Cunningham v. Transcontinental Ins. Co., Unpublished Decision (12-31-2002)
Cunningham v. Transcontinental Ins. Co., Unpublished Decision (12-31-2002)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} The parties have stipulated the following facts. On July 28, 1998, the decedent, Tommy Cunningham, a Hirschberg employee, was fatally injured at work when a skid steer loader operated by a co-worker, Walter Stewart, pinched him between a ramp and a tractor-trailer. At the time Cunningham was killed, Hirschberg was the named insured under a business automobile liability policy of insurance that Transcontinental had issued on October 1, 1997. The period of coverage listed in the renewal declaration of the policy was from October 1, 1997, to October 1, 1998. The policy provided UM/UIM coverage in an endorsement entitled "Ohio Uninsured Motorists Coverage-Bodily Injury." The parties acknowledge that Hirschberg had been insured under a business automobile liability policy with Transcontinental for over twenty years prior to Cunningham's death, but the policy's inception date remains unknown.
{¶ 3} Relying upon decisions by the Ohio Supreme Court inScott-Pontzer v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co.1 and Wolfe v. Wolfe,2 the estate filed a complaint seeking a
declaration that Cunningham, as an employee of Hirschberg, was an insured under Hirschberg's policy, and that the estate was entitled to UM/UIM benefits thereunder. Both parties moved for summary judgment. The trial court ultimately determined that the estate was not entitled to UM/UIM benefits under Hirschberg's policy because the effective period of Hirschberg's policy at the time Cunningham was killed was from October 1, 1997, to October 1, 1998, and the version of R.C.
{¶ 4} In doing so, the trial court rejected the estate's argument that the policy was an automobile insurance policy under R.C.
{¶ 5} On appeal, the estate now raises a single assignment of error, contending that because Wolfe applies to the Hirschberg policy, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Transcontinental. The estate asserts that Wolfe mandates that this case be remanded to the trial court for a determination of the original inception date of the Hirschberg policy. Transcontinental argues, on the other hand, that R.C.
{¶ 6} In Wolfe, the Ohio Supreme Court held in paragraph one of the syllabus, "Pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 7} "As used in sections
{¶ 8} "(A) Provides automobile bodily injury or property damage liability, or related coverage, or any combination thereof;
{¶ 9} "(B) Insures as named insured, any of the following:
{¶ 10} "(1) Any one person;
{¶ 11} "(2) A husband and wife resident in the same household;
{¶ 12} "(3) Either a husband or a wife who reside[s] in the same household if an endorsement on the policy excludes the other spouse from coverage under the policy and the spouse excluded signs the endorsement. Nothing in this division (B)(3) shall prevent
the issuance of separate policies to each spouse or affect the compliance of the policy with Chapter 4509. of the Revised Code as to the named insured or any additional insured.
{¶ 13} "(C) Insures only private passenger motor vehicles or other four-wheeled motor vehicles which are classified or rated as private passenger vehicles and are not used as public or private livery, or rental conveyances;
{¶ 14} "(D) Does not insure more than four vehicles;
{¶ 15} "(E) Does not cover garage, automobile sales agency, repair shop, service station, or public parking operation hazards;
{¶ 16} "(F) Is not issued under an assigned risk plan pursuant to section
4509.70 of the Revised Code."
{¶ 17} We agree with the Fifth and Eighth Appellate Districts' interpretation of Wolfe. In this case, summary judgment was proper because the Hirschberg policy did not satisfy the definition of "automobile insurance policy" set forth in R.C.
Judgment affirmed.
Painter, P.J., Doan and Sundermann, JJ.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.