Amica Mutual Ins. Co. v. Piquette
Amica Mutual Ins. Co. v. Piquette
Opinion
The defendant Rebecca Piquette
1
appeals from the trial court's summary judgment rendered in favor of the plaintiff, Amica Mutual Insurance Company, in this declaratory judgment action brought to determine the proper scope of coverage provided by an automobile insurance policy issued by the plaintiff. The critical question in this appeal is whether, under the terms of an automobile insurance contract providing coverage for bodily injury, a loss of consortium claim is entitled to a separate per person liability limitation from the principal bodily injury claim of another person from which the loss of consortium claim arises. The defendant argues that the trial court's ruling was improper because the language of the policy at issue is ambiguous and the matter should be remanded for further proceedings to determine the scope of the policy. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the resolution of this appeal is controlled by our Supreme Court's decision in
Izzo v. Colonial Penn Ins. Co.
,
The following undisputed facts and procedural history give rise to the present appeal. At all relevant times, an individual named Rebecca Bahre 2 was the holder of an automobile insurance policy issued by the plaintiff. The declaration section of this policy provided liability limits for bodily injury of $100,000 per person and a total limit of $300,000 per accident for bodily injury. The policy further provided that this limit of liability is the plaintiff's "maximum limit of liability for all damages including damages for care, loss of services or death, arising out of bodily injury sustained by any one person in any one auto accident."
On June 27, 2012, this policy was in effect when a vehicle operated by Bahre collided with a motorcycle operated by the defendant's husband, Bryan Piquette (husband). As a result of this collision, Piquette suffered physical injuries. The defendant was not present at the time of the collision and did not witness it. On July 23, 2013, by service of process, the defendant and her husband commenced an action against Bahre, raising claims for bodily injury suffered by the defendant's husband and for loss of consortium suffered by the defendant as a result of her husband's physical injuries. On December 4, 2013, Bahre, with her insurer, offered to settle all claims for a total sum of $100,000, inclusive of all costs and interest. This amount represented the full per person limit of coverage for bodily injury. Through counsel, the defendant and her husband counteroffered to settle the matter for a total sum of $200,000. The counteroffer was based on the assertion that the defendant's loss of consortium claim was entitled to a separate per person limit of $100,000 from the $100,000 per person limit covering her husband's bodily injuries.
Thereafter, the plaintiff commenced the present declaratory judgment action to determine the proper scope of coverage provided by the policy. The plaintiff asserted that a claim for loss of consortium is derivative of the bodily injury claim brought by the defendant's husband, who was directly and physically injured in the collision, and, therefore, the loss of consortium claim is not entitled to a separate per person limit of liability. Accordingly, the plaintiff asserted that its maximum liability under the policy for the defendant's loss of consortium claim and her husband's corresponding bodily injury claim was a total of $100,000.
On July 29, 2015, the plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the ground that there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding the scope of the policy under its unambiguous terms, and that the plaintiff was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The plaintiff relied on
Izzo
v.
Colonial Penn Ins. Co.
, supra,
On January 14, 2016, the trial court granted summary judgment for the plaintiff. The court concluded that the policy language was not ambiguous or substantively distinguishable from the language in Izzo . Accordingly, the trial court concluded that it was bound by our Supreme Court's holding in Izzo that the policy language did not create a separate per person limitation of liability for one spouse's claim for loss of consortium that was derivative of an injured spouse's claim for bodily injury. This appeal followed.
On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for the plaintiff.
She argues that significant differences exist between the policy language at issue here and the policy language construed in Izzo , such that Izzo is inapplicable. She argues that wording of the policy is ambiguous and, as such, the policy should be construed against the plaintiff, in favor of coverage, in accordance with established principles of insurance contract interpretation. The plaintiff responds that the trial court properly concluded that this matter is controlled by Izzo and properly granted summary judgment. We agree with the plaintiff.
We begin with the standard of review. "Summary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, affidavits, and other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Dairyland Ins. Co.
v.
Mitchell
,
Interface Flooring Systems, Inc.
v.
Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.
,
Similarly, "[c]onstruction of a contract of insurance presents a question of law for the court which this court reviews de novo. ... An insurance policy is to be interpreted by the same general rules that govern the construction of any written contract. ... In accordance with those principles, [t]he determinative question is the intent of the parties, that is, what coverage the
... [insured] expected to receive and what the [insurer] was to provide, as disclosed by the provisions of the policy. ... If the terms of the policy are clear and unambiguous, then the language, from which the intention of the parties is to be deduced, must be accorded its natural and ordinary meaning. ... Under those circumstances, the policy is to be given effect according to its terms. ... When interpreting [an insurance policy], we must look at the contract as a whole, consider all relevant portions together and, if possible, give operative effect to every provision in order to reach a reasonable overall result." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
National Grange Mutual Ins. Co.
v.
Santaniello
,
"In determining whether the terms of an insurance policy are clear and unambiguous, [a] court will not torture words to import ambiguity where the ordinary meaning leaves no room for ambiguity. ... Similarly, any ambiguity in a contract must emanate from the language used in the contract rather than from one party's subjective perception of the terms. ... As with contracts generally, a provision in an insurance policy is ambiguous when it is reasonably susceptible to more than one reading. ... Under those circumstances, any ambiguity in the terms of an insurance policy must be construed in favor of the insured because the insurance company drafted the policy. ... This rule of construction may not be applied, however, unless the policy terms are indeed ambiguous." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 89,
We disagree with the defendant's assertion that the slight differences in policy language between the disputed policy here and the policy at issue in
Izzo
v.
Colonial Penn Ins. Co.
, supra,
The resolution of this appeal, therefore, turns on our Supreme Court's construction of substantively similar policy language in
Izzo
v.
Colonial Penn Ins. Co.
, supra,
The driver that caused the accident in
Izzo
held an insurance policy that provided liability limitations for bodily injury of $100,000 "per person" and $300,000 "per
occurrence." Id., at 308,
The court in
Izzo
identified the critical question as whether the loss of consortium claim arose "out of bodily injury sustained by 'one person' so as to make the 'per person' limit applicable, or is [a loss of consortium claim] a claim for
bodily injury
to a second person such as to invoke the 'per occurrence' limit." (Emphasis added.) Id., at 309,
Our conclusion in this appeal, as in
Izzo
, is driven largely by the nature of a loss of consortium claim,
which is "not truly independent, but rather derivative and inextricably attached to the claim of the injured spouse."
Izzo
v.
Colonial Penn Ins. Co.
, supra,
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
The named defendant, Bryan Piquette, settled his claim with the plaintiff during the pendency of this appeal. Bryan Piquette is therefore not participating in this appeal and all references to the defendant refer to his wife, Rebecca Piquette.
Bahre is also named as a defendant in this matter, but did not enter an appearance and is not participating in this appeal.
As previously noted, the policy at issue in the present action provided that the plaintiff's "maximum limit of liability for all damages including damages for ... loss of services ... arising out of bodily injury sustained by any one person in any one auto accident" is $100,000.
The court in
Izzo
noted that in jurisdictions where a loss of consortium claim has been found to be subject to a separate per person limitation of liability, the policies at issue covered "personal injury" claims rather than "bodily injury" claims, which are not synonymous. "[T]he policy term 'personal injuries' is 'broader, more comprehensive and significant' than the term 'bodily injury.' ... The term 'personal injury' is broad enough to encompass a claim for injury which is personal to the claimant, although flowing from the physical injury of another. ... [T]he term 'bodily injury,' however, is narrower in that it connotes an element of personal contact. ... A claim for loss of consortium, although a 'personal injury,' is not a 'bodily injury' to the claimant." (Citations omitted.)
Izzo
v.
Colonial Penn Ins. Co.
, supra,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- AMICA MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY v. Bryan PIQUETTE, Et Al.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published