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GARRISON v. STATE FARM MUT. AUTO. INS. CO.12/8/1995
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This is a first-impression automobile insurance coverage case arising from a hunting accident. A shotgun accidentally discharged, injuring Tad Garrison, plaintiff, while Kurt Pfannenstiel, defendant, removed it from Garrison's car. Garrison's car was insured by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm). Pfannenstiel's car was insured by Dairyland Insurance Company (Dairyland).
The district court held that the State Farm and Dairyland policies did not provide liability coverage; the Court of Appeals reversed the district court. The State Farm policy also provided personal injury protection (PIP) benefits for the injuries to Garrison. Garrison v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 20 Kan. App. 2d 918, 894 P.2d 226 (1995).
We granted State Farm's and Dairyland's petitions for review. Our jurisdiction is under K.S.A. 20-3018(b). Dairyland adopts State Farm's arguments.
THE QUESTION
Do injuries caused by an unexplained accidental discharge of a shotgun occurring while the gun is being removed from a car during a hunting trip arise out of or result from the use of the car?
The answer is "yes." We affirm the Court of Appeals.
FACTS
The facts and procedural history are stated in the Court of Appeals opinion:
"Garrison was seriously injured when a shotgun discharged as Kurt Pfannenstiel removed the gun from Garrison's car during a hunting trip. Garrison sued Pfannenstiel for negligence and Garrison's automobile insurer, State Farm, for personal injury protection (PIP) benefits.
"State Farm defended on the basis that the accident did not arise out of the ownership, use, or maintenance of a motor vehicle and counterclaimed for a declaration that the liability portion of Garrison's policy did not afford coverage to Pfannenstiel for Garrison's negligence claim against him. Dairyland, Pfannenstiel's automobile insurance carrier, intervened to seek a ruling that no liability coverage existed under the policy it had issued.
"The case was submitted on an agreed record consisting of the depositions of Garrison and Pfannenstiel plus copies of the respective insurance policies. After reviewing briefs and hearing arguments, the trial court ruled the accident did not arise out of the use of a vehicle and entered judgment in favor of both insurance carriers.
"This unfortunate accident occurred in September 1992, when Garrison and Pfannenstiel went dove hunting in rural Ness County. Garrison drove his State Farm insured car during the entire hunting excursion.
"The two men stopped on several occasions to shoot birds. Each time they entered and left the car they stowed their guns between the front seats along the console with the barrels pointing toward the floorboard.
"After several stops they saw some birds and decided that Pfannenstiel would get out of the car and Garrison would then drive on to the far end of a line of trees and hunt there. Garrison slowed the car; as it approached or came to a stop and Pfannenstiel was getting out of the car, Pfannenstiel's shotgun discharged, striking Garrison in the leg and causing a significant injury. Neither party knew what caused the shotgun to fire. Pfannenstiel did not remember if the shotgun came in contact with any part of the car as it fired, although part of Garrison's injury was caused by the knob of a radio which the blast forced through his leg. Neither Garrison nor Pfannenstiel knows if the safety had been engaged before Pfannenstiel picked up the gun.
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