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Murawski v. CNA Insurance Co.6/6/2005
Argued October 27, 2004
This appeal is the companion to Pinto v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, ___ N.J. ___ (2005), also decided today. Like Pinto, this case involves the application of an uninsured motorist (UIM) step-down clause in an employer's business automobile policy in respect of an employee who has been injured in a covered vehicle in a work-related accident. For the reasons expressed in our decision in Pinto, supra, we affirm the enforceability in general of step-down provisions in respect of UIM coverage, provided the insurance contract language is clear. Because the CNA Insurance Company business auto policy involved herein defined "insured" and limited UIM coverage using the same language as that in the NJM policy at issue in Pinto, supra, its meaning is clear and enforceable. The only question remaining is its applicability on the facts of this appeal.
Plaintiff Thomas Murawski sustained serious personal injuries on March 14, 2000, when the truck in which he was riding was struck by a vehicle driven by Rufus Howard. The accident took place during the course of Murawski's employment for Belafsky Roofing and Sheet Metal Company (Belafsky), in a truck owned by Belafsky. Murawski settled the claim with Howard for the $50,000 liability limit of Howard's personal automobile insurance policy and then sought UIM coverage under Belafsky's CNA policy.
The Declarations Sheet of the CNA policy provided UIM coverage of one million dollars for a premium of $1,676. Murawski was not listed as a "named insured" on the policy nor was he otherwise identified anywhere in the policy as a driver or user of Belafsky's insured vehicles. The named insureds on the CNA policy were two corporate entities: Belafsky Roofing & Sheet Metal Co. Inc. and SBMJ Inc. The only natural persons listed were Jody and Mitchell Ruthberg, who were the principals of Belafsky, and their respective spouses. Those individuals were identified specifically as insureds pursuant to the terms of the "Broadened Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Coverage" and "Drive Other Car Coverage" endorsements to the policy. On these facts, as in Pinto, we hold that Murawski was not a "named insured" nor could he reasonably have expected to be based on the policy's language.
That said, Murawski obviously was an "insured" under the CNA policy for purposes of UIM coverage because he was occupying a covered auto at the time of the accident. Although Murawski did not own a vehicle and was not even a licensed driver (and thus did not have his own automobile insurance policy), CNA nonetheless claimed that the step-down provision applied because Murawski was insured as a resident relative under his mother's Allstate automobile policy, which carried a UIM limit of $100,000. Thus, CNA sought to demonstrate that Murawski maintained a dual residency, living both with his girlfriend and with his mother, and accordingly the "limit of liability" for UIM coverage under the employer's policy should be stepped-down to $100,000, the amount of coverage under the mother's policy. Discovery on the dual residency issue was curtailed when Murawski filed a motion for summary judgment alleging that the policy was ambiguous in respect of his status as a "named insured."
The trial court found ambiguity because in its view the "step-down" provision could be interpreted, in the absence of an individual named insured, to cover all employees of the company or to cover no employee of the company. It resolved the ambiguity in respect of who was intended to be covered as a "named insured" of the corporation in favor of Murawski. The Appellate Division, in an unpublished opinion, reversed:
The UM/UIM clause i
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