Tyrrell v. Farmers Insurance

140 Wash. 2d 129
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 9, 2000
DocketNo. 67862-6
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 140 Wash. 2d 129 (Tyrrell v. Farmers Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tyrrell v. Farmers Insurance, 140 Wash. 2d 129 (Wash. 2000).

Opinion

Guy, C.J.

Michael Tyrrell, respondent, brought an action in Spokane County Superior Court against Farmers Insurance Company of Washington (Farmers), petitioner, [131]*131requesting a declaratory judgment that Tyrrell’s tripping while exiting a camper attached to his pickup truck, with alleged injuries resulting, was a “motor vehicle accident” covered under the personal injury provisions (PIP) of his automobile insurance policy. The trial court granted Tyrrell's motion for partial summary judgment on this question. Farmers appealed, arguing in relevant part that the legal conclusion that Tyrrell's injuries were the product of a “motor vehicle accident” was clearly erroneous. Division Three of the Court of Appeals affirmed. Farmers petitioned for this Court’s review. We granted review, and now reverse the Court of Appeals and remand to the trial court for an entry of summary judgment in Farmers’ favor.

FACTS

The following facts are undisputed. In 1992, Tyrrell, a chiropractor, parked a 1986 Toyota one-ton pickup, to which a detachable camper was affixed, in a Spokane park for overnight camping. The vehicle was insured by Farmers. The camper’s purchase, occurring three or four years after that of the truck, had included a single, unattached wooden object used as a step to make entering and exiting easier. Upon exiting the camper, Tyrrell stepped down from the truck’s tailgate onto the unattached wooden step that had been placed on the ground. The step somehow gave way, causing Tyrrell to fall. In falling, his arm caught on the edge of the tailgate, cutting it. He then landed on a rock, further injuring himself. In addition to minor wounds, Tyrrell suffered two compression fractures in his back. Tyrrell first notified Farmers of the incident a few months later. Two and a half years later he filed a claim with Farmers under his policy’s PIP provisions seeking payment for medical expenses, wage loss, and the purchase of a Nordic Track and medical equipment. Farmers denied the claim.

Tyrrell filed an action in Spokane County Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that the accident was covered under the PIP provisions of his Farmers policy. Farmers answered with two affirmative defenses: (1) The [132]*132injuries were not caused by a “motor vehicle accident” and, thus, were not covered by the Farmers policy; and (2) Tyrrell breached conditions in his Farmers policy precedent to invoking its coverage by failing to cooperate with Farmers and timely submit his claim form. Farmers moved for summary judgment on the question of whether Tyrrell’s injury claim was the result of a “motor vehicle accident” within the insurance policy’s coverage, arguing it was not. Tyrrell cross-claimed for a partial summary judgment finding that there was coverage. The trial judge granted partial summary judgment on this question to Tyrrell and denied Farmers’ motion. Farmers then moved for summary judgment on its second affirmative defense: breach of the policy’s cooperation clause. This motion was also denied,1 thus reserving this fact question for trial. Farmers appealed to Division Three of the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the trial court. See Tyrrell v. Farmers Ins. Group of Cos., 94 Wn. App. 320, 971 P.2d 960 (1999). Farmers then petitioned for this Court’s review, and review was granted.

ISSUE

Was Tyrrell's injury claim the result of a “motor vehicle accident” covered by his automobile insurance policy?

ANALYSIS

The central issue in this case is whether Tyrrell's injury claim could have been covered by his automobile insurance policy inasmuch as the policy limits coverage to claims for “bodily injury to each insured person caused by a motor vehicle accident.” Clerk’s Papers at 92 (emphasis added).

In reviewing an appealed summary judgment order, this Court engages in the same inquiry as the trial [133]*133court. See Roller v. Stonewall Ins. Co., 115 Wn.2d 679, 682, 801 P.2d 207 (1990) (citing Wendle v. Farrow, 102 Wn.2d 380, 383, 686 P.2d 480 (1984)). Roller noted that where facts are not in dispute, “coverage depends solely on the language of the insurance policy” — and the interpretation of that language is a question of law reviewed de novo. Roller, 115 Wn.2d at 682 (citations omitted). “In construing the language of an insurance policy, the policy should be given a fair, reasonable, and sensible construction as would be given to the contract by the average person purchasing insurance.” Roller, 115 Wn.2d at 682 (citing E-Z Loader Boat Trailers, Inc. v. Travelers Indem. Co., 106 Wn.2d 901, 907, 726 P.2d 439 (1986)).

In reviewing the policy, it is considered as a whole so as to give effect to every clause in it. See Kitsap County v. Allstate Ins. Co., 136 Wn.2d 567, 575, 964 P.2d 1173 (1998) (citing American Star Ins. Co. v. Grice, 121 Wn.2d 869, 877, 854 P.2d 622 (1993), supplemented by 123 Wn.2d 131, 865 P.2d 507, 44 A.L.R.5th 905 (1994)). This Court examines the policy’s terms “to determine whether under the plain meaning of the contract there is coverage.” Kitsap County, 136 Wn.2d at 576 (citing Boeing Co. v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 113 Wn.2d 869, 876, 784 P.2d 507, 87 A.L.R.4th 405 (1990)). Where terms are undefined, they “must be given their ‘plain, ordinary, and popular’ meaning.” Kitsap County, 136 Wn.2d at 576 (quoting Boeing, 113 Wn.2d at 877). In determining this meaning, standard English dictionaries may be used. See Kitsap County, 136 Wn.2d at 576.

Where policy language is “clear and unambiguous,” and not fairly susceptible to two different reasonable interpretations, courts may not create an ambiguity. Kitsap County, 136 Wn.2d at 576 (citing American Star, 121 Wn.2d at 874). Both the trial court and the Court of Appeals found the language of the insurance policy at issue here to be unambiguous, and neither party argues here that the term “motor vehicle accident” is ambiguous — although they do disagree over its meaning. The term arises in the following context:

[134]*134We will provide the benefits described below for bodily injury to each insured person caused by a motor vehicle accident.
Motor vehicle means a land motor vehicle or a trailer, but does not mean a vehicle:
3. Located for use as a residence or premises.

Clerk’s Papers at 92. There is no dispute over the fact that Tyrrell’s injuries resulted from an “accident,” which the policy defines as “a sudden event, including continuous or repeated exposure to the same conditions, resulting in bodily injury or property damage neither expected nor intended by the insured person.” Clerk’s Papers at 90.

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

Related

Svetlana Koren v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018
Tree Top Inc. v. Starr Indemnity & Liability Co.
280 F. Supp. 3d 1206 (E.D. Washington, 2017)
Elizabeth R. Sutherlin v. Scott K. Sutherlin
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2017
Jay Merrill, V Pemco Mutual Insurance Company
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2017
Zhaoyun Xia v. Probuilders Specialty Ins. Co.
Washington Supreme Court, 2017
Ainsworth v. Progressive Casualty Insurance
322 P.3d 6 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2014)
Greenfield v. Western Heritage Ins. Co.
226 P.3d 199 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2010)
Greenfield v. Western Heritage Insurance
154 Wash. App. 795 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2010)
State v. Pink
185 P.3d 634 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)
Polygon Northwest Co. v. American Nat. Fire Ins. Co.
189 P.3d 777 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)
Polygon Northwest Co. v. American National Fire Insurance
143 Wash. App. 753 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)
Sharbono v. Universal Underwriters Ins. Co.
161 P.3d 406 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
Sharbono v. Universal Underwriters Insurance
139 Wash. App. 383 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
State v. Steele
142 P.3d 649 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
140 Wash. 2d 129, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tyrrell-v-farmers-insurance-wash-2000.