U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1968

John Heaton and Cora Lee Ward v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Decided July 17, 1968 · Sobeloff, Winter, Butzner

398 F.2d 824 (Federal Reporter, Second Series)

Counsel

James H. Watson, Greenville, S. C. (C. Ben Bowen, Greenville, S. C., on the brief), for appellants., William W. Kehl, Greenville, S. C. (David L. Freeman, Greenville, S. C., on the brief), for appellee.

Cases that cite this one

5 later published cases cite this decision.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. Brown (4th Cir. 1985)
Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Brown (4th Cir. 1985)
Mary H. Whetsell, Individually and as of the Estate of Kenneth A. Whetsell, Deceased v. The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (4th Cir. 1982)
Dairyland Insurance Company v. Kluckman (S.D. 1972)
Western Casualty & Surety Co. v. Verhulst (Mo. 1971)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Cora Lee Ward was injured on a public parking lot when John Heaton, an employee of the parking lot operator, negligently backed another patron’s automobile into her. After winning a judgment against the offending driver, she and the judgment-debtor joined in a suit seeking satisaction of the judgment from State Farm Mutual Insurance Company, his insurer. We approve and adopt Judge Russell’s opinion, 278 F.Supp. 725 (D.S.C. 1968), holding that the exclusionary clause in Heaton’s policy was valid under South Carolina law and precluded coverage in this instance. We intimate no view as to the possible availability of relief to the injured plaintiff under South Carolina’s Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act, Code of Laws of South Carolina 1962, Title 46-701 et seq., against her insurer, if she in fact carried insurance on her own automobile.

Affirmed.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.