Nationwide General Insurance v. Royal
Nationwide General Insurance v. Royal
Dissenting Opinion
with whom HOLLAND, J. joins, dissenting:
The majority ruling reverses a decision of the Superior Court that permitted recovery under an underinsured motorist policy for injuries sustained in a drive-by shooting. In so doing, the majority approves the trial court’s application of the legal standard for determining whether the injuries in question arose out of the use of a motor vehicle, but concludes that the underlying incident does not meet the legal test because the vehicle was not an “active accessory” to the assault. In my view, the Superior Court correctly applied the appropriate standard and its ruling should be affirmed.
The majority has characterized the incident giving rise to Royal’s claim as a drive-by shooting but does not dwell upon the importance the use of a motor vehicle played in this incident. Certain additional facts require recitation, if not emphasis, to aid in an understanding of the role a motor vehicle played in this tragic event.
In his effort to seek revenge against Baker, Downes was limited by his inability to drive. Accordingly, he enlisted, indeed hired, Mariner as his “chauffeur.” After ascertaining Baker’s location, Downes armed himself with a high-powered rifle and also instructed his chauffeur to proceed at a high speed past the trader while he fired several shots at the trailer. Royal, an innocent bystander, was severely injured by Downes’ use of a dangerous weapon. It is a fair inference that the risk of harm resulting from Downes’ conduct was heightened by his ability to fire several shots in a short period of time, with the assurance that he could quickly depart the scene.
In ruling that Royal’s injuries arose out of the use of the Mariner vehicle, the Superior Court applied the three pronged test fashioned by the Minnesota Supreme Court in Continental W. Ins. Co. v. King, Minn.Supr., 415 N.W.2d 876 (1987). The majority endorses the King approach as providing “a flexible framework” and one promotive of the goal of uninsured motorist coverage—“the protection of innocent persons from the negligence of unknown or impecunious tortfea-sors” (quoting Frank v. Horizon Assur. Co., Del.Supr., 553 A.2d 1199, 1201 (1989)).
The majority, however, parts company with the Superior Court holding that this case satisfies Klug’s fact prong—that the vehicle was an “ ‘active accessory' in causing the injury.” King, at 878. Respectfully, I believe the majority’s view of Klug’s active accessory prong is inconsistent with Klug’s caveat that active accessory is not to be equated with causation.
Over the past several decades our society has witnessed an increase in the use of guns to commit violent crimes. This phenomenon has been paralleled by the proliferation of automobiles in an increasingly mobile society. It is not surprising, therefore, that injuries inflicted through a combination of guns and cars have been the subject of considerable insurance coverage litigation. The legal issue of whether an accident arises out of the use or maintenance of an automobile is a question that defies a simple test, as a survey of “gun and car” cases attests.
In this case, the Mariner vehicle was used in a manner that made it an “active accessory” in causing Royal’s injuries as contemplated by the King test. By definition a “drive-by” shooting requires the use of a motor vehicle to enable the tortfeasor to quickly come upon the scene, rapidly fire shots from a moving platform and then hurriedly leave the vicinity to avoid identification or arrest. When used in this manner the vehicle is no longer simply the situs of the act but, rather, significantly facilitates the infliction of inju
Although the majority found the absence of the “active accessory” prong fatal to Royal’s claim and, thus, ended its analysis there, the remaining prongs of King are also satisfied here. Under the second prong of the King test, it is clear that there was no intervening act of independent significance that would have broken the causal link between the vehicle and the injury. The facts presented in this case are distinguishable from those cases in which the vehicle has come to rest and, thus, was not an active accessory to the infliction of the injury. An example of the latter is the scenario of a disagreement between two motorists that results in the actors exiting their cars and committing an assault. Day v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 261 Pa.Super. 216, 396 A.2d 3 (1978). In such cases the vehicles merely transport the actors to the location and add nothing to the danger of the situation. Finally, the third prong of King is satisfied because the Mariner vehicle was directly being used for essential transportation purposes. The vehicle allowed Downes to maneuver into a position to fire the shots and then quickly escape the area.
Under the King standard now adopted by this Court, Royal’s injuries, in my view, can be said to have arisen out of the ownership, operation or use of the Mariner vehicle. Delaware’s uninsured/underinsured statute was designed to financially protect innocent insureds from individuals in our society who utilize their automobiles in a tortious way and without the ability to adequately compensate their victims. The statute’s remedial purpose should dispel doubt in borderline cases, such as this. I would affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.
. A comprehensive collection of cases involving automobiles and guns is contained in the ALR 4th. Larry D. Scheafer, Annotation, Automobile. Liability Insurance: What are Accidents or Injuries “Arising Out of Ownership, Maintenance, or Use" of Insured Vehicle, 15 A.L.R.4th 10 (1982).
. The need for a causal connection between the injury and the ownership, maintenance or use of the vehicle has been recognized. This requirement, however, does not mean that the vehicle needs to be the instrumentality that causes the injury. Selected Risks Ins. Co. v. Pennsylvania Mfrs. Ass’n. Ins. Co., Del.Super., C.A. No. 83C-JN-57, 1986 WL 13107, Walsh, J. (June 20, 1986). Rather, it is sufficient if there is a causal nexus between the injury and the operation of the vehicle. Id.
Opinion of the Court
In this appeal, we consider whether injuries sustained as the result of a drive-by shooting “arise out of the use of a motor vehicle” for purposes of automobile insurance coverage. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the Superior Court determined that Amy Royal was entitled to coverage under the underinsured motorist provisions of a policy issued to her by Nationwide General Insurance Company. We agree with the legal test adopted by the Superior Court, but we disagree with the court’s application of that test to the facts of this case. We find that the vehicle from which the shots were fired was not an “active accessory” to the assault that caused Royal’s injuries. We therefore conclude that Royal’s injuries did not arise out of the use of an automobile and that she was not entitled to coverage under her Nationwide policy.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The relevant facts are undisputed. William Downes sought retribution against Harvey Baker, Royal’s boyfriend, and decided to “shoot up” Baker’s home, a trailer. Downes, whose driver’s license had been suspended, convinced William Mariner to drive him to the trailer in the early morning hours of August 25, 1994. Downes had some difficulty locating Baker’s trailer. He first entered someone else’s trader and pointed a gun at the occupant. After learning that he was in the wrong trailer, Downes returned to Mariner’s car and the two continued their search for Baker’s home. When Downes spotted the correct trailer, he got a rifle out of the trunk of Mariner’s car, returned to the car and instructed Mariner to drive by the trailer. Mariner drove as fast as he could and Downes fired several shots. Royal was asleep inside the trailer. She was struck by a bullet and seriously injured.
Royal filed a claim against Mariner, which was settled for the $15,000 limit provided by Mariner’s automobile insurance policy. Royal also filed a claim against Nationwide, her own automobile insurance company, seeking recovery under the underinsured motorist provision of her policy. The Nationwide policy provides:
We will pay damages, including derivative claims, which are due by law to you ... from the owner or driver of an unin-suredl/underinsured] motor vehicle because of bodily injury suffered by you.... Damages must result from an accident arising out of the:
1. ownership;
2. maintenance; or
3. use;
of the uninsuredl/underinsured] motor vehicle.
Nationwide determined that Royal’s injuries did not arise out of the use of Mariner’s car and it denied coverage. This declaratory judgment action followed.
We review the trial court’s grant of summary judgment de novo.
III. DISCUSSION
The question of whether injuries sustained as the result of a drive-by shooting “arise out of the use of a motor vehicle” for purposes of automobile insurance coverage has been widely debated.
The Minnesota Supreme Court adopted a three-part test to determine the availability of coverage in a car-to-car shooting. In Continental Western Insurance Co. v. Klug,
Even with the help of a clearly articulated standard, there is sometimes room for debate as to the proper application of that standard to the facts presented. The trial court applied the Klug test and found that Royal was entitled to coverage. We apply the same facts, and find otherwise.
The first prong of the Klug test—whether the vehicle was an “active accessory” in causing Royal’s injuries—is dispositive. Royal was asleep inside her boyfriend’s home when she was injured by shots fired from a passing vehicle. The vehicle was not an essential or even a significant element in the events that led to Royal’s injuries. Downes did not use the vehicle in order to catch up with or
King notes that the resolution of this coverage issue is highly fact specific.
Similarly, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that a man standing at a drive-through window who was shot by a departing motorist was not entitled to coverage under the shooter’s automobile insurance policy.
By contrast, the eases where coverage has been found involved victims who were injured in car-to-car chases.
We find that the Mariner vehicle was not an “active accessory” to Royal’s injuries. Accordingly, we hold that Royal’s injuries did not arise out of the use of a motor vehicle. We are not unmindful of the settled principle that insurance contracts are liberally construed in favor of finding uninsured/underin-sured coverage.
IV. CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, we conclude that Royal was not entitled to underinsured mo
. Merrill v. Crothall-American, Inc., Del.Supr., 606 A.2d 96, 99 (1992).
. See Charles W. Benton, Annotation, Automobile Insurance Coverage for Drive-By Shootings and Other Incidents Involving the Intentional Discharge of Firearms from Moving Motor Vehicles, 41 A.L.R.5th 91 (1996).
. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Spotten, Ind.Ct.App., 610 N.E.2d 299 (1993).
. See Ruiz v. Farmers Ins. Co., 177 Ariz. 101, 865 P.2d 762 (1993); Taylor v. Phoenix Ins. Co., Fla. Dist.Ct.App., 622 So.2d 506 (1993).
. Minn.Supr., 415 N.W.2d 876 (1987).
. Id. at 878.
. See Frank v. Horizon Assur. Co., Del.Supr., 553 A.2d 1199, 1201 (1989).
. 188 Mich.App. 125, 469 N.W.2d 1 (1991) (per curiam ).
. Id. at 1-2.
. Id. at 2.
. Vanguard Ins. Co. v. Cantrell, 18 Ariz.App. 486, 503 P.2d 962 (1972).
. Id., 503 P.2d at 964 (quoting Brenner v. Aetna Ins. Co., 8 Ariz.App. 272, 445 P.2d 474, 478 (1968)).
. See, e.g., State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Davis, 9th Cir., 937 F.2d 1415 (1991); Klug, 415 N.W.2d 876; Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Howser, 309 S.C. 269, 422 S.E.2d 106 (1992) (per curiam); 41 A.L.R.5th 91, § 3[a]. On the other hand, several courts have denied coverage for shooting injuries resulting from car chases. See, e.g., Ruiz, 177 Ariz. 101, 865 P.2d 762; Coleman v. Sanford, Miss.Supr., 521 So.2d 876 (1988); Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Knight, 34 N.C.App. 96, 237 S.E.2d 341 (1977); 41 A.L.R.5th 91, § 3[b],
. See Frank v. Horizon Assur. Co., Del.Supr., 553 A.2d 1199, 1201-02 (1989).
. National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Fisher, Del.Supr., 692 A.2d 892, 896 (1997).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- NATIONWIDE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, a Corporation of the State of Ohio, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. Amy ROYAL, Plaintiff Below, Appellee
- Cited By
- 12 cases
- Status
- Published