 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Diary Road Partners v. Shell Oil Company2/1/2000
licy makes reference to "USE OF OTHER AUTO[,]" "EMPLOYER'S NON-OWNED[,]" and "HIRED AUTO[,]" I fail to see how the mere reference of any of these terms could create a reasonable expectation of coverage for an employee's personal vehicle that was being used at the time of the accident for personal use. The mere reference to terms such as "USE OF OTHER AUTO[,]" "EMPLOYER'S NON-OWNED[,]" and "HIRED AUTO[,]" could not have created an objectively reasonable expectation that the policy would cover an automobile that was neither specifically listed as a covered automobile nor being used for garage business. Therefore, I would hold that DRP did not have a reasonable expectation of coverage with respect to the business automobile liability policy.
Similarly, the mere reference to "non owned autos" does not bring Nakamura's vehicle within the scope of coverage inasmuch as it would have been unreasonable to expect coverage of any and all "non owned autos" under the business auto policy. As discussed above, the vehicle in question at the time of the accident was an employee's personal vehicle being used for purposes entirely unrelated to the garage's business. Indeed, I find the Majority's literal interpretation of the "non owned autos" language of the business auto policy absurd and strained.
Although we generally construe any ambiguities in the insurance contract against the insurer, the Majority's overly broad construction of the words "non owned autos" in this case leads to absurdity. It is difficult to imagine that DRP reasonably expected Island to provide coverage to all "non owned autos" without regard to the ownership of the vehicles involved or the purposes for which they are being used at the time of an accident. Majority at 52. Indeed, the Majority's interpretation of the "non owned autos" language renders the potential pool of vehicles subject to coverage by Island limitless and the designation of the policy as a "business" automobile liability policy superfluous.
I do not suggest that we adopt a bright line rule that the label attached to a policy is determinative of the type and scope of coverage provided. It goes without saying that a policy's scope of coverage is determined by the objectively reasonable expectations of the parties and that the policy title does not necessarily trump whatever the coverage clause of the policy in question might provide. Majority at 51-52. In this case, however, the policy title is indicative of what the parties could have reasonably expected. Considering the language of the policy in its entirety and all of the extrinsic facts that have been adduced, the objectively reasonable expectation of DRP could only have been that Island would indemnify DRP for any damages resulting from the use of: (1) a vehicle that is specifically listed in the policy (i.e., an owned vehicle); or (2) "non owned autos" that are used for business purposes. Surely, the mere reference to terms such as "USE OF OTHER AUTO[,]" "EMPLOYER'S NON-OWNED[,]" and "HIRED AUTO" could not have created an objectively reasonable expectation of coverage for all "non owned autos," notwithstanding the purpose for which the "non owned autos" were being used. To interpret the mere mentioning of the words "non owned autos" to mean all "non owned autos" would render the scope of coverage under the business automobile liability policy virtually limitless. In my view, such a position is simply untenable.
Therefore, I would interpret the "non owned autos" language in accordance with the reasonable expectations of the policyholder as discussed above (i.e., that the business automobile liability policy would cover damages arising from the use of: (1) vehicles that are specifically listed on
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Hawaii Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|