Epps v. Farmers Ins. Exch.
Epps v. Farmers Ins. Exch.
Opinion of the Court
*387Plaintiff appeals a limited judgment that was entered following the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant *497insurer.
"Because this case arises on defendant's motion for summary judgment, we state the facts in the light most favorable to plaintiffs." Dewsnup v. Farmers Ins. Co. ,
*388Plaintiff filed the underlying negligence action against the Pollards, alleging that, Alta's "failure to reasonably supervise" plaintiff on the premises of the insured, and John's actions, both on and off of the premises, caused plaintiff's injuries. The Pollards tendered an insurance claim to defendant, which defendant denied on the basis of the motor vehicle exclusion to coverage in the policy. Plaintiff then filed this declaratory judgment action against defendant to determine whether the Pollards' homeowners' insurance policy covers the Pollards' liability in plaintiff's action against them. In response, defendant moved for summary judgment, contending that the Pollards' insurance policy excludes claims for bodily injury that do not occur on the insured premises and that result from the use of a motor vehicle. The trial court agreed with defendant and granted the motion for summary judgment.
As noted above, on appeal, plaintiff does not dispute the trial court's determination that his claim against John Pollard is excluded from coverage under the policy because the plaintiff's injuries resulted from the use of a motor vehicle off of the insured premises. Plaintiff's sole argument on appeal is that the trial court erred when it determined that the policy excluded coverage for Alta's negligence; plaintiff contends that Alta's negligence is not subject to the motor vehicle exclusion in the policy because Alta's negligent supervision of plaintiff occurred on the insured premises and resulted in a foreseeable harm to plaintiff.
On the other side, defendant contends that the motor vehicle exclusion in the Pollards' policy applies to plaintiff's negligent supervision claim against Alta because the "exclusion applies to any claim for injury that 'results from' the use of a motor vehicle," and "[w]hat determines whether a claim is covered is the nature of the injury , whether it is vehicle related, not whether the alleged negligence is vehicle related, nor where the negligence occurred." (Emphasis in defendant's brief.)
To determine whether the trial court erred when it granted defendant's motion *498for summary judgment, we "examine[ ] the summary judgment record, in accordance *389with ORCP 47 C, to determine whether the pleadings and any supporting documents on file show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to prevail as a matter of law." Bresee Homes Inc. v. Farmers Ins. Exchange ,
We begin our analysis with "Coverage E" in the policy, which provides, in pertinent part, that "[w]e will pay those damages which an insured becomes legally obligated to pay because of bodily injury, property damage or personal injury resulting from an occurrence to which this coverage applies" and, "[a]t our expense and with attorneys of our choice, we will defend an insured against any covered claim or suit." Additionally, "Coverage F" provides that "[w]e will pay the necessary medical expenses for services furnished to a person other than you or any resident of your household within 3 years from the date of an occurrence causing bodily injury." The policy defines an "occurrence" as "an accident including exposure to conditions which results during the policy period in bodily injury or property damage."
However, those policy provisions must be read in relationship to the exclusions in the policy. The policy sets forth certain exclusions "applying to Coverage E and F-personal liability and medical payments to others." The pertinent exclusion states:
"We do not cover bodily injury, property damage or personal injury which:
*390"* * * * *
"7. results from the ownership, maintenance, use, loading or unloading of:
"* * * * *
"b. motor vehicles[.]"
As relevant here, the policy defines "motor vehicle" as "any * * * motorized land vehicle designed for recreational use off public roads," but that definition does not include "a motorized land vehicle, not subject to motor vehicle registration, used only on an insured location." Reading the exclusion and definition together, the apparent purpose of the exclusion is to require the insured to obtain separate liability insurance for recreational vehicles, except when they are "used only on an insured location." The parties do not dispute that, once the ATV left the Pollards' property and was traveling on the public road, the ATV was a "motor vehicle" within the policy's definition.
Plaintiff, relying on the definition of "occurrence" in the policy, contends that Alta's negligent supervision of plaintiff on the insured premises "constituted an occurrence under the policy because [it] exposed the child to conditions resulting in bodily injury" and, because "the policy insures against" the use of the ATV on the insured premises, the policy coverage should extend to Alta's acts.
Plaintiff's construction of the policy ignores the applicability of the motor vehicle exclusion to occurrences that cause bodily injury. See Leach v. Scottsdale Indemnity Co. ,
In this case, plaintiff's injuries were the result of John's and plaintiff's "use" of a "motor vehicle" on a public road. See American Economy Ins. Co. v. Hughes ,
In our analysis, we are guided by our decision in Farmers Insurance Group v. Nelsen ,
On appeal, we noted that, "[t]he policy covers liability for bodily injury, unless the injury is caused in a manner or by an instrumentality *500for which the policy excludes coverage" and that "that coverage under the policy does not vary depending on the theory of tort liability which is asserted."
Our holding in Farmers Insurance Group applies under the circumstances of this case. Here, plaintiff's negligent supervision claim is based on Alta's act of allowing plaintiff to use the ATV with John-this is not a case where there is an independent nonmotor vehicle related cause of plaintiff's bodily injuries that would take the claim outside of the motor vehicle exclusion.
We conclude that the trial court did not err in granting defendant's motion for summary judgment because there is no genuine issue *501as to any material fact and defendant is entitled to prevail as a matter of law.
Affirmed.
Because there are multiple defendants in this case, for clarity, we refer to defendant-respondent Truck Insurance Exchange (collectively Farmers) as "defendant" throughout this opinion.
On appeal, plaintiff does not dispute the trial court's determination that his claim against John Pollard is excluded from coverage under the policy.
Conversely, coverage for personal injury does depend on plaintiff's theory of liability. Under "Coverage E," "[p]ersonal injury means any injury arising from" various theories of tort liability such as false arrest, invasion of rights of privacy, libel, slander, or defamation of character. We decline to impose a condition on the applicability of the motor vehicle exclusion that relates to plaintiff's theory of liability, when the language of that exclusion regarding coverage for bodily injury is not constrained by plaintiff's theory of liability. See ORS 42.230 ("In the construction of an instrument, the office of the judge is simply to ascertain and declare what is, in terms or in substance, contained therein, not to insert what has been omitted, or to omit what has been inserted; and where there are several provisions or particulars, such construction is, if possible, to be adopted as will give effect to all.").
That policy provided, in pertinent part:
" 'If a claim is made or a suit is brought against any insured for damages because of bodily injury or property damage to which this coverage applies, we will:
" 'a. pay up to our limit of liability for the damages for which the insured is legally liable; and
" 'b. provide a defense at our expense by counsel of our choice * * *
" '* * * * *
" 'Section II-Exclusions:
" '1. Coverage E-Personal Liability and Coverage F-Medical Payments to Others do not apply to bodily injury or property damage:
" '* * * * *
" 'e. arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use, loading or unloading of:
" '* * * * *
" '(2) a motor vehicle owned or operated by, or rented or loaned to any insured * * *.' "
Farmers Insurance Group ,
We note that, although case law from other states is not binding upon us, the interpretation of the motor vehicle exclusion proffered by defendant is consistent with that of other courts which have recognized that coverage under automobile policies is often "dovetailed" into the motor vehicle exclusion in homeowners' policies "to provide for uniform, non-duplicative liability coverage," and that "[t]he practice of excluding [motor vehicle] liability from coverage under a comprehensive liability policy and issuing a separate automobile policy is relevant to the issue of whether the [motor vehicle] exclusion is ambiguous." Northern Ins. Co. of New York v. Ekstrom ,
We further note that, in cases where "the negligent supervision is so inextricably intertwined with the motor vehicle, [such that] there is no independent nonauto-related act which would take the claim outside the scope of the motor vehicle exclusionary clause," the rule that " '[c]overage does not turn on the legal theory under which liability is asserted, but on the cause of the injury' " has been adopted by a "majority of jurisdictions." Taylor v. American Fire and Cas. Co. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Brodi EPPS, BY AND THROUGH His Guardian ad litem, Molly S. EPPS v. FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE, an inter-insurance exchange, and Truck Insurance Exchange, an inter-insurance exchange, dba Farmers Insurance Company of Oregon John Douglas Pollard and Alta Lorena Hise-Pollard, Defendants-Respondents.
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published