Grinnell Mut. Reinsurance v. Schmidt, No. 14-2933 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseThe Schmidts operate a farm Worthington, Minnesota. Madison hosted a sleepover party at the family farm to celebrate her twelfth birthday. A guest, 10-year old Alyssa, was driving the Schmidts' ATV around the property when the ATV struck a tree. Alyssa died as a result of the accident. The Schmidts tendered defense of a wrongful death action to Grinnell under their farm policy, which provided $300,000 in coverage. Grinnell initially informed the Schmidts the policy appeared to provide coverage, but reserved its right to dispute coverage and sought a declaratory judgment. The wrongful death action settled for $462,500. Both parties agree the coverage dispute turns on whether Jerome or Kelly – the named insureds – gave Alyssa "express permission" to operate the ATV within the meaning of an exclusion contained in the Select Recreational Vehicle Limited Liability Coverage endorsement. The Eight Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of the Schmidts. While the Schmidts observed the girls on the ATV and did not object, Alyssa never “expressly” sought permission, so her conduct did not fall within the exclusion.
Court Description: Bye, Author, with Loken and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Insurance law. The district court did not err in finding that the insured did not give express permission to the victim of an ATV accident to operate the vehicle; as a result,the "express permission" exclusion did not apply, and the accident was covered.
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