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Tyrrell v. Farmers Insurance Co. of Washington3/9/2000
EN BANC
Michael Tyrrell, respondent, brought an action in Spokane County Superior Court against Farmers Insurance Company of Washington (Farmers), petitioner, requesting a declaratory judgment that Tyrrell's tripping while exiting a camper attached to his pickup truck, with alleged injuries resulting, was a 'motor vehicle accident' covered under the personal injury provisions (PIP) of his automobile insurance policy. The trial court granted Tyrrell's motion for partial summary judgment on this question. Farmers appealed, arguing in relevant part that the legal conclusion that Tyrrell's injuries were the product of a 'motor vehicle accident' was clearly erroneous. Division Three of the Court of Appeals affirmed. Farmers petitioned for this Court's review. We granted review, and now reverse the Court of Appeals and remand to the trial court for an entry of summary judgment in Farmers' favor.
FACTS
The following facts are undisputed. In 1992, Tyrrell, a chiropractor, parked a 1986 Toyota one-ton pickup, to which a detachable camper was affixed, in a Spokane park for overnight camping. The vehicle was insured by Farmers. The camper's purchase, occurring three or four years after that of the truck, had included a single, unattached wooden object used as a step to make entering and exiting easier. Upon exiting the camper, Tyrrell stepped down from the truck's tailgate onto the unattached wooden step that had been placed on the ground. The step somehow gave way, causing Tyrrell to fall. In falling, his arm caught on the edge of the tailgate, cutting it. He then landed on a rock, further injuring himself. In addition to minor wounds, Tyrrell suffered two compression fractures in his back. Tyrrell first notified Farmers of the incident a few months later. Two and a half years later he filed a claim with Farmers under his policy's PIP provisions seeking payment for medical expenses, wage loss, and the purchase of a Nordic Track and medical equipment. Farmers denied the claim.
Tyrrell filed an action in Spokane County Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that the accident was covered under the PIP provisions of his Farmers policy. Farmers answered with two affirmative defenses: (1) The injuries were not caused by a 'motor vehicle accident' and, thus, were not covered by the Farmers policy; and (2) Tyrrell breached conditions in his Farmers policy precedent to invoking its coverage by failing to cooperate with Farmers and timely submit his claim form. Farmers moved for summary judgment on the question of whether Tyrrell's injury claim was the result of a 'motor vehicle accident' within the insurance policy's coverage, arguing it was not. Tyrrell cross-claimed for a partial summary judgment finding that there was coverage. The trial judge granted partial summary judgment on this question to Tyrrell and denied Farmers' motion. Farmers then moved for summary judgment on its second affirmative defense: breach of the policy's cooperation clause. This motion was also denied, thus reserving this fact question for trial. Farmers appealed to Division Three of the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the trial court. See Tyrrell v. Farmers Ins. Group of Cos., 94 Wn. App. 320, 971 P.2d 960 (1999). Farmers then petitioned for this Court's review, and review was granted.
ISSUE
Was Tyrrell's injury claim the result of a 'motor vehicle accident' covered by his automobile insurance policy?
ANALYSIS
The central issue in this case is whether Tyrrell's injury claim could have been covered by his automobile insurance policy inasmuch as the policy limits coverage to claims for 'bodily injury to each insured person caused by a motor
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