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GRE Insurance Group v. Green5/18/1999
REVERSED AND REMANDED
In this appeal, we consider whether one injured party in an automobile accident may recover twice the insurance policy's per-person limit for one accident where he has obtained judgments against the permissive driver for negligent driving and against the vehicle owner for negligent entrustment. We hold that under the policy at issue in this case, the double recovery is not allowed.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Lisa Mae Rhoades (Rhoades) was operating a vehicle owned by Victoria Schurz (Schurz) when Rhoades caused an accident in which Wilfred Green (Green) was injured. At the time of the accident, Rhoades was legally intoxicated and did not have a driver's license. Schurz was a passenger in the vehicle and had given Rhoades permission to drive it even though she knew Rhoades had been drinking.
Green and his wife sued Rhoades and Schurz. The trial court entered summary judgment against Rhoades, finding that her negligent operation of the vehicle proximately caused the accident. In addition, the trial court also entered summary judgment against Schurz, finding her liable for negligent entrustment of the vehicle to Rhoades.
At the time of the accident, Schurz's vehicle was covered by a GRE Insurance Group (GRE) automobile policy in which Schurz was the named insured. Because Rhoades was using the vehicle with permission, she was also included as an insured under the policy. The bodily injury liability limits of the policy were $15,000 for each person injured and $30,000 for each accident.
After obtaining judgments against Rhoades and Schurz, the Greens claimed that they were entitled to the aggregate policy limit of $30,000, which included $15,000 for Rhoades's separate negligence, and $15,000 for Schurz's separate negligence. GRE disagreed, and when the Greens refused GRE's tender of $15,000 to satisfy the judgment against Rhoades and Schurz, GRE filed this declaratory action seeking a ruling that it was not obligated to pay more than $15,000 to the Greens.
Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. The Greens argued that Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. (A.R.S.) § 28-1170(B)(2) and Arizona Property & Cas. Ins. Guar. Fund v. Helme, 153 Ariz. 129, 735 P.2d 451 (1987), mandated insurance coverage of $15,000 for the negligent entrustor plus $15,000 for the negligent operator when their negligent acts concurred to cause injury . GRE argued that Helme did not control because the policy limits there applied "per occurrence," whereas GRE's policy stated that it would pay $15,000 for each person injured in any one accident regardless of the number of insureds.
The trial court granted the Greens' motion for summary judgment without comment and entered judgment awarding them $30,000 from the GRE policy issued to Schurz. GRE timely appealed from the judgment. We have jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-2101(B).
DISCUSSION
The Greens argue on appeal, as they did below, that they are entitled to $30,000 from Schurz's GRE policy based on the language of A.R.S. § 28-1170(B)(2) and on the holding from Helme that multiple acts causing a single injury constituted multiple occurrences that were separately covered under the policy at issue. GRE asserts that Helme does not apply here because coverage under its policy turns on the meaning of "accident" rather than "occurrence" and that A.R.S. § 28-1170(B)(2) does not require an insurer to pay more than its "per person injured" limits merely because more than one insured person is sued.
Helme involved the quadriplegia and subsequent death of a patient after one doctor failed to look at spinal
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