LEONA BREWER, as Personal Representative of the Estate of EDWARD ROSE, Deceased ON CERTIFICATION V. NATIONAL INDEMNITY COMPANY, a Nebraska Corporation, ET AL .
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RENDERED : MAY 19, 2005
TO BE PUBLISHED
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2004-SC-000270-CL
LEONA BREWER, as Personal
Representative of the Estate of EDWARD
ROSE, Deceased
V.
APPELLANT
ON CERTIFICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
RECORD NOS. 03-1531, 03-1696
NATIONAL INDEMNITY COMPANY, a
Nebraska Corporation, ET AL .
APPELLEES
OPINION OF THE COURT BY CHIEF JUSTICE LAMBERT
CERTIFYING THE LAW
This case presents a certified question from the United States Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit . Specifically, the question certified is as follows : Whether
a fiduciary may maintain an action against an insurer for negligently underinsuring its
insured, where the fiduciary, the insurer, and the insured have executed an agreement
in which:
(1) the fiduciary settled a wrongful death claim against the
insured for the maximum limit of the insurance policy,
which the insurer agreed to pay to the fiduciary in
consideration for the insured's release ;
(2) the insured assigned to the fiduciary the right to pursue
its claim that the insurer negligently underinsured its
insured; and
(3) the insurer agreed to litigate with the fiduciary the claim
that it negligently underinsured its insured .'
We answer the certified question in the affirmative . Under the facts presented here,
Kentucky law allows a fiduciary to proceed against an insurer pursuant to the
bargained-for agreement entered into by the parties.
The defendant in this action is National Indemnity, an insurance company
incorporated in Nebraska . National Indemnity's presence in this case stems from a car
wreck between its insured, Maynard's Wrecker Service, and Edward Rose, who is
represented by the plaintiff . The plaintiff, Leona Brewer, is the administratrix of the
estate of Edward Rose, who was killed in the car accident.
On November 29, 2001, in West Virginia, the vehicle driven by Edward
Rose, a resident of West Virginia, collided with the truck of Joe Maynard, a Kentucky
resident . Maynard, an employee of a Kentucky business known as Maynard's Wrecker
Service, was operating a 1999 Ford Rollback truck within the scope of his employment
when the accident occurred . Maynard's negligence proximately caused the accident
and Rose's death .
The truck operated by Maynard was insured by National Indemnity, which
provided liability coverage on the vehicle in the sum of $100,000 . This policy was
issued in Kentucky . Brewer, serving in her capacity as administratrix of Rose's estate,
filed a civil suit against Maynard and his wrecker company . After the claim was
removed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia,
Brewer amended her complaint, naming additional defendants, including National
Indemnity . Count I (the Death Claim) of Brewer's complaint alleged a wrongful death
claim against the Maynards . Count II (the Coverage Claim) alleged that National
' Brewer v. Nat'l Indem. Co. , 363 F .3d 333 (4th Cir. 2004) .
Indemnity negligently breached its duty to provide the Maynards with the minimum
amount of commercial liability coverage (claimed to be $750,000) required by federal
law, proximately causing the Maynards to be underinsured at the time of the accident .
Brewer, National Indemnity, and the Maynards all entered into a partial
settlement agreement . Three issues were agreed upon . First, National Indemnity
agreed to pay Brewer the policy limit of $100,000 in exchange for a release of its
insured, the Maynards. Second, National Indemnity agreed to further litigate the
Coverage Claim with Brewer. Finally, the Maynards assigned to Brewer their rights and
claims for indemnification under the policy against National Indemnity, as well as all
rights and claims against National Indemnity for extra-contractual, statutory, or common
law liability arising out of the Coverage Claim.
Subsequent to the agreement, National Indemnity moved the trial court to
dismiss the Coverage Claim . The trial court granted that motion, reasoning that Brewer
lacked standing to bring the claim since Rose (whose rights Brewer was representing)
had no privity of contract with National Indemnity . In seeking relief from the order of
dismissal, Brewer asserted that National Indemnity was equitably estopped from
denying that she possessed standing, because National Indemnity had executed the
settlement agreement in exchange for a release of its insureds . The trial court denied
relief, and Brewer appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The Fourth Circuit held that Kentucky law applies, and certified the above-referenced
question to this Court.
National Indemnity alleges that it is not party to the assignment
agreement, as it was exclusively between the Maynards and Brewer. We do not find
this argument persuasive. The language of the agreement and the surrounding
circumstances show that National Indemnity was in fact a party to the assignment.
There was only one document, which encompassed in five pages all of
the terms of the agreement between all of the parties . National Indemnity's
representative signed at the end of the document. And it does not claim that any of the
other provisions of the agreement are ineffectual, i.e., that the provisions releasing the
insured from further liability should not be given effect. But it does claim that it was not
a party to the assignment agreement ; that agreement was exclusively between the
Maynards (the insured) and Brewer (the fiduciary). But the language of the agreement
belies National Indemnity's position . The agreement repeatedly indicates that the
parties contemplated that Brewer would retain the right to proceed against National
Indemnity . In both the eighth and ninth recitals the agreement provides that the
National Indemnity Company agreed to litigate further the Coverage Claims issue with
Brewer in exchange for a release of the Maynards and that all three parties (National
Indemnity, Brewer and the Maynards) desired to settle the claim against the Maynards
subject to Brewer preserving the right to proceed upon the Coverage Claim .
Furthermore, the release provisions stated that the release was not intended to cut off
Brewer's right to pursue the Coverage Claim against National Indemnity . However,
National Indemnity argues that it is not a party because it is not named in the
assignment section of the agreement as a party that agreed to the assignment . While
we agree that National Indemnity is not specifically named in that section, it is named in
the section of the agreement dealing with future cooperation :
It is expressly agreed and understood that Administratrix, the
Maynards and National Indemnity Company will cooperate
fully, and execute any and all supplementary documents and
to take all additional action that may be necessary or
4
appropriate to give full force and effect to the terms and
provisions of this Release and Settlement Agreement which
are not inconsistent with its terms.
Therefore, we conclude that National Indemnity was a party to the
agreement, including the section that assigned all the rights and causes of action that
the Maynards possessed at the time of the assignment .
Furthermore, we note that the circumstances surrounding the agreement
demonstrate that the parties understood the agreement to assign the Maynards' rights
and causes of action to Brewer. In other words, the timeline of events demonstrate that
Brewer would not have agreed to release the Maynards had National Indemnity not
agreed to further litigate the validity of the claims that were assigned by the Maynards
to Brewer. Finally, under these facts, National Indemnity is estopped to deny the
viability of the Coverage Claim issue .
In conclusion, we hold that National Indemnity agreed to the assignment
of the Maynards' rights and causes of action to Brewer . In return, National Indemnity
secured a release in favor of its insured and eliminated the possibility of a bad faith
claim from its insured or the plaintiff. As such, we answer the certified question in the
affirmative, and hold that Brewer is entitled to maintain her action against National
Indemnity to determine whether it negligently underinsured the Maynards.
All concur.
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT :
Robert Matthew Vital
Monica Leah Robinson
VITAL & VITAL, L .C .
536 Fifth Avenue
Huntington, WV 25701
Brian A. Glasser
Jennifer S . Fahey
BAILEY & GLASSER, LLP
227 Capitol Street
Charleston, WV 25301
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEES :
Anita R . Casey
MACCORKLE LAVENDER CASEY & SWEENEY
P . O. Box 3283
Charleston, WV 25332-3283
Marcia Milby Ridings
Brandon C. Jones
HAMM, MILBY & RIDINGS
120 North Main Street
London, KY 40741
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