Warren v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance

505 F. Supp. 2d 770, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10802
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedFebruary 15, 2007
DocketCivil Action 05-cv-01891-EWN-MEH
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 505 F. Supp. 2d 770 (Warren v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Warren v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance, 505 F. Supp. 2d 770, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10802 (D. Colo. 2007).

Opinion

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

NOTTINGHAM, District Judge.

This is an insurance case. Plaintiffs Kirk and Kurt Warren allege that by failing to disclose, offer, and provide certain personal injury protection (“PIP”) coverage to Deborah Bannister and Kurt Warren (the “Insureds”), Defendant Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company: (1) violated the Colorado Auto Accident Reparations Act (“CAARA”), specifically Colorado Revised Statutes sections 10-4-710(2)(a), 10-4-706(4)(a), and 10-4-111; (2) breached their insurance contract; (3) breached their insurance contracts in statutory and common law bad faith; and (4) breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. This matter comes before the court on: (1) Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum Brief in Support Thereof, filed July 14, 2006; (2) Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment Regarding All Claims of Plaintiff Kurt Warren Based on His Prior Bankruptcy Filing, filed July 14, 2006; and (3) Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, filed July 17, 2006. Jurisdiction is based upon diversity of citizenship, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (2006).

FACTS

1. Factual Background

a. Overview of CAARA

Before turning to the substance of the motions before the court, I discuss the portions of CAARA relevant to this case. 1 Repealed in 2003, CAARA was Colorado’s No-Fault Insurance Act. See Clark v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 292 F.Supp.2d 1252,1258 (D.Colo.2003) {“Clark II”) (citing Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. United States, 3 F.3d 1392, 1394 [10th Cir.1993]). CAARA governed the legal rights of automobile accident victims and them insurers in Colorado and required that motor vehicle owners maintain minimum insurance coverage on their vehicles, including no-fault PIP coverage. See Colo. Rev.Stat. § 10-04-705; Brennan v. Farmers Alliance Mut. Ins. Co., 961 P.2d 550, 552 (Colo.Ct.App.1998). The required mandatory minimum PIP coverage provided for reasonable and necessary medical care, rehabilitative care, lost wages, and *773 death benefits in the event of an accident without regard to fault. See Colo.Rev. Stat. §§ 10 — 04—706(l)(b)—(e).

CAARA also required that insurers provide and offer an option for added PIP (hereinafter “APIP” or “extended PIP”) coverage in exchange for higher premiums. See id. § 10-04-710(1); Clark v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 319 F.3d 1234, 1238 (10th Cir.2003) (“Clark 7”). Specifically, as relevant to the instant case, CAARA required that:

(2)(a) Every insurer shall offer the following enhanced benefits for inclusion in a complying policy, in addition to the basic coverages described in section 10-4-706, at the option of the named insured:
(I) Compensation of all expenses of the type described in section 10^4-706(l)(b) without dollar or time limitation; or
(II) Compensation of all expenses of the type described in section 10-4-706(l)(b) without dollar or time limitation and payment of benefits equivalent to eighty-five percent of loss of gross income per week from work the injured person would have performed had such injured person not been injured during the period commencing on the day after the date of the accident without dollar or time limitations.

Colo.Rev.Stat. § 10-04-710(2)(a). Moreover, the offer of APIP benefits was required to extend coverage to named insureds, family members, guest occupants, and pedestrians. See Clark I, 319 F.3d at 1241-42; Brennan, 961 P.2d at 553-55; see also Colo.Rev.Stat. § 10-4-707(1). The Brennan court noted that the “directive of [section] 10-4-710 is to the insurer, not the insured: all that is required is that the insurer offer these extended benefits.” 961 P.2d at 554.

b. The Warren Insurance Policy

On or about March 5, 1996, Deborah Bannister (n/k/a Deborah Warren), Kurt Warren’ s 2 purported wife, executed an auto insurance policy (hereinafter “the Policy”) with Defendant on behalf of the Insureds. (Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J. and Mem.Br. in Supp. Thereof, Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 4, 6 [filed July 14, 2006] [hereinafter “Def.’s Br.”]; admitted at Pis.’ Resp. to Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶4, 6 [filed Aug. 24, 2006] [hereinafter “Pis.’ Resp.”].) Mr. Warren had authorized Ms. Bannister to apply for and select the appropriate level of insurance coverage on his behalf.(7d, Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 4; admitted at Pis.’ Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶4.) At the time she applied.for the Policy, Defendant’s sales representative, Doug Maxey, traveled to Ms. Bannister’s place of work to meet with her; Mr. Warren was not present at the meeting. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 5; admitted at Pis.’ Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 5.)

At this meeting, Ms. Bannister executed an automobile insurance policy application as well as the fourth page of a Colorado PIP Coverage Options Disclosure Form 146 R3 (“1996 PIP Disclosure Form”), selecting Basic PIP coverage and declining any APIP coverage. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 6-7; deemed admitted at Pis.’ Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 6-7.) 3 The Disclosure Form reads in relevant part:

*774 ADDED PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION BENEFITS

You may elect to purchase an [A]PIP option, and [A]PIP Work Loss Option, or a combination of these two options applying to you and any family member for a reasonable increase in premium. If you elect either of the following, the $50,000 per person limit of benefits is increased to $200,000 per person for any one accident.
i) [A]PIP MEDICAL EXPENSES provides the same medical expense coverage as Basic PIP except that losses are not limited to those incurred within five (5) years after the accident.
ii) [A]PIP WORK LOSS — provides the same Work Loss Coverage as Basic PIP except there is no 52 week time limitation and coverage is not subject to a weekly dollar limit.
iii) [A]PIP MEDICAL EXPENSES AND ADDED PIP WORK LOSS— provides a combination of i) and ii) above.

(Id., Ex. A-6 at 4 [1996 PIP Disclosure Form] [emphasis in original].) Ms.

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Related

Warren v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance
691 F. Supp. 2d 1255 (D. Colorado, 2010)
Warren v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance
555 F.3d 1141 (Tenth Circuit, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
505 F. Supp. 2d 770, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10802, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/warren-v-liberty-mutual-fire-insurance-cod-2007.