Canadian Indemnity Co. v. Peachtree Doors, Inc.
Canadian Indemnity Co. v. Peachtree Doors, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
Randall Hickman was rendered a quadriplegic as the result of ar incident that occurred in 1983 while he was helping an employee oi appellee Peachtree Doors unload a truckload of doors. The trailei portion of the truck was owned by Peachtree Doors, while the tractoi part of the rig was leased to Peachtree Doors by Rollins Leasing Cor poration. Hickman settled his personal injury claim in 1985 foi $2,079,203. The present appeal is from the declaratory judgment ac tion involving Peachtree Doors and its three relevant insurers.
Appellee Travelers Indemnity Company (Travelers) issued a bus iness automobile policy providing appellee Indal Limited and it;
After reviewing the record and hearing the argument of counsel, the trial court found that Canadian’s policy provided coverage under two provisions; that it was indebted to Indal; that Indal’s debt to Canadian was erased; and that Northumberland’s umbrella policy was in excess of Canadian’s general comprehensive liability coverage. Canadian now appeals from the order granting appellees’ motions for summary judgment, which order contained the trial court’s conclusion that the Canadian policy was applicable and that it had priority over the Northumberland policy.
1. The Canadian policy provided coverage for “loss or damage arising from the use or operation of any automobile not owned in whole or in part by . . . [Indal/Peachtree Doors],” and it defined a motor vehicle with an attached trailer as an automobile. Relying on Fitzgerald v. Aetna Ins. Co., 176 Mont. 186 (577 P2d 370, 372) (1978), the trial court found that the coverage clause was ambiguous and resolved that ambiguity in favor of coverage. We decline to find an ambiguity requiring judicial construction. In contrast with the trial court and the Supreme Court of Montana, we read the clause in the “Non-Owned Automobile Attachment” as affording coverage in instances where the insured has no ownership interest in the vehicle involved. Since the insured in the case at bar, Indal/Peachtree Doors, owned part of the “automobile” by owning the trailer, there was no coverage afforded the insured under the non-owned automobile attachment.
2. The trial court, however, found an alternative source of coverage for Hickman’s injuries under the general provisions of Canadian’s comprehensive general liability policy. Canadian agreed to pay on be
3. The trial court found that the Northumberland policy also covered the Hickman claim and ruled that the Northumberland policy was excess to the Canadian policy. Appellant takes issue with the latter conclusion.
The Canadian policy acknowledged “the existence of any Policies arranged to apply in excess of the Insurance [Canadian] provided” and agreed that “the insurance provided by such excess policies shall be considered as excess and non-contributing insurance insofar as the insurance provided under this [Canadian] policy is concerned and shall be held to attach and cover after the insurance under the [Canadian] policy has been exhausted.” The Northumberland commercial umbrella liability policy provided coverage in excess of the coverage of policies listed therein, which included Canadian’s comprehensive general liability and non-owned automobile liability coverages. It was undisputed that Canadian was aware that Indal/Peachtree Doors was trying to arrange for umbrella coverage in excess of Canadian’s coverage. According to the terms of both the Canadian and Northumber-land policies, Northumberland’s coverage was in excess of Canadian’s The trial court did not err in so ruling.
4. Having determined that Canadian’s policy afforded coverage
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.