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Gloe v. Union Insurance Co.3/2/2005
Argued October 6, 2004
[ .] Michael Gloe's parents were struck and killed by an automobile driven by Donald Huber. Gloe did not reside in his parents' household, nor was he physically present at or injured as a result of the accident. Gloe and his two siblings received a total of $125,000 for the wrongful death claims arising from their father's death and $125,000 for their mother's death from two insurers who provided liability coverage for the accident. Gloe sought underinsurance benefits under his parents' Union policy. The trial court entered a declaratory judgment in favor of Gloe, holding Gloe was legally entitled to recover wrongful death damages from the operator and the owner of an underinsured motor vehicle because of the death of his parents. The trial court concluded Union was obligated to pay Gloe for his damages subject to the applicable limit of the underinsured motorist coverage. The trial court held Union's UIM limit of liability was to be determined by subtracting the amount of liability insurance proceeds received by Gloe after allocation among all wrongful death beneficiaries, rather than the entire amount paid by the liability carriers on behalf of the tortfeasor. Reversed.
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
[ .] For purposes of the declaratory action, Gloe and Union stipulated and agreed to the following facts: On September 1, 2001, pedestrians Larry and Verna Mae Gloe were struck and killed by a van driven by Donald Huber in Watertown, South Dakota. Each of the three surviving adult children, Scott Gloe, Karen Nelson, and Michael Gloe, asserted wrongful death claims against the van driver for the deaths of Larry and Verna Mae. In exchange for the release of all claims against Huber and the owner of the van arising from the deaths, two liability insurers together paid a total of $125,000 to the personal representative of Larry and $125,000 to the personal representative of Verna Mae for the wrongful death claims filed by their personal representative. The settlements exhausted the liability coverage available under the two policies. The three adult children were the statutory beneficiaries entitled to those wrongful death proceeds. Each child received $41,583 for the death of their father and $40,611 for the death of their mother. The estates released the tortfeasor as a part of the settlement.
[ .] Gloe brought this claim for underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits against Union, his parents' insurance carrier. This action was brought in Gloe's individual capacity, rather than by the personal representative of his parents' estates on behalf of the statutory beneficiaries. The Union policy provided UIM coverage with limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence. Gloe conceded that the $41,583 he received for the wrongful death of his father and the $40,611 he received for the wrongful death of his mother were proper liability coverage amounts to setoff from the $100,000 UIM per person limit.
[ .] Union denied Gloe's claim maintaining that no UIM benefits were available to Gloe under his parents' insurance contract, as a single $100,000 per person limit applied to Larry's death, and another $100,000 per person limit applied to Verna Mae's death. Union further argued that both SDCL 58-11-9.5 and the contract language allowed Union to setoff the entire $125,000 of liability proceeds paid on behalf of the tortfeasor to Verna Mae's personal representative against the single $100,000 per person UIM coverage limit available as a result of her death. Union argued the same single per person limit and setoff applied to the coverage for Larry's death. Under Union's approach, UIM coverage would be exhausted and no payment would result.
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