Vaughn v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.

359 So. 2d 339, 1978 Miss. LEXIS 2258
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMay 31, 1978
Docket49937
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 359 So. 2d 339 (Vaughn v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. 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
Vaughn v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 359 So. 2d 339, 1978 Miss. LEXIS 2258 (Mich. 1978).

Opinion

359 So.2d 339 (1978)

Robert W. VAUGHN
v.
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY.

No. 49937.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

May 31, 1978.

Miller & Dean, Mike L. Cordell, Greenville, for appellant.

Robertshaw & Merideth, Randolph Noble, Jr., Greenville, for appellee.

EN BANC.

SUGG, Justice, for the Court:

This is an appeal from a garnishment proceeding in the Circuit Court of Washington County which resulted in a directed verdict for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The question for decision is whether the operator of an insured automobile was an additional insured within the terms of the omnibus clause of a motor vehicle liability policy.

*340 Robert Vaughn obtained a judgment against James Creely, a minor, in the amount of $9,048.17. The judgment arose out of an accident which occurred on November 7, 1970 in which Vaughn's minor son, Michael, sustained injuries while he was a passenger in an automobile driven by Creely.[1] The automobile which Creely was driving was owned by E.H. McGarrh who had obtained a motor vehicle liability policy from State Farm on the automobile naming McGarrh as the insured.

Vaughn filed a suggestion of garnishment against State Farm suggesting that State Farm was indebted to Creely under the omnibus clause of the policy issued to McGarrh. State Farm answered the writ of garnishment and denied that it was so indebted. Vaughn contested the answer, and thus the issue was made up as to whether Creely was an additional insured within the meaning of the omnibus clause. The trial court held that Creely was not an additional insured and directed a verdict against Vaughn.

On the date of the accident McGarrh was divorced from his wife who lived separate and apart from him with some of the children of the parties, including Deborah McGarrh (now Deborah McGarrh Walls). McGarrh allowed his ex-wife to keep the automobile in question at her residence and permitted her unrestricted use of the automobile. Neither Mrs. McGarrh nor any of the children were named as insureds under the policy.

The automobile was within the primary and unrestricted control of Mrs. McGarrh who would allow Deborah to use the car upon request. Although Deborah used the car on frequent occasions, the key was kept by her mother and Deborah's use was conditioned upon first obtaining permission from her mother. Deborah visited her father frequently, and he visited Deborah in the home of his ex-wife frequently. On some occasions Deborah drove the automobile to her father's home for the purpose of a visit, but he did not object to the use of the automobile by Deborah, and placed no specific restrictions on her use of the automobile.

On November 9, 1970, Deborah was sixteen years of age. She requested use of the automobile from her mother to visit a local skating rink. After obtaining permission to use the automobile, Deborah arrived at the skating rink at approximately 7:00 p.m. She testified that she was approached by Michael Vaughn, who requested permission to use the automobile to go to a girlfriend's home near the skating rink. Although Deborah initially refused to allow Michael the use of the automobile, she stated that she finally consented and permitted him to take the automobile with the understanding that he would go to his girlfriend's home and return in approximately 30 minutes.

Michael Vaughn testified that he did not have a conversation with Deborah at the skating rink, but said that James Creely obtained permission to use the car. Michael said that he and Creely first went to his girlfriend's house about two blocks from the skating rink, then to a local convenience store, and then to another friend's home. After completing a visit at the second friend's home, Michael and Creely were returning to the skating rink with Creely driving the automobile when the accident occurred.

Vaughn assigns as error the action of the lower court in sustaining the motion of State Farm for a directed verdict. When considering a motion for a directed verdict the court must examine the evidence for the plaintiff in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Paymaster Oil Co. v. Mitchell, *341 319 So.2d 652 (Miss. 1975). There is a conflict in the testimony of Deborah and Michael as to who obtained permission from Deborah to use the automobile. Deborah said she gave permission to Michael, but he maintained she gave permission to James Creely. We accept Michael's version under the rule stated above; however, it does not matter whether permission was given to Michael or Creely because neither is an additional insured under the omnibus clause for the reasons stated hereafter.

The omnibus clause in the policy issued to McGarrh reads as follows:

Insured — the unqualified word `insured' includes
(1) the named insured, and
(2) if the named insured is a person or persons, also includes his or their spouse(s), if a resident of the same household, and
(3) if residents of the same household, the relatives of the first person named in the declarations, or of his spouse, and
(4) any other person while using the owned motor vehicle, PROVIDED THE OPERATION AND THE ACTUAL USE OF SUCH VEHICLE ARE WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE NAMED INSURED OR SUCH SPOUSE AND ARE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF SUCH PERMISSION, and
(5) under coverages A and B any other person or organization, but only with respect to his or its liability for the use of such owned motor vehicle by an insured as defined in the four subsections above.

While the omnibus clause of the policy extends coverage to another person only while using the automobile with the permission of the insured within the scope of such permission, section 63-15-43 Mississippi Code Annotated (1972) requires that such liability policies cover persons using the vehicle with either the express or implied permission of the named insured. Section 63-15-43 follows:

(1) A `motor vehicle liability policy' as said term is used in this chapter shall mean an owner's or an operator's policy of liability insurance, certified as provided in section 63-15-39 or section 63-15-41, as proof of financial responsibility, and issued, except as otherwise provided in section 63-15-41, by an insurance company duly authorized to write motor vehicle liability insurance in this state, to or for the benefit of the person named therein as insured.
(2) Such owner's policy of liability insurance:
(a) shall designate by explicit description or by appropriate reference all motor vehicles with respect to which coverage is thereby to be granted.

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

Related

Lyons v. Direct General Insurance Co. of Mississippi
138 So. 3d 930 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2012)
Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Dunning
252 F.3d 712 (Fifth Circuit, 2001)
Federated Mut. Ins. Co. v. Davis by and Through Davis
919 F. Supp. 1001 (S.D. Mississippi, 1995)
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Mettetal
534 So. 2d 189 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1988)
Perry v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
606 F. Supp. 270 (S.D. Mississippi, 1985)
Thomas v. Deviney Const. Co.
458 So. 2d 694 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1984)
Vaughn v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
445 So. 2d 224 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
359 So. 2d 339, 1978 Miss. LEXIS 2258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vaughn-v-state-farm-mut-auto-ins-co-miss-1978.