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Tyrrell v. Farmers Insurance Co. of Washington3/9/2000
nts' for insurance purposes is a logical extension of the Court of Appeals' holding that 'the use of a vehicle depends on an insured's ability to safely enter and exit it.' Tyrrell, 94 Wn. App. at 325. However, this definition does not fit with 'a fair, reasonable, and sensible construction as would be given to the contract by the average person purchasing insurance.' Roller, 115 Wn.2d at 682 (emphasis added). Nor would this construction of the term 'motor vehicle accident' comport with the plain, ordinary, and popular meaning of that term. See Kitsap Co., 136 Wn.2d at 576. Even had the facts here been less attenuated, and all of Tyrrell's injuries caused by contact with his parked vehicle after tripping over the detached wooden step, they still could not properly be conceived of as the result of a 'motor vehicle accident.'
We find Farmers' position compelling: that the sensible and popular understanding of what a 'motor vehicle accident' entails necessarily involves the motor vehicle being operated as a motor vehicle. See Pet. for Review at 9. A motor vehicle is being operated as a motor vehicle when it is being driven or when it is stopped while being driven. For example, if a tree limb were to fall on the motor vehicle while a person was driving or had stopped while driving, that would constitute a 'motor vehicle accident.' On the other hand, a motor vehicle is not being operated as a motor vehicle when parked.
Tyrrell was not operating his motor vehicle when his injuries occurred. They were not caused by a 'motor vehicle accident' and are not covered under the personal injury protection provisions of his Farmers policy.
CONCLUSION
We hold that a 'motor vehicle accident' occurs only when the covered motor vehicle is being operated as a motor vehicle. Tyrrell's injuries were not caused by a 'motor vehicle accident.' The Court of Appeals' decision upholding the partial grant of summary judgment in Tyrrell's favor is reversed, and this case remanded to the trial court for an entry of summary judgment in favor of Farmers on the threshold question of whether Tyrrell's injury claim was the result of a 'motor vehicle accident' covered by his insurance policy.
WE CONCUR:
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