Country Mutual Insurance Co. v. Leffler
Country Mutual Insurance Co. v. Leffler
Opinion of the Court
ORDER AND OPINION
I. MOTIONS PRESENTED
Before the court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment filed under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Defendant Ashley E. Leffler (“Lef-fler”) moves for summary judgment at docket 36. Plaintiff Country Mutual Insurance Company (“Country”) opposes at docket 40 and cross-moves for summary judgment at docket 39. Leffler opposes Country’s motion at docket 44 and replies in support of her motion at docket 43, Country replies in support of its motion at docket 45.
Oral argument was heard on May 18, 2016.
II.BACKGROUND
Leffler suffered injuries as a passenger in an all-terrain vehicle (“ATV”) that flipped over and crashed while driving alongside Badger Road in North Pole, Alaska. The ATV’s driver, Jacob Wegner (‘Wegner”), was not insured, but Leffler was covered by a policy issued by Country that included uninsured motorist (“UM”) and medical payments coverage. In pertinent part, Leffler’s UM coverage provides that Country will pay Leffler for injuries caused by the operator of an uninsured “motor vehicle.”
Country’s amended complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that the ATV is not a vehicle and, therefore, Leffler is not entitled to either UM or medical expenses coverage.
III.STANDARD OF REVIEW
Summary judgment is appropriate where “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is enti-
The moving party has the burden of showing that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact.
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Principles of Insurance Policy Interpretation
Interpreting insurance policy language is a matter of law for the court.
When determining the insured’s reasonable expectations, courts look to “(1) the language of the disputed provisions in the policy, (2) other provisions in the policy, (3) extrinsic evidence, and (4) case law interpreting similar provisions.”
B. UM Coverage
As set out above, Leffler’s entitlement to UM coverage depends on whether the ATV is a “motor vehicle” under the policy.
But the parties also agree -that the UM-coverage-specific definition, not the general definition, controls. This specific definition lists various types of motor vehicles that are not “motor vehicles” for UM coverage purposes.
The policy does not define “public road.” The Alaska Supreme Court has defined this term generally as “a road that the public may freely use,”
Leffler argues that, based on the Alaska Supreme Court’s decision in Sowinski,
Leffler reads too much into Somnski. There, the Alaska Supreme Court was focusing on the “public” nature of the road in question, as the parties disputed whether the state or a private property owner was responsible for maintaining an access road.
The court’s task is not to interpret the phrase “public roads” in the abstract, but rather to determine the objectively reasonable expectation of a lay insured regarding the meaning of that phrase in the context of the coverage exclusion in Leffler’s policy. Courts that have considered similar exclusions have held that a reasonable insured would understand that the phrase “public roads” is used to distinguish between public roads, on one hand, and terrain that is suitable only for specially designed vehicles, on the other.
According to Leffler, it is undisputed that the ATV accident occurred “between a paved parallel bike path and the paved portion of Badger Road itself.”
C. Medical Payments Coverage
The medical payments coverage section of Leffler’s policy differs from the UM section • because it uses the phrase “non-owned vehicle” instead of “motor vehicle” and does not provide a more specific definition of that phrase.
Leffler’s argument lacks merit. Even under her proposed definition of “land motor vehicle,” she cannot avoid the term “motor vehicle,” which the policy clearly defines as a vehicle designed for use principally on public roads. No reasonable insured would think that a “motor vehicle” (which is defined as a “land motor vehicle”) means something different than a “motor vehicle that operates on land.” Because she was occupying a vehicle that was designed for off-road use, Leffler is not entitled to medical payments coverage.
V. CONCLUSION
Based on the preceding discussion, defendant’s motion at docket 36 is DENIED, and plaintiffs motion at docket 39 is GRANTED, Judgment shall be entered in plaintiffs favor.
. Doc. 36-4 at 5 (emphasis added).
. Doc. 34-4 at 9 (emphasis added).
. Doc. 35 at 7 ¶¶ 19-21.
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. Id.
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. Id. at 323-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Id. at 248-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Dowdy, 192 P.3d 994, 998 (Alaska 2008).
. Id. See also C.P. ex rel. M.L. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 996 P.2d 1216, 1222 (Alaska 2000).
. C.P. ex rel. M.L., 996 P.2d at 1222 (quoting Jones v. Horace Mann Ins. Co., 937 P.2d 1360, 1362 n. 3 (Alaska 1997)).
. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Teel, 100 P.3d 2, 4 (Alaska 2004).
. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Falgoust, 160 P.3d 134, 139 (Alaska 2007).
. C.P. ex rel. M.L., 996 P.2d at 1222.
. Id.
. Falgoust, 160 P.3d at 138.
. Doc. 36-4 at 5.
. Id. at 2.
. See the ATV’s user manual. Doc. 40-11 at 6 ("Never operate this vehicle on a public road, even a dirt or gravel one, because you may not be able to avoid colliding with other vehicles.”) (emphasis in original).
. Doc. 36-4 at 6.
. Id.
. Doc. 40 at 2. See also Hillman v. Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 758 P.2d 1248, 1250 (Alaska 1988) (“We find that the only reasonable interpretation of the ‘motor vehicle' definition is that advanced by Nationwide, i.e., that ... motorized vehicles designed mainly ior use off public roads, such as an ATV, are ‘motor vehicles’ within the policy definition when they are used on public roads.”) (emphasis in original).
. Sowinski v. Walker, 198 P.3d 1134, 1144 (Alaska 2008).
. Sowinski, 198 P.3d at 1144 (“[W]e agree with the ,.. plaintiffs that the language of the agreement is ambiguous. The State promised that the access road would be a 'public road.’ .... The term 'public road’ does not appear to have any particular meaning in Alaska law — it is not defined either in Alaska statutes or regulations. While there are numerous roads in Alaska that are accessible to the public that, the State does not maintain, there are also a vast number of roads used by the public that the State does maintain. Given these contradicting facts, it would be possible based on the settlement’s language — though not necessary — for the State or Carl Bingham to construe the settlement as obligating the State to maintain the access road.”).
. Doc. 37 at 5 (quoting Black’s Law Dictionary at 1492 (4th ed. 1968)).
. Doc. 40 at 23 (arguing that "road" and "roadway” from AS 28.90.990(24) are synonymous).
. Sowinski, 198 P.3d at 1143 ("The plaintiffs contend that the term 'public road’ is ambiguous, both in legal and common usage, and thus should be construed in their favor on summary judgment to include a promise by the State to protect and maintain the access road for the benefit of the traveling public.”).
. See Hale v. Allied Ins., 465 Fed.Appx. 757, 759 (10th Cir. 2012) ("Even though Hale’s policy does not define 'public road,' it nevertheless distinguishes between public roads and terrain suitable only for specially designed vehicles. Necessarily excluded from the category of ‘public roads’ are many of the paths and trails for which ATVs are especially suited, by design and, in this case, use.”); Gittings v. Am. Family Ins. Co., 181 Ariz. 176, 888 P.2d 1363, 1369 (Ariz.Ct.App. 1994) (“[T]he only evidence presented was that this off-road vehicle was being operated in exactly the manner for which it was designed — off the public roads, on an unpaved portion of the shoulder, in the opposite direction from the traffic of the road. We therefore conclude that there is no factual dispute that the vehicle was not being operated on a ‘public road,’ as that term has been defined in this opinion.”); Leski v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 367 Mich. 560, 116 N.W.2d 718, 721 (Mich. 1962) (holding that such an exclusion covers the operation of an off-road tractor only where it is being used "in other than its ordinary place of usage; in other words, in a type of operation in which the tractor would be used on the road going to and from farms or when used on the road for hauling.”).
. Doc. 36 at 2. See also Doc. 37 at 5.
. Doc. 36-1 at 1 ¶ 4 (stating that she perceived that the accident occurred "between
. Doc. 36-3 at 1 ¶ 5 (stating the same).
. Doc. 40-2 at 1 ("Vehicle 1 was traveling in between Badger Road and the bike path riding through the ditches, when vehicle 1 rolled over.”).
. Doc. 40-3 at 6 ("I observed tracks from what appeared to be a side by side from Badger Road in between the paved side walk into the ditch, where the side by side appeared to have rolled over.”); id. ("Jessica advised they were driving through the [puddles] in between the road and sidewalk when the side by side rolled over.”).
. Doc. 40-6 at 59 (”[W]e were off of Badger Road — Badger Road and the bike path.”).
. Doc. 40-7 at 60-62 (describing the four-wheeler path where he was driving as being located in a "ditch” on the side of Badger Road); id. at 66 (“[I]f you were to come off the pavement, the downhill part, I guess, what I would assume is what caught the tire and caused the roll.”); id, at 69 ("Q: And you were riding on the path where four-wheelers ride? A; Yes.”).
. See Doc. 40-9 at 3-5, 9, 22-23.
. Doc. 34-4 at 9 (emphasis added).
. Doc. 36-4 at 2.
. Doc. 43 at 5.
. Id. at 6.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- COUNTRY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY v. Ashley E. LEFFLER
- Status
- Published