Davis v. Scottsdale Insurance Co., 128 So. 3d 471

July 18, 2009, accident on I-310 near the Luling Bridge involving a Ramelli/RKC garbage truck; Misty Davis died, Knollie Jones driver; Jones employed by RKC, owner of truck, under contract with Ramelli.
Ramelli Janitorial Services had a contract with the City of Kenner to provide waste collection; RKC performed work under Ramelli’s contract; Ramelli purportedly supervised Ramelli‑RKC work via city contract.
Ramelli’s truck involved in the accident bore the label “Ramelli Waste, L.L.C.” and Ramelli allegedly furnished some trucks for RKC’s work.
QBE Specialty Insurance issued a commercial auto policy to Ramelli; policy provides coverage for “covered autos” used in Ramelli’s business; truck not owned by Ramelli and not a listed insured vehicle.
Symbol 9 in the policy covers non‑owned autos used in connection with the insured’s business; issue is whether the accident truck was being used in Ramelli’s business.
Trial court denied Ramelli’s summary judgment and granted QBE’s summary judgment, finding no coverage under the policy; appellate reversal is requested as to QBE’s judgment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the truck is a 'covered auto' under symbol 9	Ramelli argues truck is used in Ramelli’s business, thus covered.	QBE contends truck not owned/listed and not used in Ramelli’s business.	Genuine issues of material fact prevent summary judgment.
Whether the truck was used in connection with Ramelli’s business	Truck used in Ramelli’s contract with the City of Kenner; Ramelli supervised the work.	Truck was used for RKC’s business, not Ramelli’s.	Genuine issues of material fact prevent summary judgment.
Whether the trial court properly granted/denied summary judgment on coverage	There is coverage under symbol 9 for non‑owned autos used in Ramelli’s business.	Policy did not provide coverage under facts; truck not a covered auto.	Reversed; summary judgment for QBE improper.

Champagne v. Ward, 893 So.2d 773 (La. 2005) (de novo review for summary judgment; standard for appeals of such decisions)
Magnon v. Collins, 739 So.2d 191 (La. 1999) (definition of material facts for summary judgment)
Adams v. Thomason, 753 So.2d 416 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2000) (policy interpretation on summary judgment and coverage)
Reynolds v. Select Properties, Ltd., 634 So.2d 1180 (La. 1994) (interpretation of insurance policy terms and ambiguity)
Huggins v. Gerry Lane Enterprises, Inc., 957 So.2d 127 (La. 2007) (ambiguity concerns in insurance contracts and coverage construal)