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PETERSON v. UTAH FARM BUREAU INS. CO.10/31/1996
Billie Peterson appeals a trial court order granting Utah Farm Bureau Insurance Company's (Farm Bureau) summary judgment motion. We affirm.
FACTS
On September 6, 1993, Peterson was riding in a truck owned and operated by coemployee, Jon Clifford. The two men were traveling west on Interstate 80 in Tooele County en route to a job site in Nevada. Both men were employed by R & O Construction Company of Ogden, Utah and were being compensated for travel time during their trip.
The accident giving rise to Peterson's claim occurred when Clifford fell asleep at the wheel and his truck left the roadway and rolled before coming to a stop. Clifford was killed, while Peterson sustained severe injuries. Thereafter, Peterson applied for and received workers' compensation benefits, partially compensating him for injuries and damages stemming from the accident.
At the time of the accident, Peterson was insured by Farm Bureau under an automobile insurance policy. Included in the policy is an under-insured motorist (UIM) provision which provides: "We will pay damages for bodily injury an insured is legally entitled to recover from the owner or operator of an under-insured motor vehicle. The bodily injury must be caused by an accident and arise out of the ownership, maintenance or use of an under-insured motor vehicle." (Emphasis added; original emphasis omitted.) The policy conditions payment of UIM benefits as follows: "There is no coverage until the limits of liability of all bodily injury liability bonds and policies that apply have been used up by payments of judgments or settlements." Finally, excluded from UIM coverage is coverage "to the extent it benefits . . . any workers' compensation or disability benefits insurance company[;] . . . self-insurer under any workers' compensation, or disability benefits or similar law[; or] . . . any governmental body or agency." (Emphasis omitted.) Peterson's UIM coverage was limited to $25,000 per individual and $50,000 per accident.
Following the accident, and after he had received workers' compensation benefits, Peterson filed a claim with Farm Bureau seeking UIM benefits under his policy. Farm Bureau denied the request, alleging that because Peterson has already received workers' compensation benefits his claim is barred by the exclusive remedy provision of the Utah Workers' Compensation Act, Utah Code Ann. ยง 35-1-60 (Supp. 1994).
After briefing and argument, the court below granted Farm Bureau's summary judgment motion, thereby dismissing Peterson's claim. Peterson appeals.
ISSUES AND STANDARD OF REVIEW
Peterson, in effect, raises a single issue on appeal: Whether the trial court properly granted Farm Bureau's summary judgment motion finding that the exclusive remedy provision of the Utah Workers' Compensation Act precludes his entitlement to benefits pursuant to the UIM clause of his Farm Bureau automobile insurance policy. In addition to challenging Peterson's coloring of the aforementioned issue, Farm Bureau questions whether Peterson is precluded from recovering UIM benefits under his Farm Bureau policy where the UIM clause within that policy conditions coverage upon the exhaustion of any liability coverage on the under-insured vehicle, and where Peterson has failed to demonstrate that he has exhausted such coverage.
"Summary judgment is appropriate only where there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Geary, 869 P.2d 952, 954 (Utah App. 1994) (citing Utah R.Civ.P. 56(c); Higgins v. Salt Lake County, 855 P.2d 231, 235 (Utah 1993)); accord State Farm Mut.
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