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Salas v. Allstate Rent-A-Car12/14/2000
driver's personal policy pursuant to NRS 584.185 or NRS 485.186 and the lessor's policy provided pursuant to NRS 482.305(1). We therefore conclude that, by enacting a scheme that contemplates dual coverage, the legislature intended that both policies provide coverage up to the respective statutory minimums.
Allstate counters that such a construction leads to the absurd result of providing a windfall for accident victims. We disagree. We first observe that a "windfall" describes a situation in which the recipient receives some benefit undeserved or unmerited. This term does not describe the recovery that accident victims may receive to compensate their actual losses. Furthermore, reason and public policy support our conclusion: the general spirit of Nevada's financial responsibility law clearly favors protecting accident victims to the extent possible. See Hartz v. Mitchell, 107 Nev. 893, 896, 822 P.2d 667, 669 (1991) ("Nevada has a strong public policy interest in assuring that individuals who are injured in motor vehicle accidents have a source of indemnification."). Allstate cites Alamo for the proposition that, once the statutory minimum is paid by the lessee's personal insurance, the lessor is absolved of further liability. See Alamo, 114 Nev. at 154, 953 P.2d at 1074. In Alamo, we held that in cases where the lessee's own insurance policy and the policy provided by the lessor both contain mutually repugnant "other insurance" clauses, the driver's personal insurance is the primary insurer up to the statutory minimum. See id. at 160, 953 P.2d at 1077. Accordingly, we stated that absent a personal policy covering the driver, the lessor "will step in and compensate the victim up to the minimum limits." Id. In Alamo we determined that the lessee's personal insurance is "primary" and the lessor's insurance is "secondary," but we did not address the specific scenario at hand, wherein the lessee's personal insurance has been consumed to the statutory minimum and the damages incurred allegedly exceed that amount. Thus, Alamo does not guide our analysis of the instant matter.
Instead, we conclude that the legislature enacted a statutory scheme providing dual coverage in instances such as this. Sound public policy dictates that a short-term lessor of motor vehicles may be required to compensate the victim, at least up to the statutory minimum, in cases where the lessee's personal insurance does not fully compensate the victim(s). Therefore, in this instance, where the lessee's personal insurance policy has first been extinguished pursuant to Alamo, Allstate may still be required to compensate the victims up to an additional $30,000.00, the statutory minimum for one accident pursuant to NRS 482.305(1), depending on the damages proved.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the district court misapplied NRS 482.305(1). Accordingly, there remain certain issues to be addressed, such as the actual amount of damages the Salases incurred. The district court's order granting summary judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings.
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