West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co.

776 N.W.2d 693, 2009 Minn. LEXIS 927
Supreme Court of Minnesota·Decided December 24, 2009·No. Nos. A07-248, A07-357·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinions

OPINION

DIETZEN, Justice.

Appellant Thomas Oczak (Oczak) was seriously injured in a car accident in which the driver of the other car was underin-sured. At the time of the accident, Oczak was the owner of North End 66, Inc. (North End),1 and was driving a car owned by a customer of North End. After settling with the negligent driver’s insurer, and the insurer of the ear Oczak occupied, Oczak brought underinsured motorist (UIM) claims against West Bend Mutual Insurance Company (West Bend), the insurer of North End, and Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate), his personal insurer. West Bend brought a declaratory judgment action against Oczak and Allstate to determine the obligations and coverage priorities of the insurance policies. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court concluded that the Allstate policy provided excess UIM coverage and that the West Bend policy did not. The court of appeals affirmed, and we granted review. We affirm.

The material facts of the case are undisputed. Thomas Oczak was the owner and an employee of North End. North End is a corporation engaged in the business of servicing and repairing motor vehicles.

On July 13, 2000, Thomas Oczak was seriously injured in a car accident in which the driver of the other car was negligent and underinsured. At the time of the accident, Oczak was driving a car owned by North End’s customer Justin Kelly. The negligent driver had liability coverage with policy limits of $100,000. The Kelly vehicle was insured with Mutual Service Insurance Companies (MSI) and had UIM policy limits of $100,000. Oczak had personal automobile insurance through an Allstate policy that provided UIM coverage with policy limits of $300,000. North End had garage business owner’s liability insurance through West Bend that provided UIM coverage with policy limits of $500,000.

Oczak settled with the negligent driver’s insurer for its liability policy limits of $100,000; and settled with Kelly’s insurer, MSI, for its UIM policy limits of $100,000. Oczak then brought claims against Allstate and West Bend for excess UIM insurance [697] benefits. The West Bend policy provides it will pay all sums an “insured” is legally entitled to recover as damages from an underinsured motorist, up to the policy limits of $500,000. An “insured” under the West Bend policy is defined, in part, as anyone occupying a “covered auto.” In a letter to Oczak’s attorney, West Bend conceded that the auto Oczak was driving was considered a “covered auto” under the policy.

West Bend brought a declaratory judgment action against Allstate and Oczak to determine the obligations and coverage priorities. All parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Oczak argued that MSI and West Bend were co-primary under the statute and their respective policies and therefore both provided UIM coverage to Oczak. Oczak and Allstate also argued that West Bend provided excess UIM coverage to Oczak. Following a hearing, the district court rejected both arguments, and concluded that West Bend was not co-primary, and that the Allstate policy, not the West Bend policy, provided excess UIM coverage. The court of appeals affirmed. West Bend Mut Ins. Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., Nos. A07-0248, A07-357, 2008 WL 1747826 (Minn.App. Apr. 15, 2008). Allstate and Oczak filed separate petitions for review. We granted review of both petitions.

It is undisputed that Oczak is entitled to UIM benefits as a result of the serious injuries he sustained in the accident. Oc-zak has already recovered $100,000 in his settlement with the negligent driver’s insurer and $100,000 in primary UIM benefits under the MSI policy that insured his customer’s vehicle, but Oczak contends that he still is not fully compensated for his actual damages. Allstate, which insured Oczak’s personal vehicle, has acknowledged there is excess UIM coverage available under its policy as a result of the accident. At issue is whether the West Bend garage business owner’s liability policy also provides UIM benefits to Oczak. The parties dispute whether Oczak is entitled to primary UIM benefits under the West Bend policy; whether he is entitled to excess UIM benefits under the West Bend policy; and whether any excess UIM benefits available under the West Bend policy have priority over the UIM benefits available under the Allstate policy. This dispute turns on the interpretation of various provisions of the No-Fault Act, and various provisions of the West Bend insurance policy.

I.

A. Statutory Framework

The No-Fault Act requires all motor vehicle insurance policies issued in Minnesota to provide certain minimum limits of uninsured (UM) and UIM coverage. See Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3a(l) (2008). “Underinsured motorist coverage” means coverage for persons “who are legally entitled to recover damages for bodily injury from owners or operators of underinsured motor vehicles.” Minn.Stat. § 65B.43, subd. 19 (2008). An “underinsured motor vehicle” is a motor vehicle “to which a bodily injury liability policy applies at the time of the accident but its limit for bodily injury liability is less than the amount needed to compensate the insured for actual damages.” Minn.Stat. § 65B.43, subd. 17 (2008).

The No-Fault Act provides a framework for determining the source of coverage for UIM claims. Minnesota Statutes § 65B.49, subd. 3a(5), provides:

If at the time of the accident the injured person is occupying a motor vehicle, the limit of liability for uninsured and un-derinsured motorist coverages available to the injured person is the limit speci[698] fied for that motor vehicle. However, if the injured person is occupying a motor vehicle of which the injured person is not an insured, the injured person may be entitled to excess insurance protection afforded by a policy in which the injured party is otherwise insured. The excess insurance protection is limited to the extent of covered damages sustained, and further is available only to the extent by which the limit of liability for like coverage applicable to any one motor vehicle listed on the automobile insurance policy of which the injured person is an insured exceeds the limit of liability of the coverage available to the injured person from the occupied motor vehicle.

The first sentence of subdivision 3a(5) addresses primary UIM benefits; the second and third sentences address excess UIM benefits.

B. Dispute over Meaning of Subdivision 3a(5)

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West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co., 776 N.W.2d 693, 2009 Minn. LEXIS 927 (Mich. 2009).

776 N.W.2d 693 (West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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WEST BEND MUT. INS. v. Allstate Ins.
776 N.W.2d 693 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2009)