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Arredondo v. Avis Rent a Car System3/27/2001
Pathfinder policy was purchased, it is unnecessary to look beyond the rental agreement between Ortrud Walston and Avis. That agreement designated the Pathfinder policy as the "primary" policy and explicitly stated that it provided coverage "up to the minimum financial responsibility limits required by applicable law." The agreement also expressly declared that the Pathfinder policy applied to drivers other than the named insured as required by law. In short, the Pathfinder policy was clearly designed to meet the statutory security requirement, and we conclude that it was purchased to "satisfy the owner's or operator's security requirement of Section 41-12a-301."
On the other hand, it is just as clear that the Continental policy was not purchased to satisfy the statutory security requirement. The Continental policy, by its own terms, provided only "excess" or, in the terms of the rental agreement, "additional," coverage, i.e., coverage beyond that which was already provided. Accordingly, this additional coverage merely supplemented the primary coverage from the Pathfinder policy, which, as noted above, was purchased to satisfy the statutory security requirement. Thus, the Continental policy was purchased for the purpose of providing coverage in excess of, not to satisfy, the statutory security requirement. This conclusion is further supported by the fact that, unlike the Pathfinder policy, the Continental policy limited its coverage to a set dollar amount and only purported to apply to the named insured and specific other additional insureds as designated by the rental agreement. There was no mention of complying with statutory requirements. We conclude this is because the Pathfinder policy was intended to meet those requirements, and, therefore, it was unnecessary for the Continental policy to meet those requirements as well.
We also disagree with the Arredondos' contention that section 31A-22-303(1)(c) applied to the Continental policy as it was part of a "combination of policies purchased to satisfy" the statutory security requirement. Id. § 31A-22-302(1). The two policies were not purchased together for the purpose of meeting the requirement. Rather, the Pathfinder policy was purchased to satisfy the requirement, and the Continental policy was purchased to provide excess coverage to the named insured. Because we find the Continental policy was not a "policy of insurance or [part of a] combination of policies purchased to satisfy the owner's or operator's security requirement of Section 41-12a-301," id., we do not address the Arredondos' contention that such a policy must provide coverage to persons who are "related to the named insured by blood who are residents of the named insured's household[,] . . . to the same extent as the named insured." Id. § 31A-22-303(1)(c).
CONCLUSION
We conclude that the Continental policy was not purchased to satisfy the statutory security requirement. Accordingly, the coverage of that policy is governed by its own terms, excluding coverage of Kai Walston. We affirm the trial court's ruling granting Avis and Continental partial summary judgment and dismissing Continental.
Justice Durham and Judge Orme concur in Justice Durrant's opinion.
Having disqualified himself, Justice Wilkins does not participate herein; Court of Appeals Judge Gregory K. Orme sat.
RUSSON, Associate Chief Justice, concurring:
I concur with the majority opinion that the Continental policy was not purchased to satisfy the statutory security requirement and therefore the coverage of that policy is governed by its own terms, excluding coverage of Kai Walston. I write separately, however, because of
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