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State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. v. Mahin11/24/1993
MARIANNA BROWN BETTMAN, Judge.
This is an appeal from a declaratory judgment action wherein the court below was asked to determine coverage issues involving several different insurance policies.
The operative facts giving rise to the case are these. On November 22, 1987, Susan L. Awalt ("Awalt") was killed and an acquaintance, Jean Walters, was severely injured when they were struck by an automobile negligently operated by Andrew Clayton. At the time of the accident, Clayton had liability insurance through Ohio Casualty Insurance Company ("Ohio Casualty") which provided coverage in the amounts of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. Clayton also had single-limit liability insurance coverage through Amica Insurance Company ("Amica") in the amount of $300,000 per accident. Awalt had an insurance policy with State Farm Mutual Insurance Company ("State Farm") which provided uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in the amounts of $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident. Awalt and Walters were also insured under a $1 million personal umbrella policy with Buckeye Union Insurance Company ("Buckeye") which, if applicable, provided coverage in excess of all underlying policies issued to them or to Clayton. Pursuant to its terms, funds from this policy would be distributed to the insured "only after the limits of liability under any applicable bodily injury liability bonds or policies have been exhausted by payment of judgments or settlements."
Awalt was survived by her parents, Edgar and Barbara Awalt. They are Awalt's only next of kin. John Mahin was appointed administrator of Awalt's estate ("the Administrator"). The Administrator brought a wrongful death action for the benefit of Awalt's parents.
The parties stipulated to the trial court that the estate received $200,000 from Ohio Casualty and $100,000 from Amica to settle the wrongful death case with Clayton, and that Walters received $100,000 from Ohio Casualty and $150,000 from Amica to settle her personal injury claim with Clayton.
The Administrator subsequently submitted a claim to State Farm, in which he alleged that Clayton was an underinsured motorist; that he had received $300,000 in proceeds from the policies of insurance issued to Clayton; that the underinsured motorist provision set forth in the policy of insurance purchased by Awalt from State Farm offered coverage in the amount of $500,000 per accidentsand that the Administrator was entitled to another $200,000 for Awalt's heirs. State Farm, on the other hand, disagreed, arguing that the claim arising from Awalt's wrongful death was limited to the underinsured "per person" limit of $250,000. It claimed, therefore, that because the sum of the monies received by the Administrator exceeded the "per person" limitation, Clayton was not an underinsured motorist.
When the parties were unable to resolve the dispute, State Farm filed a complaint for declaratory judgment, requesting the court to determine its rights and obligations under the policy of insurance it had issued to Awalt. The court allowed the Administrator to join Buckeye in the action. After the parties stipulated various facts concerning coverage and amounts paid in settlement, the matter proceeded to trial. On April 1, 1992, the trial court issued an order in favor of State Farm and Buckeye, in which it held that neither company was obligated to make any payment to the Administrator of Awalt's estate or to any of Awalt's heirs pursuant to the insurance policies they had issued to Awalt. The Administrator of Awalt's estate now appeals to this court. In his two assignments of error, the Administrator maintains that the trial cou
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