Berman v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co.
Berman v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co.
Opinion of the Court
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on Declaratory Action (Doc. 44); Defendant's Response in Opposition and Cross Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 59; Cross Motion)
*1159The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of demonstrating to the Court, by reference to the record, that there are no genuine issues of material fact to be determined at trial. See Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc.,
Most of the facts surrounding the accident and Plaintiff's subsequent claim for coverage are undisputed for purposes of these motions. Plaintiff worked for Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. ("Asbury"), a local car dealership. Stip. ¶ 2. On March 5, 2011, Plaintiff was a passenger in a Nissan Altima owned by Asbury when he was rear-ended by the at-fault driver. Id. ¶ 3.
The Policy was originally attached in a string of emails that passed from Defendant to Marsh USA, Inc. ("Marsh"), who was an insurance broker for Asbury. (Doc. 59.1 ¶ 6). Marsh accepted the Policy on behalf of Asbury and Asbury contends that the Policy was never intended to provide UM coverage. Id. ¶ 9. Both Asbury and Defendant cite to the Policy under the "Garage Liability" section, which provides that UM coverage is "Rejected/Statutory Minimum[.]" (Doc. 59.1 at 33).
Plaintiff's argument is that Defendants provided personal injury protection insurance which, by operation of Florida statutes, means that Defendants provided an equal amount of uninsured motorist insurance absent express written rejection. (Doc. 44 at 5-6). Plaintiff contends that Asbury's written rejection occurred after the accident and therefore UM coverage was in place at the time of Plaintiff's accident. Defendant and Asbury claim that Asbury is a sophisticated purchaser of insurance and that the "paper trail" and testimony of Asbury and Defendant's agents establish that Asbury never intended to obtain UM coverage. (Doc. 59 at 8-9). Despite the lack of a timely written rejection on an approved form, Defendant argues that Florida case law allows for an insured to waive UM coverage orally or in "other" ways. Id. at 10.
Florida Statutes section 627.727(1) requires insurance policies providing bodily injury coverage to also provide UM coverage unless "an insured named in the policy makes a written rejection of the coverage on behalf of all insureds under the policy." Section 627.727(1) also reads that "[t]he rejection or selection of lower limits [of UM coverage] shall be made on a form approved by the office." Yet, there are a string of Florida cases that conclude an insured can waive its right to UM coverage orally or without using the approved form. See e.g., Del Prado v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co.,
Significantly, this line of cases all lead back to Del Prado, which was issued in June of 1981 and considered a 1971 version of section 627.727(1) along with an insurance department bulletin. See Del Prado,
Section 627.727(1) reflects a "legislative intent to place a heavy duty upon insurers to obtain a knowing rejection of statutorily provided for uninsured motorist limits and to reflect a public policy in Florida to favor full uninsured motorist coverage for Florida residents ...." Nationwide Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Marchesano,
More importantly, Defendant's construction contradicts the plain language of section 627.727(1). The Florida Supreme Court held that when interpreting a statute, there is no need to resort to rules of statutory construction "when the language of a statute is plain and its meaning clear...." Kimbrell v. Great Am. Ins. Co.,
In this case, it is undisputed that Asbury did not want UM coverage and that Defendant *1162did not intend to provide it. However, it is also undisputed that Asbury did not waive UM coverage on an approved form prior to Plaintiff's accident. Defendant argues that other documents prove that Asbury rejected UM coverage in writing. When reviewing these documents, the Court resolves any ambiguities in the insurance contract against Defendant. See Washington Nat. Ins. Corp. v. Ruderman,
First, Defendant generally references Docket Entry 59.1. Docket Entry 59.1 is an amalgamation of documents, which includes an affidavit, an email chain, an insurance contract, and an UM waiver form dated March 25, 2011.
Initially, the Court notes the March 25, 2011 waiver beginning on page 34 does not show a written waiver prior to the accident. Starting on page 6, the "Garage Coverage Form/Policy Declarations" document provides that the reader should see the state schedule of limits for benefits and that the price for UM coverage is included in the premium. On page 7, the section providing for UM insurance schedule reads that "[i]f UM coverage is afforded in ... FL ... UIM coverage is included[.]" The email chain begins on page 9 and does not mention UM coverage or waiver thereof. On page 17 of the policy under "Garage Liability" UM coverage is listed as "Rejected/Statutory Minimum" and references "symbol 26."
Accordingly, after due consideration, it is
ORDERED:
1. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on Declaratory Action (Doc. 44) is GRANTED . The Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment that reflects that Plaintiff is entitled to uninsured motorists benefits up to the sum of two million ($ 2,000,000) dollars provided by insurance policy AV2-651-290229-021.13
2. Defendant's Response in Opposition and Cross Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 59) is DENIED .
3. This case shall remain administratively closed until further order of the Court. On or before February 18, 2019 , the parties shall inform the Court as to what issues, if any, remain to be adjudicated by this Court.14
DONE and ORDERED in Jacksonville, Florida this 16th day of January, 2019.
Only Defendant Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance responded to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment.
The Court also considered the parties' supplemental briefing (Docs. 69 and 73).
The paragraph numbers correspond to both Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on Declaratory Action (Doc. 44) and Defendant's Response in Opposition and Cross Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 59) and will be identified by the designation Stipulation.
This is no dispute that Plaintiff has standing because he was a lawful occupant of the insured vehicle and was therefore a "class II" insured whose rights essentially derived from those of Asbury, the named insured. See Travelers Ins. Co. v. Warren,
Defendant also references a schedule of coverage which directs the reader to "see state schedule of limits for uninsured motorists insurance." (Doc. 59.1 at 6). The state schedule of limits provides that "[i]f UM coverage is afforded in ... FL ... UIM [underinsured motorist coverage] coverage is included." For purposes of this case, the distinction between UM and UIM coverage is not material and the Court refers only to UM coverage.
The Court acknowledges Florida's distinction between waiver and estoppel as explained in DK Arena, Inc. v. EB Acquisitions I, LLC,
In its supplemental brief, Defendant argues that this Court is bound to follow Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal because that is the appellate division from which this case originates. (Doc. 73 at 2 n.3 (citing Bravo v. United States,
Among other things, the affidavit declares that Asbury's failure to seek amendment to the policy "establishes that the Liberty Mutual Policy reflected what Asbury wanted."
The Court acknowledges that the briefing and record evidence in this case was not overwhelmingly voluminous, however, the Court cannot speculate as to which facts support which propositions when those facts are buried in multiple documents and are not specifically cited.
Symbol 26 corresponds to a key page 8 of Docket Entry 59.1, which provides that "26" means
Owned "Autos" Subject to A Compulsory Uninsured Motorists Law ... Only those "autos" you own that because of the law in the state where they are licensed or principally garaged are required to have and cannot reject [UM] coverage. This includes those "autos" you acquire ownership of after the policy begins provided they are subject to the same state [UM] requirement.
Defendant specifically references this page through the Affidavit of Kathryn Cole.
To be sure, the Court does not think there is sufficient evidence of the waiver of UM benefits in any form such that a reasonable jury could find waiver.
The Court will determine any entitlement to attorneys' fees at this case's conclusion and upon proper motion.
This deadline does not impact or in any way toll deadlines associated with any appeal of this Order.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Christopher Alan BERMAN v. LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY and Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company
- Status
- Published