PARRO, J.
In this appeal, Catherine Stein, who was injured in an automobile accident, challenges a partial summary judgment, which dismissed her suit for damages against an automobile liability insurance company, based on the trial court's determination that the insurer's policy did not provide coverage for the vehicle being driven by the person who caused the accident. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment.
On the morning of July 12, 2007, Wayne Melancon, owner of Melancon Gauging Services, Inc. (MGSI), drove MGSI's only company-owned vehicle, a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado truck (Silverado) to Cut Off, Louisiana, on work-related business. Because Wayne was using the Silverado, he instructed Sean Melancon, his son, who was an employee of MGSI, to drive his mother's 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe (Tahoe) to Noble Energy in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, to check some gauges. As Sean was proceeding northbound on Louisiana Highway 1 near Leeville, Louisiana, he crossed the center line, striking a southbound 2006 Ford F-150 truck driven by Patrick O'Donnell. According to the accident report, the Tahoe then rotated counterclockwise into the path of oncoming traffic and was struck by a southbound 2004 Chevrolet C-2500 truck driven by Ms. Stein.
Ms. Stein filed a suit for damages, individually, and on behalf of her four minor children, against Sean; MGSI, as Sean's employer; and Progressive Security Insurance Company (Progressive), as Sean's insurer, as insurer of the Tahoe, and/or as MGSI's insurer.
After a hearing, the trial court took the matter under advisement. On November 17, 2010, the trial court signed a judgment granting Progressive's motion for partial summary judgment. In reasons for judgment, the trial court indicated that the Progressive policy provided no coverage for the Tahoe, because the Tahoe did not qualify as a "temporary substitute auto" as defined by the policy. Ms. Stein appealed the adverse judgment.
After Ms. Stein appealed, this court issued a rule to show cause order indicating the November 17, 2010 judgment appeared to lack appropriate decretal language disposing of and/or dismissing Ms. Stein's claims against Progressive. On June 14, 2013, the trial court signed an amended judgment, which stated, in pertinent part:
The appellate record was supplemented with the amended judgment, and the rule to show cause was referred to this appellate panel for disposition, along with the merits of the appeal.
The November 17, 2010 judgment, as amended by the June 14, 2013 judgment, contains the appropriate decretal language to be a valid final judgment, that is, it names the party in favor of whom the ruling is ordered, the party against whom the ruling is ordered, and the relief that is granted.
An appellate court reviews a trial court's decision to grant a motion for summary judgment de novo, using the same criteria that govern the trial court's consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate.
Whether an insurance policy, as a matter of law, provides or precludes coverage is a dispute that can be properly resolved within the framework of a motion for summary judgment.
On appeal, Ms. Stein concedes, as the trial court found, that the Tahoe does not qualify as a "temporary substitute auto" for which the Progressive policy provides insurance coverage. Rather, she contends, in two assignments of error, that the trial court erred in granting the partial summary judgment in favor of Progressive because: (1) the Tahoe falls within the Progressive policy's definition of "insured auto" as an "additional auto"; and (2) in interpreting the "ambiguous" definition of "insured auto," the trial court failed to consider Wayne's reasonable expectation that his employees were covered by the Progressive policy while in the course and scope of their employment.
Generally, under the terms of the
The only auto specifically described on the Declarations Page of the Progressive policy is MGSI's company-owned Silverado; thus, the Tahoe is not an "insured auto" under Paragraph 5(a) above. And, under Paragraph 5(b), the Tahoe only qualifies as an "additional auto" within the definition of "insured auto" if: (1) it was acquired by MGSI during the policy period, March 9, 2007, through September 9, 2007; (2) Progressive insures all autos owned by MGSI that MGSI uses in its business; and (3) no other insurance policy provides coverage for the Tahoe.
Progressive introduced Wayne's deposition into evidence in support of its motion for partial summary judgment. Wayne's deposition testimony establishes that he bought the Tahoe in 2006 in his personal capacity, and, although the vehicle was titled in his name, his wife was the primary driver of the Tahoe. His testimony also establishes that the Tahoe was not insured under the policy that Progressive issued to MGSI, but it was insured by Progressive under another policy issued to him personally. Notably, Wayne specifically admitted that the Tahoe was not listed on the "company policy." Based on this undisputed evidence, we find no ambiguity in the definition of "insured auto" and that the Tahoe is not an "additional auto" under Paragraph 5(b) of the
When applied to the undisputed material facts shown by the evidence supporting Progressive's motion, there is no reasonable interpretation of the Progressive policy's definition of "insured auto" under which coverage could be afforded to the Tahoe. And, despite any expectations that Wayne, as MGSI's owner, may have had regarding the Progressive policy's coverage of his employees, where a policy of insurance contains a definition of any word or phrase, that definition is controlling.
Based on our de novo review, we conclude the trial court properly granted partial summary judgment, and we find Progressive's policy number 02190811-7 did not provide coverage for the Tahoe.
For the above reasons, we dismiss the rule to show cause and declare the trial court's November 17, 2010 judgment, as amended by its June 14, 2013 judgment, to be a final, appealable judgment. Further, we affirm the amended judgment insofar as it grants partial summary judgment in favor of Progressive Security Insurance Company, in its capacity as the insurer of Melancon Gauging Services, Inc., and dismisses Catherine Stein's claims against Progressive Security Insurance Company. Costs of this appeal are assessed to Catherine Stein.