Western Reserve Mutual Casualty Co. v. Holland

666 N.E.2d 966, 1996 Ind. App. LEXIS 777, 1996 WL 333784
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 12, 1996
Docket49A02-9510-CV-595
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 666 N.E.2d 966 (Western Reserve Mutual Casualty Co. v. Holland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Western Reserve Mutual Casualty Co. v. Holland, 666 N.E.2d 966, 1996 Ind. App. LEXIS 777, 1996 WL 333784 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Defendants-Appellants Western Reserve Mutual Casualty Company and Lightning Rod Mutual Insurance Company (collectively, Western) appeal the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellees-Plaintiffs Gregory G. Holland and Marcia Holland.

We affirm.

ISSUES

Western raises one issue for our review: whether the trial court erred in finding that the underinsured motorist coverage provided to Holland was illusory.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On December 5, 1991, a car driven by Anne Brannock entered an intersection against the right-of-way and collided with a car driven by Gregory Holland. The parties to this action have stipulated that Brannock was 100% at fault for the collision.

As a result of the collision, Holland suffered severe spinal injuries, which necessitated major surgery and months of physical therapy. The parties have stipulated that Holland’s damages incurred as a result of Brannock’s negligence exceed $50,000.00.

At the time of the collision, Holland was driving a car which was covered by an insurance policy with Western.- Included in the policy was a provision for underinsured motorist coverage in the amount of $25,000.00. A premium of $12.00, covering both underin-sured and uninsured motorist coverage, was paid by Holland.

Western agreed in writing to allow Holland to execute a release of Brannock for the purpose of obtaining Brannock’s policy limits. Brannock’s insurance company paid $25,-000.00 to Holland, which amount represented the limits of her coverage.

Because his damages exceeded $50,000.00, and he had collected only $25,000.00 from Brannock, Holland looked to the underin-sured motorist coverage of his policy to indemnify him, within the $25,000.00 limit, for his loss. Western denied Holland’s claim. 1

Holland filed a complaint for declaratory relief, claiming that his underinsured motor *968 ist coverage was illusory. Holland then filed a motion for summary judgment seeking a favorable ruling on the issue of illusory coverage. The trial court granted summary judgment in Holland’s favor, specifically finding that Western’s underinsured motorist coverage was illusory. Western now appeals and asks this court to reverse the trial court and grant summary judgment in Western’s favor.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Summary judgment is appropriate when the evidentiary matter designated to the trial court shows no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to- judgment as a matter of law. Ind.Trial Rule 56(C); Fawley v. Martin’s Supermarkets, Inc., 618 N.E.2d 10, 12 (Ind.Ct.App.1993), trans. denied. Summary judgment will be affirmed on appeal if it is sustainable on any theory or basis found in the evidentiary matter designated to the trial court. Id. The interpretation of an insurance policy is primarily a question of law for the court, and it is therefore a question which is particularly suited for summary judgment. Transcontinental Technical Services, Inc. v. Allen, 642 N.E.2d 981, 983 (Ind.Ct.App.1994), trans. denied.

In the present case, Western contends that the trial court incorrectly interpreted current case law in determining that an underinsurance provision may be classified as illusory. Western further contends that the trial court incorrectly interpreted current case law in determining that Western’s coverage with Holland was illusory.

The underinsured motorist coverage provision of Holland’s policy states in pertinent part that “[u]nderinsured motor vehicle means a land motor vehicle or trailer of any type to which a bodily injury liability bond or policy applies at the time of the accident but its limit for bodily injury liability is less than the limit of liability for this coverage.” (R. 74). The declarations page of the policy indicates that the limit of liability under the underinsurance coverage is $25,000.00. (R. 68). Therefore, in order for Holland to collect underinsurance proceeds under this provision, the bodily -injury liability coverage under a tortfeasor’s policy had to be less than $25,000.00.

The underinsured motorist coverage provision of Holland’s policy goes on to state that an underinsured motor vehicle does not include any vehicle or equipment “[t]o which a liability bond or policy applies at the time of the accident but its limit for bodily injury liability is less than the minimum limit for bodily liability specified by the financial responsibility law of the state in which your covered auto is principally garaged.” (R. 74) (emphasis in original). The state in which Holland’s automobile is principally garaged is Indiana. The minimum bodily injury coverage required under Indiana law is $25,000.00.

Underinsurance coverage provisions identical to the provisions found in Holland’s policy were examined by this court in Landis v. American Interinsurance Exchange, 542 N.E.2d 1351, 1353-1354 (Ind.Ct.App.1989). We determined that the provisions were illusory because Landis could never recover un-derihsured motorist proceeds. Id. at 1354. We noted that public policy disfavors illusory coverage. Id. We then held that our courts “will enforce the provision so as to give effect to the reasonable expectation of the insured.” Id. We also held that Landis could reasonably believe that he had acquired $25,000.00 of underinsurance coverage, and that damages above the amount paid by the tortfea-sor’s policy, up to the $25,000.00 limit of Landis’ underinsured motorist coverage, should be paid by the insurer. Id.

The provisions we found illusory in Landis are illusory today. Holland’s policy provided that Holland could recover if (1) the tortfea-sor had coverage; (2) the coverage was less than $25,000.00; and (3) the coverage was not less than $25,000.00. The only reasonable interpretation of the policy is that it provides no underinsurance benefits to Holland. As we held in Landis, such illusory “coverage” is against public policy and entitles the insured to receive his reasonable expectation.

Western contends that Landis was expressly overturned in dicta found in a footnote in Tate v. Secura Insurance, 561 N.E.2d 814 (Ind.Ct.App.1990), and impliedly over *969 turned by our supreme court in Meridian Mutual Insurance Co. v. Richie, 544 N.E.2d 488 (Ind.1989). In Tate,

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Bluebook (online)
666 N.E.2d 966, 1996 Ind. App. LEXIS 777, 1996 WL 333784, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/western-reserve-mutual-casualty-co-v-holland-indctapp-1996.