000 for each occurrence (hereafter, “the Mid-Century policy”); 2) a policy issued by Farmers Insurance Company to Kenneth White on a 1995 Taurus with bodily injury liability limits of $100,000 for each person and $300,000 for each occurrence (hereafter, “the Taurus policy”); and 3) a commercial garage policy issued by Farmers Insurance Exchange to Kenneth White and Kenneth’s Auto Sales with liability limits of $100,000 for each accident (hereafter, “the garage policy”). Appellees acknowledged that $100,000 in coverage was available under the Mid-Century policy, but denied that any further amounts were due under any of the policies.

To resolve the coverage issues, the Sweedens filed the declaratory-judgment complaint that is the subject of this appeal. They sought a declaration that liability coverage was available under all three of the White’s policies and that Ileen Sweeden’s loss-of-consortium claim should not be included in the per-person bodily injury limits of any one of the policies. In effect, they asserted that up to $400,000 in liability coverage was available under the policies: $300,000 as the total per-person liability limits on the policies, plus another $100,000 for Ileen’s loss-of-consortium claim. Kenneth and Brenda White, who were named as defendants in the action along with the appellee insurance companies, cross-claimed against appel-lees and agreed with the Sweedens that more than $100,000 in coverage was owed.

On July 25, 1997, appellees filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that, as a matter of law, the total limit of liability coverage available to the White family was $100,000. They contended that: 1) Ileen Sweeden’s loss-of-consortium claim was derivative and therefore included in the $100,000 limit of liability for Raymond Sweeden’s bodily injury; 2) there was no coverage under the Taurus policy because it excluded coverage for any of Kenneth White’s vehicles other than the Taurus; and 3) there was no coverage under either the Taurus policy or the garage policy because they contained “other insurance” clauses that limited coverage to $100,000. Copies of all three policies were attached to the motion. The Sweedens responded to the motion for summary judgment by arguing that: 1) Ileen Sweeden’s loss-of-consortium claim was entitled to be treated as a separate bodily injury; and 2) the “other insurance” clauses in the policies were ambiguous and against public policy. The Sweeden’s response was adopted by appellants Kenneth and Brenda White.

On November 10, 1997, Circuit Judge Lance Hanshaw denied the motion for summary judgment on the ground that factual issues remained in dispute. Several months later, judgment was entered in the Sweedens’ tort case against the White family. The judge found that Randall White was guilty of negligence and that his negligence should be imputed to Kenneth and Brenda White. He awarded $300,000 in damages to Raymond Sweeden and $100,000 to Ileen Sweeden. On February 18, 1999, appellees renewed their motion for summary judgment, asserting the same arguments they had previously made. Following a hearing, Judge Phillip Whiteaker, to whom Judge Hanshaw had transferred the case, granted summary judgment in favor of appellees. The Sweedens and the Whites bring their appeal from that ruling.

In reviewing summary-judgment cases, we determine whether the trial court’s grant of summary judgment was appropriate based on whether the evidence presented by the moving party left a material question of fact unanswered. Norris v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 341 Ark. 360, 16 S.W.3d 242 (2000). The moving party always bears the burden of sustaining a motion for summary judgment. Youngman v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 334 Ark. 73, 971 S.W.2d 248 (1998). All proof must be viewed in the light most favorable to the resisting party, and any doubts must be resolved against the moving party. Id. In a case such as this one where there are no disputed facts, our review must focus on the trial court’s application of the law to those undisputed facts. See id.

The issues in this case involve the construction of language in various insurance policies. A contract is unambiguous and its construction and legal effect are questions of law when its terms are not susceptible to more than one equally reasonable construction. See Singh v. Riley’s, Inc., 46 Ark. App. 223, 878 S.W.2d 422 (1994). However, an ambiguity may arise when the language in an insurance policy is susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation. See Keller v. Safeco Ins. Co., 317 Ark. 308, 877 S.W.2d 90 (1994). Policy language is to be construed in its plain, ordinary, and popular sense. See Norris v. State Farm, supra.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United Services Automovile Association v. Mary Norton
2020 Ark. App. 100 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2020)
Vicki Kline v. Phh Mortgage Corporation
2019 Ark. App. 462 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2019)
Parker v. Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Ins. Co.
292 S.W.3d 311 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2009)
Tucker v. Tucker
239 S.W.3d 532 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2006)
Ison v. Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Co.
221 S.W.3d 373 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2006)
Southway Corp. v. Metropolitan Realty & Development Co.
206 S.W.3d 250 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2005)
Essex Insurance v. Inland Marine Sales, LLC
387 F. Supp. 2d 978 (W.D. Arkansas, 2005)
Armendariz v. Progressive County Mutual Insurance Co.
112 S.W.3d 736 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
McQuay v. Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield
98 S.W.3d 454 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2003)
Hisaw v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
94 S.W.3d 349 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2002)
Hartford Ins. Co. v. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.
824 So. 2d 234 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2002)
Troutman Oil Co. v. Lone
57 S.W.3d 240 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
30 S.W.3d 783, 71 Ark. App. 381, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 731, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sweeden-v-farmers-insurance-group-arkctapp-2000.