Westfield Ins. Co. v. Snyder, Unpublished Decision (6-7-2004)
Westfield Ins. Co. v. Snyder, Unpublished Decision (6-7-2004)
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, Elsie Snyder, appeals the decision of the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas which granted summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff-Appellee, Westfield Insurance Company. Snyder's claim against Westfield is based on Scott-Pontzer v. Liberty Mut. FireIns. Co. (1999),{¶ 4} The Ohio Supreme Court recently limited the application of Scott-Pontzer Galatis. Galatis at paragraph two of the syllabus. "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],
{¶ 5} In Parks v. Rice, 7th Dist. Nos. 02 CA 197, 02 CA 198,
{¶ 6} 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, Snyder was walking across a crosswalk on personal business when the accident occurred, so she was not in the scope of her employment when she was injured. And the insurance contracts do not contain specific language extending coverage to the Parks. Accordingly, we conclude that Snyder was not an insured under her employer's corporate insurance policy and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Donofrio, J., concurs.
Vukovich, J., concurs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.