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Geiger v. American Standard Insurance Co. of Wisconsin9/23/2004
JUDGMENT AND ORDERS REVERSED AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS
Carparelli and Hume, JJ., concur
Plaintiffs, Joseph Geiger (husband) and Leanne Geiger (wife), appeal the summary judgment in favor of defendant, American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin, in which the trial court concluded that defendant effectively had canceled plaintiffs' automobile insurance policy before an accident occurred in which plaintiffs were injured. Plaintiffs and their attorney, Stephen C. Kaufman, also appeal the orders awarding defendant its attorney fees and costs. We reverse and remand.
Defendant issued an automobile insurance policy in which wife was the policyholder and named insured. The policy covered a vehicle jointly owned by plaintiffs. It is undisputed that plaintiffs are married and that husband did not have a driver's license when the policy was issued.
After sending wife at least two notices indicating that premium payments were past due, defendant sought to cancel the policy for nonpayment of premiums. It issued a letter dated December 20, 2001, addressed to wife only, informing her that if payment was not received, the policy would terminate on January 4, 2002. Defendant did not receive a payment before that date.
On January 26, 2002, plaintiffs were injured in an automobile accident while wife was driving the vehicle and husband was a passenger. Plaintiffs sought personal injury protection (PIP) benefits from defendant under their policy. Asserting that the policy was canceled on January 4, 2002, defendant denied their claim.
Plaintiffs thereafter commenced this action asserting, inter alia, claims for breach of contract. Plaintiffs asserted that defendant had not effectively canceled the policy because the notice did not comport with the policy's cancellation provisions in two respects: the notice was addressed only to wife, and the notice was not properly sent.
Contending that husband was entitled to notice under the policy and that the attempted cancellation was therefore ineffective, plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment. Defendant replied with its own motion for summary judgment, asserting that husband was not entitled to notice of cancellation and that the undisputed facts proved that it had complied with policy provisions for cancellation. Concluding that the policy was effectively canceled on January 4, 2002, the trial court granted summary judgment for defendant. Specifically, the court found that the notice was sent to wife by certified mail on December 20, 2001, and that, because he lacked a driver's license, husband was not an insured under the policy; therefore, he was not entitled to notice of the cancellation. In addition, the trial court found that plaintiffs' case lacked substantial justification under ยง 13-17-102, C.R.S. 2003, and awarded defendant attorney fees and costs. This appeal followed.
Plaintiffs contend that the policy required defendant to send a notice of cancellation to husband and thus the purported cancellation was ineffective. We agree.
The rights and duties of the parties to an automobile insurance policy are defined by the terms and conditions of the insurance contract. As in other areas of contract law, the language of an insurance policy is determinative of the intent of the parties, and its interpretation is a question of law that we review de novo. See Lopez v. Dairyland Ins. Co., 890 P.2d 192 (Colo. App. 1994). Unless the policy is ambiguous, we must enforce the policy as written. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Stein, 940 P.2d 384 (Colo. 1997).
We may not rewrite policy provisions that are clear and unambiguous, and we may
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