Davis v. Westfield Cos., Unpublished Decision (5-7-2003)
Davis v. Westfield Cos., Unpublished Decision (5-7-2003)
Opinion of the Court
This cause was heard upon the record in the trial court. Each error assigned has been reviewed and the following disposition is made: {¶ 1} Plaintiff-Appellant Raymond Davis has appealed from an order of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas that granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant-Appellee Westfield Companies ("Westfield") on Appellant's complaint for declaratory judgment. This Court affirms.
{¶ 3} At the time of the accident, Appellant was an employee of Liberty Ford Lincoln Mercury, a subsidiary of Jim Herrick Motors, Inc. ("Herrick Motors"). Herrick Motors was insured under a policy of commercial liability insurance and commercial umbrella insurance issued by Westfield. Herrick Motors executed two additional forms in connection with the Westfield policy: 1) a reduction form, through which Herrick Motors attempted to reduce the available amount of uninsured/underinsured motorists ("UM/UIM") benefits to $100,000, and 2) a rejection form, by which Herrick Motors purported to reject all excess UM and UIM umbrella coverage.
{¶ 4} At the time of the accident, Ms. Dean was insured through an automobile liability insurance policy issued by Nationwide Insurance Company ("Nationwide"). With Westfield's consent, Appellant accepted $100,000 from Nationwide, which represented the full liability limits available to Ms. Dean under the Nationwide policy.
{¶ 5} Appellant thereafter filed an action for declaratory judgment and damages, seeking UIM benefits under the Westfield policy pursuant to Scott-Pontzer v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co. (1999),
"THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT GRANTED [WESTFIELD'S] MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT."
{¶ 6} In his sole assignment of error, Appellant has argued that the trial court erred in granting Westfield's motion for summary judgment. Appellant has contended that the "other owned auto" exclusion does not apply because he was driving a "covered vehicle" at the time of the accident. Appellant has also maintained that Westfield's reduction of available UIM benefits under the policy's primary coverage, and its rejection of UIM benefits under the umbrella coverage, were invalid.
{¶ 7} Pursuant to Civ.R. 56(C), summary judgment is proper if:
"(1) No genuine issue as to any material fact remains to be litigated; (2) the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) it appears from the evidence that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion, and viewing such evidence most strongly in favor of the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, that conclusion is adverse to that party." Temple v. Wean United, Inc. (1977),
50 Ohio St.2d 317 ,327 .
{¶ 8} Appellate review of a lower court's entry of summary judgment is de novo, applying the same standard used by the trial court.McKay v. Cutlip (1992),
{¶ 9} Appellant has maintained that he was an insured under the Westfield policy pursuant to Scott-Pontzer. In Scott-Pontzer, the Ohio Supreme Court considered whether a corporation's employees were entitled to UIM coverage under the corporation's insurance policies. The court held that when the named insured in an insurance policy is a corporation, "you" as included in the definition of an insured is ambiguous. Scott-Pontzer,
{¶ 10} In its supplement to its motion for summary judgment, Westfield argued that Scott-Pontzer did not apply to extend coverage to Appellant under the Westfield policy pursuant to then-recent authority from this Court. Westfield appended to its supplement a copy of a broadened coverage endorsement, which amended the policy to include individually named insureds. Westfield contended that the inclusion of individually named insureds removed any ambiguity from the scope of the term "you" in the definition of "insured" under the policy, andScott-Pontzer therefore did not apply to extend coverage to Appellant.
{¶ 11} The declarations page of the commercial auto coverage part of the general liability policy identifies the named insured as Jim Herrick Motors Inc. An endorsement to the business auto coverage form of the policy provides the following definition of an insured:
"Who Is An Insured
"1. You while `occupying' or, while a pedestrian, when struck by any `auto.'
"2. If you are an individual, any `family member' while `occupying' or, while a pedestrian, when struck by any `auto.'
"3. Anyone else `occupying' a covered `auto' or a temporary substitute for a covered `auto.' The covered `auto' must be out of service because of its breakdown, repair, servicing, loss or destruction."
{¶ 12} The policy is modified by a subsequent endorsement, entitled "DRIVE OTHER CAR COVERAGE — BROADENED COVERAGE FOR NAMED INDIVIDUALS." The broadened coverage endorsement identified John Haller and Cheryl Haller on the schedule as insureds. The endorsement also added the following modifications to auto medical payments and UM/UIM coverage:
"The following is added to Who Is An Insured:
"Any individual named in the Schedule and his or her `family members' are `insured' while `occupying' or while a pedestrian when being struck by any `auto' you don't own except:
"Any `auto' owned by that individual or by any `family member.'"
{¶ 13} This Court has previously held that the inclusion of a named individual as an insured in a broadened coverage endorsement removes the ambiguity from the term "you" as included in the definition of an insured for purposes of entitlement to UIM benefits. See Caruso v.Utica Ins. Co., 9th Dist. No. 21222, 2003-Ohio-525, ¶ 19; Thorne v.Amerisure Ins. Co., 9th Dist. No. 21137, 2002-Ohio-6123, ¶ 29;Westfield Ins. Co. v. Galatis (Apr. 3, 2002), 9th Dist. No. 20784, at 6. Therefore, this Court need not engage in a Scott-Pontzer analysis on the facts before us. Unlike the policy at issue in Scott-Pontzer, which identified the corporation as the sole named insured, the broadened coverage endorsement included in the Westfield policy names specific individuals as insureds. See Scott-Pontzer,
{¶ 14} The trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Westfield. Appellant's assignment of error is not well taken.
BAIRD, P.J. and CARR, J. CONCUR.
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