Erica BATISTE, Individually and on behalf of her minor children, Hiram Batiste, Ladasha Batiste, Alicia Batiste, and Jamarious Batiste, and Audrey Taylor on behalf of Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor
v.
Monica DUNN, Matthew Bazile, Allstate Insurance Company and Imperial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.
*674 Erik M. Tadda, Jeremy S. Hader, Baton Rouge, LA, for Plaintiffs/Appellants Audrey Taylor, on behalf of Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor.
Byron A. Richie, Shreveport, LA, for Defendant/Appellee Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Company.
Before WHIPPLE, McDONALD, and McCLENDON, JJ.
McCLENDON, J.
In this appeal, the plaintiffs challenge a trial court judgment in favor of the insurer, determining that an automobile liability insurance policy issued to the owner of the vehicle involved in an accident did not afford uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) coverage to guest passengers injured in the accident. We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On August 24, 2008, Hiram Batiste, Ladasha Batiste, Alicia Batiste, Jamarious Batiste, Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor were guest passengers in a vehicle owned and operated by Erica Batiste, when they were involved in an automobile accident in Tangipahoa Parish with a vehicle driven by Matthew Bazile and owned by his mother, Monica Dunn. Ms. Batiste, individually and on behalf of her minor children, Hiram Batiste, Ladasha Batiste, Alicia Batiste, and Jamarious Batiste; and Audrey Taylor, on behalf of Lacey Taylor; and Ransom Taylor, filed a petition for damages on August 10, 2009, against Ms. Dunn; Ms. Bazile; Ms. Dunn's automobile liability insurer, Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate); and Ms. Batiste's automobile liability insurer. Imperial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company (Imperial). Imperial filed an answer admitting that it issued an automobile liability insurance policy to Ms. Batiste, which also included UM coverage benefits.
On February 17, 2010, following the compromise and settlement of all matters between the plaintiffs and Ms. Dunn, Mr. Bazile and Allstate, a Joint Motion and Order of Dismissal with Prejudice was filed and signed by the trial court. Thereafter, the remaining defendant. Imperial, filed a motion for partial summary judgment seeking a determination that its policy did not afford UM insurance coverage in connection with the automobile accident at issue to Audrey Taylor on behalf of Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor. Imperial asserted that Lacey Taylor and Ransom Taylor, who were guest passengers in the vehicle insured by Imperial, were not "insured persons" under the terms of the policy for purposes of UM coverage. In support of its motion, Imperial submitted its policy of insurance, as well as interrogatories and answers demonstrating that *675 neither Lacey Taylor nor Ransom Taylor were related by blood, adoption, or marriage to Ms. Batiste. Audrey Taylor, on behalf of Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor, opposed the motion, arguing that they would be considered insureds under the liability portion of the policy and, therefore, were insured persons for purposes of UM coverage.
Following a hearing on April 12, 2010, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Imperial. Judgment was signed on April 27, 2010, in favor of Imperial finding that Audrey Taylor, on behalf of Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor, were not insured for UM benefits under the policy issued by Imperial and, therefore, were not entitled to recover UM coverage from Imperial, so that their claims against Imperial were dismissed with prejudice. The trial court judgment further recognized that its ruling did not affect the UM insurance coverage as it related to the other remaining plaintiffs. This appeal by Audrey Taylor, on behalf of Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor (plaintiffs) followed.[1]
DISCUSSION
Appellate courts review the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment de novo. Magnon v. Collins, 98-2822, p. 5 (La.7/7/99),
An insurance policy is a conventional obligation that constitutes the law between the insured and insurer, and the agreement governs the nature of their relationship. LSA-C.C. art. 1983; Lambert, 04-1961 at pp. 3-4,
Under Louisiana's UM statute, automobile liability insurance must provide UM motorist coverage equal to the liability provided for bodily injury, unless UM coverage has been validly rejected or lower UM limits have been selected. See LSA-R.S. 22:1295.[2] The purpose of the UM statute is to protect the insured against the generalized risk of damages at the hands of uninsured motorists. Howell v. Balboa Ins. Co.,
With these principles in mind, we examine the applicable policy provisions. Part C of the Imperial insurance policy sets forth UM coverage and defines an "insured person" or "insured persons" as:
1. you or a person residing in the same household as you, and related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption, including a ward, stepchild, or foster child; and
2. Any person who is entitled to recover damages covered by this Part C because of bodily injury sustained by a person described in 1 above.
"You" is defined in the policy as "the person shown as the named insured on the Declarations Page, and that person's spouse if residing in the same household and holding a valid driver's license." Erica Batiste is the only named insured on the declarations page and plaintiffs are not related to Ms. Batiste. Thus, under its clear terms, unlike some policies that include occupants within the definition of "insured persons" under the UM provisions of the insurance policy, the policy herein does not so provide.
However, plaintiffs argue that this language violates Louisiana's UM statute by failing to provide UM coverage for all persons classified as a liability "insured person" and violates public policy.[3] Plaintiffs maintain that they fit within the definition of "insured persons" under the liability portion of Imperial's policy and, therefore, must be considered "insured persons" under the UM portion of the policy as well. They contend that Imperial is attempting to circumvent the UM statute by defining *677 an insured person for the purposes of UM coverage differently than an insured person for purposes of liability coverage.
As previously stated, it is well-settled that UM coverage attaches to the person of the insured, not the vehicle. Howell,
Part A of the Imperial policy sets forth the provisions for liability coverage. Under Part A, "insured person" or "insured persons" is defined as:
1. you or a relative with respect to an accident arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a covered vehicle;
2. any person with respect to an accident arising out of that person's use of a covered vehicle with the express or implied permission of you;
3. You or a relative with respect to an accident arising out of the maintenance or use of a non-owned vehicle with the express or implied permission of the owner of the vehicle; and
4. any Additional Interests Insured designated by you in your application or by a change request agreed to by us, with respect to liability for an accident arising out of the use of a covered vehicle or non-owned vehicle by a person described in 1, 2, or 3 above.
Plaintiffs argue that they were "using" the vehicle as passengers with the express permission of the named insured as defined in the policy. Thus, they contend, they were insured persons under the second definition in Part A.
The petition for damages filed in this matter provided, in pertinent part:
Petitioner, Erica Batiste, was operating and Hiram Batiste, Ladasha Batiste, Alicia Batiste, Jamarious Batiste, Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor were riding as guest passengers in Erica Batiste's 2000 Dodge Caravan, which was headed northbound on 7th Street in Ponchatoula, Louisiana in Tangipahoa Parish. Defendant, Matthew Bazile's vehicle, a 2001 Ford Explorer owned by Monica Dunn and being operated with permission by Defendant, was traveling westbound on West Hickory Street, pulled out into Petitioner's lane of traffic from the side street, and therefore caused a collision to occur between the two vehicles.
By the plain terms of the insuring agreement, we cannot find that the accident arose out of plaintiffs' use of the vehicle. To find that plaintiffs were "using" the vehicle simply because they were riding as guest passengers would require a strained interpretation inconsistent with the meaning of the word and beyond what could have been contemplated by the parties. Further, even were we to assume that plaintiffs were "using" Ms. Batiste's vehicle, the accident at issue did not arise out of said use. The "use" provision is designed to limit coverage to liability resulting from conduct of the insured which constitutes both a use of the vehicle and a legal cause of the injury. See Carter v. City Parish Government of East Baton Rouge,
As a result, Imperial was entitled as a matter of law to summary judgment finding that its policy did not provide UM coverage to plaintiffs under the facts presented herein.
CONCLUSION
For these reasons, the April 27, 2010 judgment of the trial court granting partial summary judgment in favor of Imperial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, is affirmed. Costs of this appeal are assessed to plaintiffs, Audrey Taylor, on behalf of Lacey Taylor, and Ransom Taylor.
MOTION TO SUPPLEMENT RECORD DENIED; JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
WHIPPLE, J., dissents & assigns reasons.
WHIPPLE, J., dissenting.
Louisiana Revised Statute 22:1295 governs the issuance of UM coverage and mandates, in pertinent part, as follows:
(1)(a)(i) No automobile liability insurance covering liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state with respect to any motor vehicle designed for use on public highways and required to be registered in this state or as provided in this Section unless coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto, in not less than the limits of bodily injury liability provided by the policy, under provisions filed with and approved by the commissioner of insurance, for the protection of persons insured thereunder who are legally entitled to recover nonpunitive damages from owners or operators of uninsured or underinsured motor vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease, including death resulting therefrom....
Thus, under Louisiana's UM statute, LSA-R.S. 22:1295, automobile liability insurance must provide UM motorist coverage equal to the liability limits provided for bodily injury, unless UM coverage has been validly rejected or lower UM limits have been selected. Lambert v. Lavigne, 2004-1961 (La.App. 1st Cir. 9/23/05),
As the Supreme Court has recognized, uninsured motorist coverage embodies a strong public policy in this state. Taylor v. Rowell, 98-2865 (La.5/18/99),
The object of the statute is to promote recovery of damages for innocent automobile accident victims by making UM coverage available for their benefit as primary protection when the tortfeasor is without insurance, and as additional *679 or excess coverage when he is inadequately insured.
To carry out this objective of providing reparation for those injured through no fault of their own, this Court has held that the statute is to be liberally construed. Thus, the requirement that there be UM coverage is an implied amendment of any automobile liability policy, even one which does not expressly address the subject matter, as UM coverage will be read into the policy unless validly rejected. [Citations omitted.]
As the majority correctly notes, a determination of whether UM coverage is available turns on whether the claimant is an "insured" under the policy's liability coverage. Here, Part A of the Imperial policy sets forth the provision for liability coverage and specifically defines an "insured person," in pertinent part as "any person with respect to an accident arising out of that person's use of a covered vehicle with the express or implied permission of you." Thus, in my view, Lacey Taylor and Ransom Taylor meet the definition of "insured persons" under the terms of the Imperial policy.
Further, although the Supreme Court did observe that, at least in the context of a self-insured rental car agency, "there is no public policy against excluding guest passenger UM coverage when the guest passengers are not insureds," see Taylor,
Thus, pretermitting the threshold issue of whether the majority's interpretation of the policy renders it contra bonos mores, I respectfully dissent from the majority's determination, through a strained interpretation of the policy, that Lacey Taylor and Ransom Taylor are not "insured persons." For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.
NOTES
Notes
[1] With regard to Imperial's motion to supplement the record with the rulings of the fourth circuit and the supreme court in the matter entitled Sharone Knight, et al. v. Navarro A. Edwards, et al.,
[2] Renumbered from LSA-R.S. 22:680 by Acts 2008, No. 415, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009. Redesignated from LSA-R.S. 22:1406(D) by Acts 2003, No. 456, § 3.
[3] Our supreme court has noted that it is not the public policy of this state to protect and provide compensation to injured persons at all times and indicated that there is no public policy against excluding guest passenger UM coverage when the guest passengers are not insureds. See Taylor v. Rowell, 98-2865 (La.5/18/99),