Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Smith
Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Smith
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting in a separate opinion):
Because I agree with the disposition and reasoning of the master-in-equity, I VOTE to AFFIRM and adopt the analysis in his order as my dissent:
ORDER OF MASTER-IN-EQUITY CLYDE N. DAVIS, JR.
South Carolina Code Ann. § 38-77-150 mandates that all automobile insurance earners may not issue or deliver policies unless the policies contain a provision providing uninsured motorist coverage. The uninsured motorist statute is remedial and was enacted for the benefit of injured persons; the statute is to be liberally construed to accomplish this purpose. Gunnels v. American Liberty Ins. Co., 251 S.C. 242, 161 S.E.2d 822 (1968); Franklin v. Devore, 327 S.C. 418, 489 S.E.2d 651 (Ct.App. 1997). Provisions inconsistent with uninsured motorist statutes are void. Kay v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 349 S.C. 446, 562 S.E.2d 676 (2002).
This Court is persuaded by the decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court in Unisun Ins. Co. v. Schmidt, 339 S.C. 362, 529 S.E.2d 280 (2000), and holds that the insurable interest argument is irrelevant in this case, as we are dealing with uninsured coverage and not liability coverage. In the case of Schmidt, the South Carolina Supreme Court addressed a similar factual scenario. In Schmidt, the Defendant was injured while riding in a car driven by an unauthorized driver. Schmidt at 364-65, 529 S.E.2d at 281. The parties in Schmidt stipulated that January O’Neale’s father gave her a BMW with strict instructions not to let anyone else drive the car. Schmidt at 365, 529 S.E.2d at 281. On the date in question, Miss O’Neale and her friend Jennifer Hurst went to a party at the home of Christopher Schmidt. Id. During the party, Schmidt drove the BMW with Hurst asleep in the back seat. Id. Schmidt lost control of the vehicle, hit a tree and Hurst was injured. Id. The parties agreed that Schmidt did not have permission to drive the vehicle, but that Hurst’s use of the BMW at all times was consensual. The insurance carrier for the BMW was State Farm, and they successfully denied
The South Carolina Supreme Court then reversed the Court of Appeals. The South Carolina Supreme Court first looked at the definition of insured under South Carolina Code Ann. § 38-77-30(7) which defines insured to mean:
the named insured and, while resident of the same household, the spouse of any named insured and relatives of either, while in a motor vehicle or otherwise, and any person who uses with the consent, expressed or implied, of the named insured the motor vehicle to which the policy applies and a guest in the motor vehicle to which the policy applies or the personal representative of any of the above.
The South Carolina Supreme Court then stated that the Court of Appeals had erred in concluding that the O’Neale vehicle was not a vehicle “to which the policy applied.” Schmidt at 366-67, 529 S.E.2d at 282. The Court then held that the “ ‘motor vehicle to which the policy applies’ is ‘the motor vehicle designated in the policy’ ” Schmidt at 367, 529 S.E.2d at 282 (citing Davidson v. Eastern Fire & Cas. Ins. Co., 245 S.C. 472, 141 S.E.2d 135, 138 (1965)). The South Carolina Supreme Court then stated that the words “to which the policy applies” are words of identification and not words of exclusion as used by the Court of Appeals. Schmidt at 367, 529 S.E.2d at 282. The South Carolina Supreme Court then looked at the definition of an uninsured vehicle and concluded that the O’Neale vehicle qualified as an uninsured vehicle pursuant to South Carolina Code Ann. § 38-77-30(13) and that Hurst was covered under the uninsured portion of the
Applying the holding of the South Carolina Supreme Court in Schmidt to the case at hand, one must conclude that the Smiths should be covered under the uninsured motorist provision of the policy covering the Montero. As in Schmidt, they are insureds under South Carolina Code Ann. § 38-77-30(7), as they resided with the insured, James W. Smith, Sr. and are related by blood and mairiage to the insured James W. Smith, Sr. Furthermore, the motor vehicle to which the policy applies would be the Montero Sport, as that is “the motor vehicle designated in the policy.” Furthermore, the Nationwide Policy at issue on page Ul, which is the Uninsured Motorists and Underinsured Motorist provision, states: “We will pay damages, including derivative claims, because the bodily injury suffered by you or a relative, and because of property damage. Such damages must be due by law to you or a relative for the owner or driver of: 1. an uninsured motor vehicle ...” Therefore, the uninsured motorist coverage provision of the Nationwide policy covering the Montero should cover James W. Smith, Jr. and Elizabeth Smith when applying the reasoning of the South Carolina Supreme Court in Schmidt and the policy language of the Nationwide policy.
This Court is also persuaded by the holding of the South Carolina Supreme Court in Hogan v. Home Ins. Co., 260 S.C. 157, 194 S.E.2d 890 (1973). In Hogan, the South Carolina Supreme Court reviewed the judgment from the South Carolina lower court, which held that a policy clause excluding uninsured motorist coverage to the insured and her family, unless they were riding in the vehicle named in the policy, violated the South Carolina Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act (S.C.Code Ann. § 46-750.31 to 46-750.32 (1962 Code of Laws)).
The Supreme Court of South Carolina then points out the distinction between liability and uninsured motorist coverage. The Court states that the liability contract is only required to insure “persons defined as insured, against loss from liability
Nationwide’s argument that having no insurable interest defeats uninsured coverage is supported by no case law that refers to uninsured motorist coverage. Within their memorandum, Nationwide has cited the South Carolina cases of American Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Passmore, 275 S.C. 618, 274 S.E.2d 416 (1981), and Benton & Rhodes, Inc. v. Boden, 310 S.C. 400, 426 S.E.2d 823 (Ct.App. 1993). These cases can easily be distinguished from the case at hand, as neither refer or pertain to uninsured motorist coverage. The case of Pass-more involved a situation in which Helen Whitehead agreed to sell her 1970 Chevrolet Nova to Lonnie Reed in exchange for a down payment and assumption of the existing indebtedness. Per the agreement, Mr. Reed was required to obtain liability insurance on the vehicle. Because Mr. Reed had poor credit, he could not obtain liability insurance and approached a friend, Leaman Foxworth, who agreed to place the vehicle on his policy. The girlfriend of Lonnie Reed was then involved in a collision with James Passmore on May 21, 1977. The trial judge held that an insurance interest was not required for liability insurance in South Carolina, and the Supreme Court reversed the Trial Court’s decision and remanded the matter. The Supreme Court held that with regard to liability coverage, the insurable interest does not depend upon the named in
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Nationwide’s argument that there is no uninsured coverage on the Montero Sport is not supported by the evidence or the case law, is irrelevant, and to hold there is no uninsured motorist coverage on the Montero Sport would be against public policy. The Smiths are entitled to Fifty Thousand ($50,000.00) Dollars per person, One Hundred Thousand ($100,000.00) Dollars per occurrence of uninsured coverage on the Montero Sport and then they would each be able to stack the Fifty Thousand ($50,000.00) dollars uninsured motorist coverage provided by the Montero Sport policy and the Fifty Thousand ($50,000.00) Dollars uninsured motorist coverage provided by the 1992 Ford Ranger. The total coverage available to each should be One Hundred Thousand ($100,-00.00) Dollars for a total of Two Hundred Thousand ($200,-000.000) Dollars in total uninsured motorist coverage for this occurrence. Stacking would be allowed, as James W. Smith, Jr. and Elizabeth Smith are relatives of the insured, James W. Smith, Sr., and resided with him at the time of the accident, thus they are Class 1 insureds. Therefore they can stack the available uninsured motorist coverage per Concrete Servs., Inc. v. United States Fidelity & Guar. Co., 331 S.C. 506, 498 S.E.2d 865 (1998), and South Carolina Code Ann. § 38-77-160.
(some minor typographical and citation errors corrected)
Accordingly, I VOTE to AFFIRM.
Opinion of the Court
James W. Smith, Jr. and Elizabeth Smith (the Smiths) were involved in an automobile accident with an uninsured motorist. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Nationwide) brought a declaratory judgment action to determine whether the insurance policy covering the vehicle in which the Smiths were riding was void for lack of an insurable interest. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Smiths. Nationwide appeals.
FACTS
On October 29, 2003, the Smiths were involved in a motor vehicle accident in Lexington County, South Carolina. At the time of the accident, James W. Smith, Jr. was driving and
At the time of the accident, the Montero was a listed vehicle on the Nationwide Policy Number: 61 39 K 931345. While the Montero was owned by and registered to James W. Smith, Jr., the Nationwide policy covering the Montero was taken out and owned by his father, James W. Smith, Sr. (Father).
Nationwide denied coverage and filed a declaratory judgment action for a determination that the policy covering the Montero was void for lack of an insurable interest. The Smiths answered and counterclaimed. Both Nationwide and the Smiths filed motions for summary judgment.
At the healing, Nationwide sought a declaration that the policy was void as to the Montero and the Smiths were precluded from collecting UM coverage from that policy.
The Smiths argued because they used the Montero to transport Father, Father benefited from its use and therefore had an insurable interest in the Montero. Regardless, they averred the insurable interest requirement for liability coverage was irrelevant when dealing with UM coverage. Because the uninsured motorist statute mandates insurers to provide UM coverage to the named insured and resident relatives of the named insured’s household at all times, the Smiths claimed the insurable interest argument had no bearing on UM coverage.
The trial court found the insurable interest requirement for liability insurance was irrelevant to the case as the issue before the court dealt with UM coverage and not liability coverage. The trial court characterized Nationwide’s position as an attempt to circumvent the statutory mandate that automobile insurance carriers must provide UM coverage on all policies issued. The trial court concluded the Smiths were entitled to $50,000 per person, $100,000 per occurrence in UM coverage on the Montero and that James W. Smith, Jr. and Elizabeth Smith each could stack the $50,000 UM coverage provided on the Montero policy and the $50,000 UM coverage provided on the Ranger. The total coverage available to each was held to be $100,000 for a total of $200,000 in UM coverage for the occurrence.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
When reviewing the grant of a summary judgment motion, this court applies the same standard of review as the trial court under Rule 56, SCRCP. Cowburn v. Leventis, 366
When plain, palpable, and indisputable facts exist on which reasonable minds cannot differ, summary judgment should be granted. Ellis v. Davidson, 358 S.C. 509, 518, 595 S.E.2d 817, 822 (Ct.App. 2004). However, summary judgment is not appropriate where further inquiry into the facts of the case is desirable to clarify the application of the law. Bennett v. Investors Title Ins. Co., 370 S.C. 578, 588, 635 S.E.2d 649, 654 (Ct.App. 2006). Even when there is no dispute as to evidentiary facts, but only as to the conclusions or inferences to be drawn from them, summary judgment should be denied. Nelson v. Charleston County Parks & Recreation Conmm’n, 362 S.C. 1, 5, 605 S.E.2d 744, 746 (Ct.App. 2004).
LAW/ANALYSIS
Nationwide claims the trial court erred in holding the insurable interest requirement for liability insurance was irrelevant when dealing with UM coverage. We agree.
Initially, we note that in South Carolina all automobile insurance policies are statutorily required to contain UM coverage. S.C.Code Ann. § 38-77-150 (2002) (requiring all automobile insurance policies contain a provision to protect against damages an insured is legally entitled to recover which “arise out of the ownership, maintenance or use” of an uninsured vehicle). South Carolina mandates that UM coverage must be provided -in an amount equal to the minimum liability limits, id., and requires insurance carriers to offer, at the option of the insured, UM coverage up to the limits of the insured’s liability coverage. S.C.Code Ann. § 38-77-160 (2002). Thus, UM coverage does not exist in and of itself, but rather is a requirement of and dependent on a valid automobile insurance policy.
The trial court ignored the requirement that an individual must have an insurable interest in the vehicle in which he seeks coverage by making a distinction between liability coverage and UM coverage. The court based its distinction on Unisun Insurance Company v. Schmidt, 339 S.C. 362, 529 S.E.2d 280 (2000) and Hogan v. Home Insurance Company, 260 S.C. 157, 194 S.E.2d 890 (1973). In both cases, the insurance company involved attempted to exclude UM coverage to an insured under a valid policy.
In Schmidt, the defendant, a guest of the named insured, was injured while riding in the named insured’s vehicle while driven by an unauthorized driver. 339 S.C. at 364-65, 529 S.E.2d at 281. The insurance company attempted to exclude coverage because once the vehicle was driven without permission it was no longer covered under the policy. Id. at 365, 529 S.E.2d at 281. This court denied coverage, finding when the vehicle was driven without permission it no longer was a vehicle “to which the policy applied.” Id. The definition of insured under South Carolina Code Ann. § 38-77-30(7) defines “insured” to mean, “the named insured and, while resi
In this case, the trial court finds the motor vehicle to which the policy applies is the Montero Sport as it is the motor vehicle designated in the policy. However, in Schmidt the policy the court relies on to find coverage is a valid insurance policy. In this case, the policy which the court relies on to find coverage may not be a valid policy. If there is no valid policy, there can be no motor vehicle to which the policy applies, nor can there be a motor vehicle designated in the policy.
Likewise, the court relies on Hogan to distinguish the insurable interest requirement for liability coverage from UM coverage. In Hogan, the named insured’s son was killed while riding in a vehicle she retained title to but which was actually owned by and driven by her nephew. 260 S.C. at 159, 194 S.E.2d at 890-91. An exclusion in the insurance policy provided UM coverage did not apply to injuries sustained by an “uninsured” while occupying a car other than the insured vehicle owned by the named insured or a resident relative. Id. at 159-160, 194 S.E.2d at 891. The court held the exclusion invalid because it conflicted with the statutory mandate that UM coverage apply to the named insured and resident relatives without regard to the use of the insured vehicle. Id. at 162, 194 S.E.2d at 892.
Again, as in Schmidt, the issue before the Hogan court dealt with an exclusion included in a valid insurance policy. It is undeniable that under a valid insurance policy Nationwide could not exclude coverage in this case. The question, however, is not whether Nationwide is unduly excluding coverage;
We acknowledge the purpose of the uninsured motorist statute is to provide benefits and protection against the peril of injury or death by an uninsured motorist to an insured motorist and his family. Ferguson v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 261 S.C. 96, 100, 198 S.E.2d 522, 524 (1973). We also remain ever mindful the statute is remedial in nature, enacted for the benefit of the injured persons, and is to be liberally construed so that the purpose intended may be accomplished. Gunnels v. American Liberty Ins. Co., 251 S.C. 242, 247, 161 S.E.2d 822, 824 (1968). However, we do not believe that entitles this court to pervert the well settled rule of law in this country that an insured must possess an interest in the subject matter of the policy. Where an insurable interest does not exist at the time the contract for insurance was made, the insurance policy' is void from its inception. Abraham v. New York Undenvriters Ins. Co., 187 S.C. 70, 78, 196 S.E. 531, 534 (1938).
Therefore, in this case, the question whether Father lacked an insurable interest in the Montero is relevant to determining the amount of UM coverage available to the Smiths. UM coverage provides “benefits and protection against the peril of injury or death by an uninsured motorist to an insured motorist, his family, and the permissive users of his vehicle.” Ferguson, 261 S.C. at 100, 198 S.E.2d at 524. An insured is entitled to stack UM coverage in an amount no greater than the amount of coverage on the vehicle involved in the accident. S.C. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Mooneyham, 304 S.C. 442, 446, 405 S.E.2d 396, 398 (1991). Stacking is defined “as the insured’s recovery of damages under more than one policy until all of his damages are satisfied or the limits of all available policies are met.” Giles v. Whitaker, 297 S.C. 267, 268, 376 S.E.2d 278, 279 (1989). “If none of the insured’s or named insured’s vehicles is involved in the accident, coverage is available only to the extent of coverage on any one of the vehicles with the excess or underinsured coverage.” S.C.Code Ann. § 38-77-160 (2002). This court has interpreted the statute to mean UM coverage is personal and portable, meaning coverage follows the person. Nation
In this case, the Smiths must first look to recover the amount of UM coverage on the Montero, as it was the vehicle involved in the accident and serves as the measuring vehicle for the stacking of additional UM coverage. If Father had an insurable interest in the Montero, thereby making the policy valid, the Smiths would be able to recover the UM coverage provided under the policy. In addition, the Smiths would be able to stack the UM coverage provided on the Ranger.
However, if, as Nationwide asserts, the policy is void as to the Montero for a lack of insurable interest, the Montero will have no liability coverage and the Smiths may not look to it for UM coverage. Yet, the Smiths would not be without coverage. According to S.C.Code Ann. § 38-77-160 and the recent Envood II decision, the Smiths may look to the UM coverage maintained on the non-involved vehicle. See S.C.Code Ann. § 38-77-160 (2002); Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Erwood, 373 S.C. at 90-91, 644 S.E.2d at 63-64.
Nationwide acknowledged Erwood, pending before the supreme court at the time of trial and filing of appeal, would answer the coverage issue in this case in the event the Montero policy was found to be void and the Smiths were limited to coverage under the Ranger’s policy. The defendant in Erwood was a passenger on an uninsured motorcycle when it was involved in an accident. The defendant, however, owned an insured automobile providing UM coverage in the required statutory minimum amount of $15,000. Ultimately in Erwood II, the supreme court found the insured was entitled to UM coverage from her non-involved vehicle because of the personal and portable nature of UM coverage. Since the UM coverage on her non-involved vehicle was the statutory minimum of $15,000, the court limited her coverage to the statuto
Because the trial court found whether Father had an insurable interest was irrelevant to this case, it did not address whether Father actually had an insurable interest. As discussed above, we hold the issue of insurable interest is pivotal in determining the recovery available to the Smiths. Therefore, we REVERSE the grant of summary judgment and REMAND. In light of our disposition, we need not address Nationwide’s remaining issues. See Whiteside v. Cherokee County Sch. Dist. No. One, 311 S.C. 335, 340-41, 428 S.E.2d 886, 889 (1993) (appellate court need not address a remaining issue when resolution of prior issue is dispositive).
REVERSED AND REMANDED
. We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.
. Father was residing with the Smiths and his grandson at the time the accident occurred. Father did not drive due to medical reasons and from time to time relied on the Smiths to drive him to and from doctor visits and to obtain prescriptions.
. Nationwide concedes that botlt the Smiths are Class I insureds under the Father's policy. There are two classes of insureds: (1) the named insured, his spouse and relatives residing in his household; and, (2) any person using, with the consent of the named insured, the motor vehicle to which the policy applies and a guest in the motor vehicle. Concrete Serv’s., Inc. v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 331 S.C. 506, 509, 498 S.E.2d 865, 866 (1998). The right to stack is available only to a Class I insured. Id.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.