 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Hardie v. Professional Physical Rehabilitation Hospital9/29/2004
AFFIRMED.
In this case, the defendant-appellant, Professional Physical Rehabilitation Hospital, L.L.C., appeals the judgment in favor of the plaintiff, Rebecca Ann Hardie, on the issue of the available limits of Professional Rehab's insurance policy issued by CNA. For the following reasons, we affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Hardie and her three siblings brought suit following the death of their mother, Emma Parker, due to the negligence of Professional Rehab. Parker was admitted to Professional Rehab on January 20, 1998, and died on January 27, 1998, of a heart attack at a nearby hospital. Hardie filed a motion for summary judgment on the issue of insurance coverage and the applicable liability limit she and her siblings each had under the insurance policy urging that the $100,000 limit was applicable to each of their claims, subject to the collective limit of the CNA policy totaling $300,000.
Following a hearing, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Hardie finding that "the policy issued to defendants provides coverage so that each claim by each plaintiff is subject to the $100,000.00 'each person limit' and that all plaintiffs claims are subject to the 'total limit' of $300,000.00."
Professional Rehab now appeals.
ISSUES
Professional Rehab assigns as error:
1. The trial court's finding that individual mental anguish and loss of consortium claims of each wrongful death/survival action plaintiff were subject to the $100,000 "each person limit" of the CNA policy and that Hardie's claims were subject to the policy's $300,000 "total limit."
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
On appeal, summary judgments are reviewed de novo. Magnon v. Collins, 98-2822 (La. 7/7/99), 739 So.2d 191. Thus, the appellate court asks the same questions the trial court asks to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate. Id. This inquiry seeks to determine whether any genuine issues of material fact exist and whether the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.Civ.Code art. 966(B)(C). This means that judgment should be rendered in favor of the movant if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and affidavits show a lack of factual support for an essential element of the opposing party's claim. If the opposing party cannot produce any evidence to suggest that he will be able to meet his evidentiary burden at trial, no genuine issues of material fact exist. Id.
Interpretation of an insurance policy is a question of law, and we have authority to construe the provisions of the policy in order to resolve questions of coverage. Stoute v. Long, 98-683 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/9/98), 722 So.2d 102.
"Words susceptible of different meanings must be interpreted as having the meaning that best conforms to the object of the contract." La.Civ.Code art. 2048. "Each provision in a contract must be interpreted in light of the other provisions so that each is given the meaning suggested by the contract as a whole." La.Civ.Code art. 2050. "A contract executed in a standard form of one party must be interpreted, in case of doubt, in favor of the other party." La.Civ.Code art. 2056. If an exclusionary clause is deemed ambiguous, an insurance policy must be liberally construed in favor of coverage; provisions susceptible of different meanings must be interpreted to render coverage effective rather than ineffective. La.Civ.Code art. 2049; see Capital Bank & Trust Co. v. Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y, 542 So.2d 494 (La.1989). If more than one reasonable view of the exclusion proviso exists, "any ambiguity must be construed against the in
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Louisiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|