Western Farm Bureau Insurance v. Carter

1999 NMSC 012, 979 P.2d 231, 127 N.M. 186
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 25, 1999
Docket24,800
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 1999 NMSC 012 (Western Farm Bureau Insurance v. Carter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Western Farm Bureau Insurance v. Carter, 1999 NMSC 012, 979 P.2d 231, 127 N.M. 186 (N.M. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION

FRANCHINI, Justice.

{1} In this case, we determine that repossession of a stolen vehicle is a covered loss under a comprehensive automobile insurance policy that states that the insurer “will pay for any direct and accidental loss of, or damage to, your insured vehicle and its equipment not caused by collision or rollover,” provided the insured party innocently purchased the stolen vehicle.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE

{2} The facts relevant to this appeal are straightforward. In May and June 1995, Sterling and Judith Carter and their adult son, Brian Carter, (the Carters) purchased two vehicles that were later determined by law enforcement officials to have been stolen. Prior to such determination, the Carters had added both vehicles to an insurance policy (the Policy) issued to them by Western Farm Bureau Insurance Company (Western). Following impoundment of the vehicles by the police and repossession of the vehicles by their rightful owners, the Carters filed a claim with Western for loss of the vehicles. Western denied the claim. Subsequently, Western filed this action in the district court seeking a declaratory judgment that the Carters’ loss of the vehicles was not a covered loss under the Policy.

{3} After cross-motions by the parties, the district court issued an order granting Western’s motion for summary judgment and dismissing the Carters’ counterclaims against Western for failure to pay. The Carters appealed. The Court of Appeals certified the matter to this Court as a ease involving an issue of substantial public interest and first impression in New Mexico, namely, “whether the comprehensive clause of an insurance policy covers the repossession of a stolen vehicle from a subsequent purchaser of the vehicle.” We accepted certification and now reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment.

DISCUSSION

Standard of Review

{4} Interpretation of the coverage provisions of an insurance contract is a matter of law reviewed de novo. See Rummel v. Lexington Ins. Co., 1997-NMSC-041, ¶ 60, 123 N.M. 752, 945 P.2d 970. We construe ambiguous provisions against the party that drafted the policy, which is usually the insurance company. See Crow v. Capitol Bankers Life Ins. Co., 119 N.M. 452, 456, 891 P.2d 1206, 1210 (1995). Unambiguous provisions, however, are strictly enforced according to their terms and conditions. Id.

Whether the Carters’ Loss Is Covered by the Policy

{5} The terms and conditions of the Policy are clear. “Coverage S” of the Policy states in pertinent part:

We will pay for any direct and accidental loss of, or damage to, your insured vehicle and its equipment not caused by collision or rollover. Loss or damage from missiles, falling objects, theft, collision with animals, or accidental glass breakage are comprehensive losses.

(Boldface type in original.) We have no difficulty determining from this language that the Carters’ loss of their vehicles by repossession was a covered loss. First, use of the word “any” suggests that every loss of a vehicle is covered except those that are specifically excluded, such as “Collision or rollover” losses. Second, we note that outside of this provision Western took the trouble of attaching additional exclusions to the automobile section of the Policy; for example, “Under Coverages, [sic] R, S, and T, loss caused by recall of an insured vehicle.” Loss by an innocent purchaser through repossession is not so excluded. Third, the fact that Western labeled the “Coverage S” provision of the Policy “Comprehensive” indicates that the enumerated covered losses (from damage by missiles, etc.) are simply illustrative and not exhaustive. (Boldface type in original.)

{6} Based on the foregoing analysis, we hold that the Policy covered the loss of a vehicle in the circumstances presented here. A majority of courts have reached the same conclusion. See, e.g., Butler v. Farmers Ins. Co., 126 Ariz. 371, 616 P.2d 46, 48-49 (1980) (in banc); Reznick v. Home Ins. Co., 45 Ill.App.3d 1058, 4 Ill.Dec. 525, 360 N.E.2d 461, 464-65 (1977); Kast v. Citizens Mut. Ins. Co., 125 Mich.App. 309, 336 N.W.2d 18, 19-20 (1983). Cf. Smith v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 231 So.2d 193, 194 (Fla.1970) (holding that insurance contract covered loss but limiting, according to the express terms of the policy, insurer’s liability to reimbursement for temporary loss of use of the vehicle instead of the full purchase price of the vehicle). But see Cueto v. Allstate Ins. Co., 226 N.J.Super. 487, 544 A.2d 906, 909 (1987) (granting summary judgment for insurance company where policy only covered losses “to” and not “of’ a vehicle); Sauer v. Vigilant Ins. Co., 102 Misc.2d 243, 423 N.Y.S.2d 138, 139 (N.Y.City Civ.Ct.1979) (deciding, without reprinting the disputed policy terms, that “[s]uch a repossession [by the true owner] ... is not covered by the insurance policy written by defendant”). When presented with policy language almost identical to the language in “Coverage S” of the Policy in this case, the Michigan Court of Appeals found in favor of the insured, reasoning, “The inclusive language implied that coverage would be granted in every case of damage to, or loss of, the vehicle except collision.” Kast, 336 N.W.2d at 20. We are persuaded that the same reasoning and result apply in this case.

{7} Western argues that the Carters’ loss by repossession is not within “Coverage S” of the Policy because it was not “direct and accidental.” Western contends that the Carters only indirectly lost their vehicles and that their true, direct loss was the loss of their purchase money to the car thieves. We disagree with this characterization of the Carters’ loss. The Carters’ vehicles were physically taken from their possession and the Carters will not be able to use those vehicles again, which is sufficient in our view to constitute a direct and complete loss.

{8} Western also contends that the Carters’ loss was not accidental because “repossession of these vehicles was a deliberate and calculated process by the true owners as well as the law enforcement agencies involved.” This construction of the word “accidental” focuses on the intentions of the repossessing parties and agents, consequently overlooking what we believe is the rationale behind the requirement that a loss be accidental. As described by one authority in a related context, “[A]mong the evils sought to be discouraged by the insurable interest requirement [in insurance contracts] is the intentional destruction of the covered property [by the insured] in order to profit from the insurance proceeds.” Jay M. Zitter, Annotation, Automobile Fire, Theft, and Collision Insurance: Insurable Interest in Stolen Motor Vehicle, 38 A.L.R.4th 538, 544 (1985) (emphasis added).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1999 NMSC 012, 979 P.2d 231, 127 N.M. 186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/western-farm-bureau-insurance-v-carter-nm-1999.