Hofmeister v. Meter, Unpublished Decision (5-21-2004)
Hofmeister v. Meter, Unpublished Decision (5-21-2004)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} This timely appeal comes for consideration upon the record in the trial court, the parties' briefs, and their supplemental authority. Defendant-Appellant, Travelers Insurance Company, appeals the decision of the Columbiana County Court of Common Pleas which granted summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs-Appellees, David and Billie Whitaker. The Whitakers' claims against Travelers are based on Scott-Pontzer v. LibertyMut. Fire Ins. Co. (1999),{¶ 4} The Ohio Supreme Court recently limited the application of Scott-Pontzer and overruled Ezawa in Galatis. Galatis at paragraphs two and three of the syllabus.
{¶ 5} "Absent specific language to the contrary, a policy of insurance that names a corporation as an insured for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage covers a loss sustained by an employee of the corporation only if the loss occurs within the course and scope of employment. (King v. Nationwide Ins. Co.
[1988],
{¶ 6} "Where a policy of insurance designates a corporation as a named insured, the designation of `family members' of the named insured as other insureds does not extend insurance coverage to a family member of an employee of the corporation, unless that employee is also a named insured. (Ezawa v. YasudaFire Marine Ins. Co. of Am. [1999],
{¶ 7} In Parks v. Rice, 7th Dist. Nos. 02 CA 197, and 02 CA 198,
{¶ 8} Galatis states that an employee is not an "insured" for the purposes of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage if the employee is not within the scope of her employment when she is injured unless the policy contains specific language to the contrary. As stated above, David was conducting personal business outside the scope of his employment when he was injured. And the insurance contracts do not contain specific language extending coverage to the Whitakers. Accordingly, we must conclude that the Whitakers are not insureds under the terms of that contract and have no claim against Travelers. The judgment of the trial court is reversed and judgment is granted to Travelers.
Waite, P.J., and Vukovich, J., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.