Hawkeye-Security Ins. Co., et al. v. Bunch, et al., No. 10-3261 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseAppellees brought this declaratory judgment action seeking a determination that there was no coverage for an accident involving a company car driven by Daniel Brandt and injuring Donald Bunch. At issue was whether liability coverage extended to Brandt and whether Donald Bunch was entitled to uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage because the policy at issue was ambiguous. The court concluded that the Bunches conceded that Brandt did not have express or implied permission from his employer to drive the car and that Patricia Bunch lacked the authority to give Brandt permission to use the vehicle as either a named insured or as a second permitee. Therefore, the district court did not err in concluding that liability coverage did not extend to Brandt. The court also concluded that there was no indication that the term "vehicle" was ambiguous or that a person reading the policy would not understand that the vehicle referred to in the exclusion would have included the car involved in the accident. Therefore, the district court did not err in determining that Donald Bunch did not qualify for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
Court Description: Civil case - Insurance. District court did not err in finding coverage did not attach because Bunch lacked authority to permit the person driving the car at the time of the accident to use the vehicle as a second permittee; defendant was not entitled to uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage because the policy in question was not ambiguous.
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