Yates v. Interinsurance Exchange

275 Cal. App. 2d 301, 79 Cal. Rptr. 604, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1916
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 29, 1969
DocketCiv. 33014
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 275 Cal. App. 2d 301 (Yates v. Interinsurance Exchange) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Yates v. Interinsurance Exchange, 275 Cal. App. 2d 301, 79 Cal. Rptr. 604, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1916 (Cal. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

FILES, P. J.

This is an appeal by the plaintiff from a judgment interpreting an automobile insurance policy. The historical facts, which are not in dispute, must be stated first to identify the issues.

On December 25, 1961, Marie Tanza (hereinafter Marie), a minor, was living in the home of her father, John A. Tanza (hereinafter Father Tanza). On that day, while driving the automobile of her uncle, John C. Tanza (hereinafter Uncle Tanza), Marie collided with an automobile driven by plaintiff George Yates. Uncle Tanza’s automobile was insured by Farmers Insurance Exchange (hereinafter Farmers). Marie was conceded to be covered by that policy, and Farmers assumed the defense of the action which ensued. Father Tanza’s automobile insurance was carried by the Interinsurance Exchange of the'Automobile Club of Southern California (hereinafter Auto Club). By the terms of that policy, the Auto Club provided excess insurance over other applicable insurance if anyone insured under the policy was involved in an accident while operating a nonowned automobile. Marie was insured under this policy also.

Through inadvertence, Farmers represented to the Auto Club, Marie and Yates that the limits of its liability under its policy were $50,000 for any one individual and $100,000 for any one accident. Actually, its limits were $25,000 for any one individual and $50,000 for any one accident. This mistake was not discovered until after the cause had proceeded to judgment. Since Auto Club believed, on the basis of information *303 supplied by Farmers, that the claim would be disposed of within the limits of the Farmers policy, Auto Club did not participate in any settlement negotiations or in the defense. Following a trial, judgment was entered in favor of Yates and against Marie for $64,242.52, plus costs of $505:65.

Farmers paid Yates $25,000 plus costs, leaving an unsatisfied judgment of $39,242.52. Yates then demanded the balance from Auto Club, contending that its policy limit was $50,000. The Auto Club refused, claiming that its maximum liability under the policy of Father Tanza was $25,000. Yates then filed an action against the Auto Club, Marie and Father Tanza, setting out the above dispute concerning the policy limits and praying that the rights and liabilities of the parties be declared. Auto Club then loaned $25,000 to Marie which was paid to Yates, 1 thereby reducing the unsatisfied judgment to $14,242.52.

In addition to filing an answer alleging that the Auto Club policy limit was $25,000, Auto Club and Marie filed a cross-complaint against Farmers and Yates, but no relief was actually sought against Yates. For a first cause of action, Auto Club set forth the misrepresentation by Farmers of its policy limits and asked that Farmers be estopped to deny that, as to the Auto Club, its liability was $50,000. For a second cause of action, Marie repleaded the misrepresentation by Farmers, alleged that she had had to borrow $25,000 because of the misrepresentation and asked for judgment against Farmers in that amount.

At the trial of this action, the court decided that the limit of Auto Club’s liability was $25,000 rather than $50,000. On the cross-complaint the court found that Farmers had been negligent in representing that its limit was $50,000, and that Auto Club sustained detriment in the sum of $10,757.48, that being the difference between the $25,000 which Auto Club was required to pay to Yates and the $14,242.52 which it would been $50,000 as represented. The judgment was that Auto have been required to pay had the limit of the Farmers policy Club recover $14,242.52 from Farmers, and that Marie recover nothing on her cross-complaint.

*304 Yates is the only party appealing from the judgment. Auto Club and Marie filed a respondent’s brief. Farmers adopted that brief.

I. The Auto Club Policy

On the first page of the policy, headed “Declarations,” is a schedule which lists the two vehicles owned by Father Tanza, a Nash and an Edsel, and shows, opposite each, the limits of liability for each type of insurance. In the column headed “hodily injury liability,” there appears opposite each vehicle the figure 25, which, according to a footnote, indicates thousands of dollars for each person. On the same page is a schedule of premiums charged with respect to each insured vehicle and each coverage. Under the heading of bodily injury liability, and opposite the identification of the Nash appears $20 and opposite the Edsel $46.

The “insuring agreements” section of the policy promises to pay all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay because of bodily injury sustained by any person “arising out of the ownership or use of the owned automobile and, if insurance is afforded, arising out of the use of a nonownedautomobile, ...”

Condition 3, headed “Limits of Liability,” states: “The limit of bodily injury liability stated in the declarations for (a) ‘each person’ is the limit of the Exchange’s liability for all damages, including damages for care and loss of services, arising out of bodily injury sustained by one person as the result of any one occurrence, ...”

Condition 4, headed “Two or More Automobiles,” provides : “When two or more automobiles are insured hereunder, the terms of this policy shall apply separately to each, y y

Yates argues that “Father Tanza paid premiums for two excess coverages,” i.e., $25,000 for the Edsel and $25,000 for the Nash; and thus he concludes that the “coverage” on the driver of a nonowned car must be $50,000. In support of this proposition counsel submits no authority other than his own analysis of the language of the policy, and some well understood principles of construction, e.g., that ambiguities in an insurance policy are construed against the insurer.

We find no ambiguity in the policy in this respect and no need to invoke any canons of interpretation. The insurer agrees to pay “all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay” because of bodily injury sustained by any persons, whether the insured is driving one of the *305 listed vehicles or a nonowned automobile; but the limit of such liability is that stated in the schedule, that is, $25,000 for each person injured.

Yates’ argument that Father Tanza “bought two coverages” fails to distinguish between the language describing what is covered and the language setting the limit of liability. Father Tanza (and Marie) may be said to have bought three “coverages” under the bodily injury liability section of the policy—i.e., for the Edsel, for the Nash, and while operating a nonowned automobile. But the insurer’s liability was plainly limited to $25,000 for injury to one person.

Sullivan v. Royal Exchange Assurance (1960) 181 Cal.App. 2d 644 [5 Cal.Rptr. 878] deals with an analogous problem, that is, whether the medical payments coverage, with an express limit of $2.000 per person, amounted to $4,000 where the policy covered plaintiff as the owner of two automobiles, for each of which a distinct premium had been computed. The court held that the policy limit of $2,000 per person applied.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
275 Cal. App. 2d 301, 79 Cal. Rptr. 604, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1916, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yates-v-interinsurance-exchange-calctapp-1969.