Travelers Indem. Co. of Conn. v. Peachstate Auto Ins. Agency, Inc.
Travelers Indem. Co. of Conn. v. Peachstate Auto Ins. Agency, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs Travelers Indemnity Co. of Connecticut's and Travelers Indemnity Co.'s (hereinafter "Travelers") Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 46), in which Travelers seeks declaratory judgment that Travelers has no duty to provide a defense for Defendants or to provide indemnification for any settlement or judgment to Defendants for the claims asserted against them in the Underlying Action. For the following reasons, Travelers' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED .
I. BACKGROUND
On November 23, 2016, Defendant Volinski ("Volinski") was driving a 2001 GMC Jimmy with Kevin Maull ("Maull") as a passenger when she lost control of the vehicle, resulting in the ejection of both Volinski and Maull. (Doc. 30-1 at ¶¶ 9-11.) At the time of the accident, Volinski had left work and had spent a few hours at her apartment before leaving with Maull in the GMC Jimmy to take Maull to his job. (Doc. 47-2 at ¶¶ 13-14.)
Volinski was employed by Peachstate (collectively, with Flor & Floyd and Oxford, the "Corporate Defendants") as a filer. (Id. at ¶ 21.) Her job duties were entirely clerical and included cleaning out and organizing files and answering phone calls. (Id. ) Her job duties did not, however, include driving, and she was never paid for her time driving to and from work, even when driving the GMC Jimmy. (Id. at ¶¶ 22-23.)
The GMC Jimmy involved in the accident was personally owned and personally insured by Defendant Christopher Flor ("Flor"), an executive officer of the Corporate Defendants. (Id. at ¶ 24.) The vehicle was "wrapped" with advertising for the Corporate Defendants and generally remained at various locations to help with visibility and advertising for the Corporate Defendants. (Id. at ¶¶ 26, 28.) The employees of the Corporate Defendants did not readily have access to the GMC Jimmy, which was only available upon the permission of Flor. (Id. at ¶¶ 31-32.)
Apart from Flor's personal insurance policy, the Corporate Defendants obtained general liability and umbrella policies from Travelers. (Id. at ¶¶ 35, 44.) The corporate policies excluded coverage for bodily injury arising out of the use of any vehicle operated by the insureds. (Id. at ¶ 39.) However, the corporate policies contained an Endorsement that modified the general exclusion to provide coverage for bodily injury arising from the use of a "hired auto" or "nonowned auto." (Id. at ¶¶ 40-41.) This Endorsement specifically did not apply to vehicles used in the course and scope of the Corporate Defendants' business at the time of an occurrence. (Id. at ¶ 42.)
In a lawsuit currently pending in state court (the "Underlying Action"), Defendant *1261Daisy Davis ("Davis"), as representative of Maull, asserts claims against the Corporate Defendants, Flor, and Volinski stemming from the single-vehicle accident on November 23, 2016. (Doc. 30-1.) The complaint in the Underlying Action alleges that the GMC Jimmy was covered in advertisements for the purpose of promoting the business of the Corporate Defendants and was used for the purpose of providing transportation to an employee for the furtherance of the Corporate Defendants' business. (Id. at ¶¶ 25-26.) Davis claims that as a result of Defendants' negligence, Maull suffered a traumatic brain injury that led to a permanent vegetative state. (Id. at ¶ 32.) Davis is ultimately seeking recovery for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and fringe benefits, and past and future pain and suffering. (Id. at ¶¶ 33-35.)
Travelers agreed to provide a defense for and indemnify the Corporate Defendants for the Underlying Action subject to a full reservation of rights under the insurance policy provided to the Corporate Defendants. (Doc. 47-2 at ¶ 11.) Travelers subsequently filed this declaratory action seeking a determination that it has no duty to defend or to indemnify Defendants for the claims asserted in the Underlying Action. Travelers now moves for summary judgment.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, "[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The moving party bears the burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, looking at the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. ,
III. DISCUSSION
Travelers seeks a declaration from this Court that it has no duty to defend or indemnify Defendants in the Underlying Action because the Underlying Action does not fall within the insurance policies as modified by the "Hired Auto and Nonowned Auto Liability" Endorsement. Whether an insurer has the duty to defend "depends on the language of the [insurance] policy as compared with the allegations of the complaint." Hoover v. Maxum Indem. Co. ,
Travelers does not have a duty to defend the Defendants because the insurance policies do not cover the facts of the Underlying Action. The contract of liability insurance at issue in this case generally excludes coverage for bodily injury caused by motor vehicle accidents. However, the policies provide limited coverage under a "Hired Auto and Nonowned Auto Liability" Endorsement for " 'bodily injury'...arising out of the maintenance or use of a 'hired auto' or 'nonowned auto.' " Specifically, the policy defines "hired auto" and "nonowned auto" as follows:
"Hired auto" means any "auto" [Peachstate, Flor & Floyd, or Oxford] lease, rent or borrow. This does not include:
...
b. Any "auto" [Peachstate, Flor & Floyd, or Oxford] lease[s], hire[s], rent[s] or borrow[s] from any of [their] "employees," partners, stockholders, or members of their households.
"Nonowned auto" means any "autos" [Peachstate, Flor & Floyd, or Oxford] do not own, lease, hire, rent or borrow that are being used in the course and scope of [Peachstate, Flor & Floyd, or Oxford's] business at the time of an "occurrence." This includes "autos" owned by [Peachstate, Flor & Floyd, or Oxford's] "employee's or partners or members of their households but only while being used in the course and scope of [Peachstate, Flor & Floyd, or Oxford's] business at the time of the "occurrence."
(Doc. 46 at ¶ 5.)
The vehicle at issue does not qualify as a "hired auto" under the policies because it was not leased, rented, or borrowed by the Corporate Defendants. ( [Doc. 47-2, at ¶ 33]; [Doc. 52-2, at ¶ 33]; [Doc. 53-1, at ¶ 33.] ) Furthermore, even if it were leased, rented, or borrowed by the Corporate Defendants, the vehicle is owned by Defendant Flor-an employee, partner, or stockholder of the Corporate Defendants-and would thus be excluded from coverage under the policies. Thus, the only question remaining is whether the vehicle qualifies as a "nonowned auto" under the Endorsement, which requires that the vehicle was being used in the course and scope of the Corporate Defendants' business at the time of the accident.
The Endorsement does not define "course and scope of business." As such, the term should be construed in accordance with its commonly used meaning. Broad v. Hitts , No. 5:08-CV-366,
*1263See, e.g. , SCI Liquidating Corp. v. Hartford Ins. Co. ,
The Underlying Complaint alleges that Defendant Volinski was operating the vehicle on behalf of the Corporate Defendants to promote the business of the Corporate Defendants at the time of the accident. (Doc. 1-2 at ¶¶ 12, 25.) However, Defendant Volinski admitted that she "was not on official company business and thus was not in the 'course and scope of her employment' " for the Corporate Defendants at the time of the accident. (Doc. 47-7 at ¶¶ 7, 12.) Furthermore, the Corporate Defendants unambiguously denied that the vehicle was being used in the course and scope of their business at the time of the accident. (Doc. 47-8 at ¶ 9.)
Defendants argue that there is, at a minimum, a jury issue as to whether the Corporate Defendants derived a business benefit from the use of the vehicle, thus bringing Defendant Volinksi's use of the vehicle within the course and scope of the Corporate Defendants' business. However, the cases relied on by Defendants are easily distinguishable. For example, in Hartford Cas. Ins. Co. v. Smith ,
*1264Here, in contrast, the undisputed facts demonstrate that Defendant Volinski was not acting within the course and scope of the business at the time of the accident. (See [Doc. 52-2 at ¶¶ 15, 34]; [Doc. 51-1 at ¶¶ 15, 34.] ) In fact, there is no evidence showing that Defendant Volinski's operation of the vehicle at the time of the accident had any connection with her employment or with Defendants' business, other than that the vehicle was covered in the Corporate Defendants' advertisements. These advertisements, though, are insufficient to demonstrate that a person is within the course of business. See, e.g. , Williams v. Chick-fil-A, Inc. ,
Defendants further argue that Travelers must at a minimum defend the suit, regardless of the resolution regarding its duty to indemnify. See Johansen v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. , No. 3:10-CV-0088-WBH,
Since Travelers does not have a duty to defend, Travelers also does not have a duty to indemnify. Though the duty to defend and the duty to indemnify are independent obligations and should generally be analyzed separately, see, e.g. , Nationwide Mut. Fire. Ins. Co. v. Somers ,
*1265IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, Travelers' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED , this 12th day of February, 2019.
In the context of respondeat superior, Georgia law has defined this term to exclude actions taken "not by reason of the employment, but because of a matter disconnected therewith[.]" Piedmont Hosp., Inc. v. Palladino ,
Georgia courts have considered evidence other than the Underlying Complaint in declaratory judgment actions involving insurance coverage disputes. For example, in Currington v. Federated Mut. Ins. Co. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY OF CONNECTICUT v. PEACHSTATE AUTO INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published