Supreme Court of Florida Finds Automobile Policy Household Exclusion to be Unambiguous
Aug 25, 2011
In State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. v. Gilda Menendez, SC10-116 (August 25, 2011), the Supreme Court of Florida held in favor of State Farm on the question of “whether the household exclusion barring coverage for ‘any bodily injury to’ ‘any insured or any member of an insured’s family residing in the insured’s household’ unambiguously eliminates coverage for bodily injuries suffered by the members of the household of a permissive-driver insured.” Menendez at 6. The opinion is a victory for the insurance industry, adding stability to the interpretation of clearly defined policy terms, and maintaining the bounds of coverage agreed to by insureds.
In Menendez, the named insured’s granddaughter was involved in an automobile accident injuring herself and her parents while driving the named insured’s car. The injured parents, who were also the daughter and son-in-law of the named insured, resided with the driver, not the named insured. State Farm denied coverage for the parents’ bodily injury claims under the household exclusion, noting that the granddaughter was a permissible insured. The trial court found the exclusion ambiguous, entering final summary judgment against State Farm. The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed.
Relying upon the plain language of the policy as well as the Court’s prior opinion in Webb v. American Fire & Casualty Co., 5 So. 2d 252 (Fla. 1941) and the Fourth District’s opinion in Linehan v. Alkhabbaz, 398 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), the Supreme Court quashed the Third District Court of Appeal’s decision, finding that State Farm’s policy consistently used the terms “named insured” and “insured,” and that each term’s meaning was distinct and clearly defined.
A copy of the Supreme Court of Florida’s opinion is attached in PDF format.
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