Zabukovec v. Gre Insurance Group, Unpublished Decision (8-23-2002)

CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 23, 2002
DocketCase No. 2001-L-096.
StatusUnpublished

This text of Zabukovec v. Gre Insurance Group, Unpublished Decision (8-23-2002) (Zabukovec v. Gre Insurance Group, Unpublished Decision (8-23-2002)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zabukovec v. Gre Insurance Group, Unpublished Decision (8-23-2002), (Ohio Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION
In this accelerated calendar case, appellant, Patricia Zabukovec, individually and as administratrix of the Estate of Anthony Zabukovec, appeals from the decision of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, granting appellee, Midwestern Indemnity Company ("Midwestern"), summary judgment on the basis that appellant was not entitled to receive uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under a homeowner's insurance policy.

The following procedural history is relevant to the instant appeal. On January 25, 2000, appellant filed a complaint in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for declaratory judgment against GRE Insurance Company seeking a declaration of the parties' rights and obligations under appellant's homeowner's insurance policy issued by the company.

According to the complaint, on June 20, 1995, appellant's husband, decedent Anthony Zabukovec, was killed, and appellant sustained serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident. Appellant was a passenger in the vehicle operated by her husband when their vehicle was struck by another vehicle driven by Carol DeHass ("DeHass").

The complaint alleged that DeHass was insured by Grange Insurance Company, which maintained liability insurance policy limits of $300,000 per accident. From this policy, $295,000 was paid to the estate of the decedent while the remaining $5,000 was paid to appellant for her injuries. Appellant's underinsured motorist carrier, Farmers Insurance Company, paid an additional $95,000 for appellant's claims.

Appellant now sought underinsured coverage under the homeowner's insurance policy, which was in effect at the time of the accident. Appellant alleged in the complaint that the homeowner's policy was in fact an "automobile or motor vehicle liability policy of insurance because it provide[d] coverage for liability arising out of the use of certain motorized vehicles" and "provide[d] automobile liability insurance coverage in limited circumstances * * *."

Furthermore, since the homeowner's policy did not contain a provision for uninsured/underinsured coverage, such coverage, according to appellant, arose by operation of law. Thus, appellant believed that she and the estate were entitled to underinsured motorist coverage pursuant to the homeowner's policy.

On April 12, 2000, appellant filed an amended complaint for declaratory judgment to correctly name Midwestern as the party defendant rather than GRE Insurance Company.

Subsequently, appellant moved for summary judgment on May 15, 2000, arguing that she was entitled to uninsured motorist coverage under the homeowner's policy issued by Midwestern. According to appellant, under the homeowner's policy, liability coverage is not excluded for bodily injury to a residence employee from the use of an automobile owned, operated by, rented or loaned to an insured and used in the course of the residence employee's employment. Therefore, because such liability coverage is extended under limited circumstances, appellant believed that the homeowner's policy transformed into an automobile policy for purposes of R.C. 3937.18. Further, since the homeowner's policy issued by Midwestern did not offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage as required by former R.C. 3937.18, appellant suggested that such coverage arose by operation of law.

In support of her summary judgment motion, appellant attached a copy of the homeowner's insurance policy, the declaration page, and numerous unreported opinions.

In turn, on July 20, 2000, Midwestern filed a brief in opposition to appellant's motion for summary judgment and a cross motion for summary judgment, arguing that the incidental automobile coverage provided for a residence employee employed by the insured is insufficient to convert the homeowner's policy into an automobile liability policy. Further, Midwestern maintained that appellant's claim for coverage failed because the parties did not contemplate, bargain for, rate, or purchase auto liability coverage. As such, the homeowner's policy did not fall within the ambit of R.C. 3937.18 and uninsured/underinsured coverage did not arise by operation of law.

To support its position, Midwestern submitted, inter alia, a copy of the homeowner's insurance policy, the declaration page, and several unreported opinions.

Then, on August 7, 2000, pursuant to Midwestern's motion to change venue, the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas transferred this action to the Lake County Court of Common Pleas.

On August 8, 2000, appellant filed a memorandum in opposition to Midwestern's motion for summary judgment, reasserting her position that her homeowner's insurance policy provided liability coverage for the use of a motor vehicle by a residence employee, and that the uninsured/underinsured coverage arose by operation of law.

Essentially, appellant asked the trial court to focus on the "residence employee" exception in the homeowner's policy which extended liability coverage for automobiles driven by a residence employee. Appellant asked the trial court to determine that this extension of automobile liability coverage for a residence employee triggered a mandatory offering of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for nonresident employees or persons otherwise covered under the policy.

After taking the matter under advisement, on May 18, 2001, the trial court refused to make such a finding, and instead granted Midwestern's motion for summary judgment. The trial court determined that liability coverage and uninsured/underinsured coverage was not extended beyond the specific wording of the homeowner's insurance policy. Thus, in this case, appellant and her decedent husband were the owners of the homeowner's policy at issue, and obviously, neither were residence employees of their own home at the time of the accident.

It is from the May 19, 2001 judgment appellant appeals, advancing a single assignment of error and reiterating the arguments set forth in her response to Midwestern's motion for summary judgment.

Before addressing the merits of appellant's lone assignment of error, we will lay out the appropriate standard of review.

An appellate court reviews a trial court's decision on a motion for summary judgment de novo. Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co., 77 Ohio St.3d 102,105, 1996-Ohio-336. Pursuant to Civ.R. 56, summary judgment is appropriate when: (1) there is no genuine issue as to any material fact; (2) the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) reasonable minds can reach only one conclusion, which is adverse to the party against whom the motion is made, such party being entitled to have the evidence construed most strongly in his favor. Civ.R. 56(C);Mootispaw v. Eckstein, 76 Ohio St.3d 383, 385, 1996-Ohio-389; Leibreichv. A.J. Refrigeration, Inc., 67 Ohio St.3d 266, 268, 1993-Ohio-12; Bosticv. Connor (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 144, 146.

Material facts are those facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law of the case. Turner v. Turner,67 Ohio St.3d 337, 340, 1993-Ohio-176, citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,Inc. (1986),

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Bluebook (online)
Zabukovec v. Gre Insurance Group, Unpublished Decision (8-23-2002), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zabukovec-v-gre-insurance-group-unpublished-decision-8-23-2002-ohioctapp-2002.