McDONALD, J.

Automobile insurance policies in Maryland cover persons named in the policy—the named insured—with respect to the vehicles identified in the policy. Coverage under a policy also can extend to some extent to other vehicles driven by the named insured and to other persons who drive the vehicles identified in the policy. The part of the policy that extends coverage to other persons is sometimes called the "omnibus clause." In particular, an omnibus clause may extend insurance coverage to drivers who use a vehicle with the permission of the named insured.

But what if the person with permission to use the car—the "first permittee"—enlists someone else to drive the car for the benefit of the first permittee? And what if that driver has previously been forbidden to drive the car by the named insured? Under what circumstances might an omnibus clause extend coverage to that driver as a "second permittee"?

Prior appellate decisions have identified alternative scenarios under which an omnibus clause covers the operation of the vehicle on behalf of, and for the benefit of, a first permittee by a driver other than the first permittee. We hold that the omnibus clause in the policy at issue in this case would extend coverage to a second permittee who drove the car for the benefit of the first permittee at her request, regardless of whether the first permittee happened to be physically in the car at that time. The omnibus clause did not extend coverage to that driver, however, when he operated the car for a purpose other than that requested by the first permittee.

I

Background

Automobile Insurance—Omnibus Clauses

Maryland's compulsory motor vehicle insurance law makes automobile liability insurance a prerequisite to the registration of a motor vehicle in Maryland. Maryland Code, Transportation Article, §§17-103, 17-104. The law is designed to ensure that "those who own and operate motor vehicles registered in the State are financially able to pay compensation for damages resulting from motor vehicle accidents." Enterprise Leasing Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co., 341 Md. 541, 549, 671 A.2d 509 (1996) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). The public policy underlying the law "is to give innocent third parties a source of private sector insurance funds from which to obtain compensation for their injuries." Enterprise Leasing Co., 341 Md. at 548-49, 671 A.2d 509. While insurance is linked to the registration of a vehicle and the law thus may be characterized as "vehicle-based,"1 policies typically provide coverage for specified individual drivers, sometimes referred to as the "named insured."

Liability coverage is extended to certain other drivers of the insured vehicle by virtue of a policy provision known as the "omnibus clause."2 Although there is no statutory requirement that a policy include an omnibus clause, most policies contain one. A. Janquitto, Maryland Motor Vehicle Insurance (3d ed.2011), §7.7 at 195. The clause usually extends coverage to designated categories of potential drivers of the insured vehicle, including family members and permissive users of the vehicle. Id. at 196, 671 A.2d 509. The extent to which a permissive user may authorize another individual to drive the vehicle and be covered by means of the omnibus clause of the policy has generated a number of reported appellate decisions. The facts of this case pose yet another factual scenario.

The Car, the Driver, and the Policy

At the time of the accident in February 2008 giving rise to this case, Respondents Alan and Maureen Dwyer lived in Cheverly in Prince George's County. Also resident in their household was their 34-year old daughter, Karen Dwyer, and her three children. The Dwyers provided support for Karen, who was disabled as a result of lupus, and their grandchildren, two of whom attended a school a few blocks from their residence. At the time, Karen was in a relationship with the father of her children, Ameen R. Abdulkhalek.

Alan Dwyer owned a 1995 Subaru Legacy. Karen Dwyer was the primary driver and had unrestricted use of the vehicle. Mr. Dwyer, however, had forbidden Mr. Abdulkhalek to drive the car. The Subaru was insured by a policy in Mr. Dwyer's name with Respondent Erie Insurance Exchange ("Erie"). That policy included an omnibus clause in the section on liability coverage that read as follows:

"Anyone we protect" means:

(boldface in original). The policy elsewhere defined "you" and "your" as referring to the named insured identified in the declarations page of the policy. The policy defined the term "relative" to include a resident of the household related to the named insured by blood, marriage or adoption.

The Accident

On the afternoon of February 11, 2008, Karen Dwyer had fallen ill when it was time to pick up two of her children from school. Instead of going to the school for the children as she usually did, she gave Mr. Abdulkhalek the keys to the Subaru and asked him to retrieve the children—a two-minute drive from the home. According to Mr. Abdulkhalek, he then drove to a gas station on Route 202 before heading to the school. The record does not reveal the reason for Mr. Abdulkhalek's trip to the gas station. According to Mr. Abdulkhalek, after stopping at the gas station, he made a U-turn on Route 202 and, as he approached a stoplight, collided with a car occupied by Petitioners David and Claudia Payne. Had he driven straight to the school, he would not have been on Route 202.

The Litigation

In October 2010, the Paynes filed a tort action against Mr. Abdulkhalek, the Dwyers, and the Paynes' own automobile insurer, GEICO General Insurance (with respect to uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits). Case No. CAL 10-34352 (Prince George's County Circuit Court). A question arose as to whether any liability of Mr. Abdulkhalek was covered by the Erie insurance policy relating to the Subaru. On November 23, 2011, the Paynes filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County a complaint for declaratory judgment naming the Dwyers, Mr. Abdulkhalek, Erie, and GEICO as defendants and seeking a determination as to whether coverage was afforded to Mr. Abdulkhalek by the Erie policy in connection with the accident. Case No. CAL 11-34091 (Prince George's County Circuit Court). The complaint expressly invited the court to resolve the declaratory judgment action on cross motions for summary judgment. The tort action was stayed pending resolution of the insurance coverage question in the declaratory judgment action.

The Paynes and Erie filed cross-motions for summary judgment in the declaratory judgment action. After a hearing, the Circuit Court determined that Mr. Abdulkhalek's use of the vehicle was not covered under the omnibus clause of the policy. Based on that conclusion, the court granted Erie's motion for summary judgment, and denied the Paynes' motion for summary judgment.

The Paynes appealed, and the Court of Special Appeals affirmed. 216 Md.App. 39, 84 A.3d 212 (2014). The Court concluded that "the coverage of the policy did not extend to [Mr.] Abdulkhalek, the ostensible second permittee, who was expressly prohibited from driving the [Subaru], who nonetheless did so without the necessary presence of the first permittee, and who in any event exceeded the scope of any even implicitly permitted use." Id. at 58, 84 A.3d at 223. The Paynes filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, which this Court granted.

II

Discussion

Standard of Review

The Circuit Court decided this case on cross motions for summary judgment. Under the Maryland Rules, a circuit court may grant a motion for summary judgment if there is no dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Maryland Rule 2-501(f). The court is to consider the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and consider any reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the undisputed facts against the moving party. Mathews v. Cassidy Turley Maryland, Inc., 435 Md. 584, 598, 80 A.3d 269 (2013). When parties file cross motions for summary judgment, the court must assess each motion on its own merits. MAMSI Life & Health Ins. Co. v. Callaway, 375 Md. 261, 278, 825 A.2d 995 (2003). Although the court is considering the same record, it might draw different inferences from the same basic facts in considering the opposing motions. It is, of course, possible that a court would deny both motions in light of the different inferences drawn from the same facts. In other words, the resolution of cross motions for summary judgment is not a zero sum game. Both combatants may remain standing.

Because a circuit court's decision to award summary judgment turns on a question of law, not a dispute of fact, an appellate court is to review whether the circuit court was legally correct without according any special deference to the lower court's legal conclusions. Mathews, 435 Md. at 598, 80 A.3d 269. We thus consider the legal question at issue anew—or, in the Latin phrase, de novo.

Whether this Case can be Decided on Summary Judgment

In this case the basic facts are undisputed and the legal question at issue in this declaratory judgment action may be susceptible to resolution on summary judgment, unless contrary inferences drawn from those facts would require denial of both motions for summary judgment.

It is clear that Karen Dwyer's use of the Subaru would be covered under the omnibus clause as she was both a relative resident in the household of the named insured and also had general unrestricted permission from the named insured—her father—to use the vehicle. But Mr. Abdulkhalek was neither a named insured in the Erie policy nor a "relative," as defined in that policy. Thus, he would only be covered under the policy if he came within the permissive use provision of the omnibus clause. Erie asserts that Mr. Abdulkhalek is not covered under the permissive use provision for two reasons.3

First, it argues that an individual who is otherwise forbidden from driving an insured vehicle is only covered by the permissive use provision as a second permittee when the first permittee—Karen Dwyer, in this case—is physically in the vehicle at the time of the accident. There is no dispute that Ms. Dwyer was not in the vehicle when it collided with the Paynes' car.

Second, even if there could be coverage of a second permittee without the presence of the first permittee in the vehicle, Erie argues that a second permittee must be driving the car for the benefit of the first permittee and that, in this case, Mr. Abdulkhalek's trip to the gas station that resulted in his driving the car to the scene of the accident on Route 202 was not for the benefit of the first permittee. Accordingly, even if Karen Dwyer could bring Mr. Abdulkhalek within the scope of the omnibus clause as a second permittee by authorizing him to drive the car for her benefit, there was no coverage for his deviation from the task that she had assigned him.

Thus, one of the two bases that Erie offers for summary judgment in its favor turns on a basic fact about which there is no disagreement—whether Karen Dwyer was in the car at the time of the accident. The second reason turns more on what inferences may be drawn from the undisputed facts—whether Mr. Abdulkhalek was operating the car for the benefit of Ms. Dwyer at the time of the accident.

The Criteria for Coverage as a Second Permittee under the Omnibus Clause

Prior appellate decisions have identified alternative scenarios under which an omnibus clause covers the operation of the vehicle when a named insured authorizes another individual—the "first permittee"—to use the car, but forbids or limits the operation of the car by others. While the reported decisions in which courts have found coverage have involved factual situations in which the first permittee was physically present in the car at the time of the accident, the test articulated in those decisions does not require the presence of the first permittee. Rather, the courts have stated a test in the disjunctive which requires either that the first permittee be in the car while it is being operated by the second permittee or that the second permittee drive the car with the authorization of the first permittee for the first permittee's benefit. Three of the leading decisions state this disjunctive test as follows:

Maryland Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Kornke, 21 Md.App. 178, 196-97, 319 A.2d 603 (1974) (emphasis added) (citations omitted).4

Federal Ins. Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 275 Md. 460, 471, 341 A.2d 399 (1975) (quoting 7 Am.Jur.2d, Automobile Insurance, § 117 (1963)) (emphasis added).5

Bond v. Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Ins. Co., 289 Md. 379, 386 n. 1, 424 A.2d 765 (1981) (emphasis added).6

In each of the cases, the court recognized two alternative situations in which coverage would extend to operation of the car by a person other than the first permittee—one where the first permittee is a passenger, though not driving the car, and a second in which the driver is operating the car for the benefit of the first permittee, even though the first permittee is not physically present in the car. See also Nationwide General Ins. Co. v. GEICO, 81 Md.App. 104, 115, 566 A.2d 1117 (1989), cert. denied, 319 Md. 72, 570 A.2d 864 (1990) (noting that Kornke and Bond alluded to two tests for coverage of a "second permittee" under the omnibus clause, only one of which involves the presence of the first permittee).

The rationale for this disjunctive test would appear to be as follows. An omnibus clause that contemplates that the named insured may authorize the "use" of the vehicle by a first permittee extends coverage to a second permittee only if the use of the car is consistent with the scope of permission granted to the first permittee.7 The presence of the first permittee in the car at the time it is operated by another driver is an indication that it is being operated for the benefit of the first permittee—i.e., used by the first permittee, even if driven by someone else. One case has alluded to the notion that the first permittee remains the "master of the ship"8 even if the first permittee is not operating the car. However, there does not appear to be any requirement that the first permittee be actively directing the operation of the car—in Kornke, the first permittee was asleep in the car at the time of the accident. If the first permittee is not physically present in the car, it must be clear that the driver is operating the vehicle for the benefit of the first permittee—within the scope of the first permittee's authorized use of the car—in order to have coverage as a second permittee.9

Erie argues that the two tests should be combined and considered as conjunctive rather than disjunctive. Erie would rewrite each of the passages quoted above to replace the word "or" in each instance with the word "and." But a little word can make a big difference. Under Erie's position, an innocent injured third party would have no recourse against the insurance policy that covered the car that caused the accident, even if the driver was driving the car at the request of, and for the benefit of, an authorized user of the vehicle. Rather, the innocent injured party would have to seek compensation from the driver alone, whatever uninsured motorist benefits the injured party might happen to have, or the uninsured component of the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund. In our view, this is at odds with the public policy underlying the compulsory insurance law and with the consistent interpretation of omnibus clauses such as the one in the Erie policy.10

Application to Mr. Abdulkhalek's Trip

The omnibus clause in the Erie policy contemplates that the named insured may authorize the "use" of the vehicle by others. The undisputed facts are that Mr. Dwyer had granted Karen Dwyer—the first permittee—unrestricted use of the Subaru. Indeed, as a relative of the named insured who lived in his household, Karen Dwyer was covered under the omnibus clause in the Erie policy even without Mr. Dwyer's explicit permission. Thus, there is no question that it was within the scope of Karen Dwyer's permitted use of the car to use it to pick up her children from school.

On the day of the accident, Karen Dwyer asked Mr. Abdulkhalek to pick up two of their children from an elementary school two blocks from the Dwyer house. Mr. Abdulkhalek, however, went elsewhere—to a gas station that led him to the intersection where he collided with the Paynes' car. On this record, the purpose of the trip to the gas station is a bit of a mystery, but there is no indication that it was for the benefit of Karen Dwyer. One cannot say that, on the basis of the undisputed facts, there was coverage of Mr. Abdulkhalek under the omnibus clause as a matter of law. The Circuit Court was clearly correct in its decision to deny the Paynes' motion for summary judgment.

As noted above, the fact that the Paynes' motion for summary judgment fails does not necessarily mean that Erie's opposing motion for summary judgment succeeds. In assessing the Paynes' motion, we indulged all reasonable inferences in favor of Erie. One might reasonably infer that a trip to a gas station is inconsistent with carrying out a request to take a two-block trip to an elementary school to pick up children. But in assessing Erie's motion, the winds blow in the opposite direction and all inferences are to be taken in favor of the Paynes.11 Nevertheless, the inferences must be reasonable and not simply speculation.

Although Mr. Abdulkhalek potentially had coverage under the omnibus clause as a second permittee, he did not have the same discretion as Karen Dwyer, the first permittee, to use the car as he pleased. In her absence, he was covered only to the extent that he drove for her benefit. In the end, what we know from this record is that Mr. Abdulkhalek was asked to drive to the elementary school for the benefit of Karen Dwyer, the first permittee (there is no suggestion in the record before us that she sent him on any other errand); that he drove to a gas station instead of the elementary school; and that he was in an accident shortly after he left the gas station. We might speculate that he went to the gas station to benefit Ms. Dwyer; that even if it was not for the benefit of Ms. Dwyer, he had returned to that purpose when the accident intervened; or that the apparently circuitous route he was taking to the school was the best he knew. The problem is that we cannot root any of these musings in the record before us. They do not qualify as reasonable inferences that allow the Paynes to escape summary judgment. We thus agree with the second alternative holding of the Court of Special Appeals that this deviation from his assigned task took Mr. Abdulkhalek outside the coverage of the omnibus clause. See 216 Md.App. at 54-58, 84 A.3d 212.

III

Conclusion

An omnibus clause in an automobile insurance policy that extends liability coverage to a permissive user of an insured vehicle also encompasses a driver who operates the vehicle for the benefit of an individual who has permission from the named insured to use the car. Coverage does not extend to that driver if, as in this case, the driver deviates from the purpose for which he was authorized to drive the car for the benefit of first permittee. We thus hold that the Circuit Court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Erie.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED. COSTS TO BE PAID BY PETITIONER.

HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, and WATTS, JJ., concur.

WATTS, J., concurring, in which HARRELL and BATTAGLIA, JJ., join.

Respectfully, I concur in the judgment only.1 I would hold that, where a named insured has expressly prohibited a second permittee from driving a vehicle, coverage under an omnibus clause may extend to the second permittee only if, at the time of the accident: (1) the first permittee is in the vehicle; (2) the second permittee is using the vehicle for some purpose or benefit of the first permittee; and (3) the use of the vehicle is within the scope of permission for use that the named insured granted.

After a thorough review of the relevant case law, I am convinced that Maryland precedent firmly establishes that coverage under an omnibus clause of an automobile liability insurance policy does not extend to a second permittee who is expressly forbidden from driving the insured vehicle and who gets into an accident when the first permittee is not in the vehicle.

In Md. Indem. Ins. Co. v. Kornke, 21 Md.App. 178, 179, 193, 197, 319 A.2d 603, 604, 612, 614 (1974), the Court of Special Appeals held that coverage under an omnibus clause of an automobile liability insurance policy extended to a second permittee where the named insured of the vehicle had restricted use of the vehicle to a first permittee, but the first permittee was in the vehicle at the time of the accident. That Court described omnibus clauses as follows:

Id. at 180, 319 A.2d at 604-05 (footnotes omitted).

In Kornke, id. at 181-82, 319 A.2d at 605, Kornke, the named insured, gave his teenage son permission to drive the car for purposes of going to school and work, and the son drove the car "almost every day" for those purposes. The son was "under explicit instructions not to allow anyone else to drive the [ ] car." Id. at 182, 319 A.2d at 606. One day, with his father's permission, the son drove the car, with three of his friends, to a farm. Id. at 182, 319 A.2d at 606. On the way to the farm, the car experienced an electrical problem, and the son stopped the car and received an electric shock while fixing the problem, causing his right arm to temporarily go numb. Id. at 182, 319 A.2d at 606. One of the son's friends then took over driving, with the son as a passenger in the car, and an accident occurred. Id. at 183, 319 A.2d at 606. The Court of Special Appeals indicated that the question for decision was whether the car was being used with the father's permission given the father's "express prohibition ... against allowing anyone else to drive." Id. at 183-84, 319 A.2d at 606-07.

That Court began by observing that the policy's omnibus clause extended coverage to "any person while using the automobile and any person or organization legally responsible for the use thereof, provided the actual use of the automobile is by the named insured or such spouse or with the permission of either." Id. at 180-81, 319 A.2d at 605 (emphasis added). For guidance, the Court of Special Appeals relied on Hardware Mut. Cas. v. Mitnick, 180 Md. 604, 26 A.2d 393 (1942) and Melvin v. Am. Auto. Ins. Co., 232 Md. 476, 194 A.2d 269 (1963), "neither of which ... involved the question of coverage vel non of a second permittee." Kornke, 21 Md.App. at 184, 319 A.2d at 607.2 After reviewing Mitnick, Melvin, and other relevant authorities, the Court of Special Appeals reached the following six conclusions concerning construction of omnibus clauses:

Kornke, 21 Md.App. at 191-92, 319 A.2d at 611. The Court of Special Appeals observed that the sixth conclusion was "in accord with the large majority of cases cited by the Court of Appeals in Mitnick and Melvin[.]" Id. at 192-93, 319 A.2d at 611 (italics added).

Based on these conclusions, the Court of Special Appeals held:

Id. at 193, 319 A.2d at 612. As to the circumstance that the father had prohibited the operation of the car by any person other than his son, the Court of Special Appeals concluded that such a prohibition did not preclude extending coverage to the son's friend under the omnibus clause. Id. at 194, 319 A.2d at 612. That Court explained:

Id. at 196-97, 319 A.2d at 613-14 (citations and some paragraph breaks omitted).

A year after Kornke, in Fed. Ins. Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 275 Md. 460, 472, 341 A.2d 399, 406-07 (1975), this Court held that coverage under an omnibus clause of an automobile liability insurance policy extended to a second permittee where the first permittee was in the vehicle at the time of the accident. In that case, Direct Way Auto Shippers, a company that delivered vehicles for its customers from New York to Florida, hired a driver, Frank, to deliver a vehicle to Florida. Id. at 463-64, 341 A.2d at 402. Despite Direct Way not having granted Frank permission to have other drivers or passengers on the trip, Frank took his girlfriend and another friend, Straz, on the trip. Id. at 464, 341 A.2d at 403. Straz was driving the vehicle when an accident occurred in Maryland. Id. at 464-65, 341 A.2d at 403.

We observed that the critical question was whether Frank and Straz were insured under Direct Way's insurance policy with Allstate. Id. at 470, 341 A.2d at 405. We held that Frank was covered under the Allstate insurance policy, explaining:

Id. at 470-71, 341 A.2d at 406. As to Straz, we observed that, given the language of the Allstate insurance policy, he would be covered as a second permittee "only if he was using the automobile with the implied permission of Direct Way." Id. at 471, 341 A.2d at 406. To that end, we stated:

Id. at 471, 341 A.2d at 406 (quoting 7 Am.Jur.2d, Automobile Insurance, § 117 (1963)). Thus, we held that Straz was covered under the Allstate insurance policy as a second permittee, explaining:

Id. at 472, 341 A.2d at 406-07.

In Bond v. Pa. Nat'l Mut. Cas. Ins. Co., 289 Md. 379, 385-86, 382, 424 A.2d 765, 768-69, 767 (1981), we held that coverage under an omnibus clause of an automobile liability insurance policy did not extend to a second permittee where the named insured had expressly prohibited the first permittee from allowing the second permittee to drive the car and the first permittee was not in the car at the time of the accident. The named insured permitted her daughter to "enjoy near exclusive use of the" car, but expressly instructed the daughter not to allow anyone else, including the daughter's friend, to drive the car. Id. at 382-83, 424 A.2d at 767. The car was insured under a policy that provided coverage to the "insured," which included "any other person using such automobile with the permission of the named insured, provided his actual operation or (if he is not operating) his other actual use thereof is within the scope of such permission." Id. at 381, 424 A.2d at 766. One day, the daughter permitted her friend to drive the car, and an accident occurred. Id. at 382, 424 A.2d at 767.

We stated "that the principal focus of our inquiry [was] on the relationship between the named insured (the mother) and the first permittee ([the daughter]) and not ... between the first and second permittees." Id. at 385, 424 A.2d at 768. We held that the daughter's friend was not covered under the insurance policy, and explained:

Id. at 385-86, 424 A.2d at 768-69 (citations and footnote omitted). We added, however:

Id. at 386 n. 1, 424 A.2d at 769 n. 1.

Eight years later, in Nationwide Gen. Ins. Co. v. Gov't Emps. Ins. Co., 81 Md.App. 104, 107, 566 A.2d 1117, 1118 (1989), cert. denied, 319 Md. 72, 570 A.2d 864 (1990), the Court of Special Appeals held that a second permittee was covered under the omnibus clause of an automobile liability insurance policy because the second permittee was a permitted user of the vehicle, the actual use of the vehicle was within the scope of that permission, and, significantly, the first permittee was in the vehicle at the time of the accident. The named insured allowed his daughter to use the vehicle for transportation to and from school, and expressly instructed the daughter that nobody else, including her boyfriend, was allowed to drive the vehicle. Id. at 106, 108, 566 A.2d at 1118. The omnibus clause provided to coverage to the named insured; his or her relatives; "any other person using the auto with [the named insured's] permission" provided that "[t]he actual use [was] within the scope of that permission"; and "any other person ... for his ... liability because of acts or omissions of an insured under" the other categories of coverage. Id. at 108, 566 A.2d at 1119 (emphasis omitted). One day, on the way to school, the daughter's boyfriend drove the car, in which the daughter was a passenger, and an accident occurred. Id. at 106, 566 A.2d at 1118.

In evaluating the case, the Court of Special Appeals distinguished Bond, noting that: (1) "[u]nlike Kornke and the instant case, the first permittee was not present in the automobile when the Bond accident occurred"; and (2) "[t]he omnibus clause at issue in Bond contained language which limited the `actual operation' to the scope of such permission." Nationwide, 81 Md. App. at 113-14, 566 A.2d at 1121-22. The first distinction was critical to that Court's holding, as it explained:

Nationwide, id. at 115, 566 A.2d at 1122. The Court of Special Appeals observed that its holding was in accord with other jurisdictions, explaining that "the broad view is that[,] even where the first permittee is expressly prohibited from allowing[ ] others to drive[,] coverage ordinarily extends to a second permittee if the first permittee is a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the accident." Id. at 117, 566 A.2d at 1123 (citation omitted). At the conclusion of the opinion, the Court of Special Appeals stated: "[T]his case, like Kornke, fits the first exception alluded to in Bond since the first permittee was both present and benefitted by the second permittee's driving." Id. at 123, 566 A.2d at 1126.

More recently, in Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Md. Auto. Ins. Fund, 154 Md.App. 604, 610, 616, 841 A.2d 46, 49, 53 (2004), the Court of Special Appeals held that a second permittee was not covered under the omnibus clause of an automobile liability insurance policy even though the first permittee was in the vehicle at the time of the accident because, at the time of the accident, the second permittee was not operating the vehicle within the scope of permission that the named insured granted. The automobile liability insurance policy defined "insured" as "[y]ou and any person while using a covered automobile with your permission" and "[a]ny person ... legally responsible for the use of a covered automobile provided its actual use is by you or with your permission." Id. at 610, 841 A.2d at 49. One day, the named insured instructed his son to use the car to take his mother to work and then bring the car back. Id. at 607, 841 A.2d at 48. After leaving the named insured's house with the car, the son picked up his friend and his mother, and the son dropped off his mother at work. Id. at 607-08, 841 A.2d at 48. After dropping off his mother, the son and his friend decided to visit the friend's cousin in Washington, D.C.; because the son was not familiar with the area, he let his friend drive. Id. at 608, 841 A.2d at 48. While driving the vehicle, the friend struck a parked car, which was propelled into a pedestrian. Id. at 608, 841 A.2d at 48.

The Court of Special Appeals observed that there was "ample evidence" that the father and son had a "mutual understanding" that only the son would drive the car. Id. at 611, 841 A.2d at 50. Accordingly, the Court of Special Appeals held:

Id. at 612-13, 841 A.2d at 51. Relying on Bond, the Court of Special Appeals explained: "[T]he owner's insurance company is not the primary insurer in instances where the owner of the covered vehicle has not given express or implied permission to the second permittee to drive his car." Id. at 614, 841 A.2d at 52. That Court concluded:

Id. at 616, 841 A.2d at 53 (citation omitted).

After examining the principles and authorities above, I would hold that, where a named insured expressly prohibits a second permittee from driving the vehicle, coverage under an omnibus clause may extend to the second permittee only if, at the time of the accident: (1) the first permittee is in the vehicle; (2) the second permittee is using the vehicle for some purpose or benefit of the first permittee; and (3) use of the vehicle is within the scope of permission for use that the named insured granted. In applying this holding, I would start by identifying the key players and the scope of permission. Dwyer was the named insured. Karen was the first permittee, as Dwyer permitted Karen to drive and use the Subaru. Abdulkhalek was the second permittee, as Karen gave him the keys to the Subaru and tasked him with picking up their children from school. As to the scope of permission between the named insured and the first permittee, see Bond, 289 Md. at 385, 424 A.2d at 768 ("[T]he principal focus ... i[s] on the relationship between the named insured ... and the first permittee ... and not ... between the first and second permittees."), the record demonstrates that Dwyer permitted Karen to drive and use the Subaru without restriction; in other words, Karen's use of the Subaru was not limited to certain purposes or tasks, but rather included use for any purpose, including picking up her children from school. As Abdulkhalek knew, however, Dwyer expressly prohibited him from driving the Subaru; in other words, Dwyer's permission to Karen, although not limited as to purposes or tasks, was restricted in that Abdulkhalek was not permitted to drive the Subaru.

I know of no case in which a Maryland appellate court has extended coverage under an omnibus clause of an automobile liability insurance policy to a second permittee where the second permittee was expressly prohibited by the named insured from driving the vehicle and the first permittee was not in the vehicle at the time of the accident. To the contrary, a review of the case law leads to the exact opposite conclusion—that coverage under an omnibus clause does not extend to a second permittee where the named insured expressly prohibits the first permittee from allowing the second permittee to drive the vehicle and where the first permittee is not in the vehicle at the time of the accident. See Bond, id. at 385-86, 424 A.2d at 768-69. For coverage under an omnibus clause to be extended to a second permittee, the first permittee must be in the vehicle at the time of the accident, and the second permittee must be serving some purpose or benefit of the first permittee. See, e.g., Allstate, 275 Md. at 472, 341 A.2d at 406-07 (We held that coverage extended to the second permittee because, in relevant part, "the first permittee [ ] was a passenger in the car and had control and direction of the car; [and] the second permittee [] was serving some purpose of" the first permittee); Nationwide, 81 Md. App. at 115, 566 A.2d at 1122 (The Court of Special Appeals held that coverage extended to the second permittee because "the first permittee[ ] was in the car with [the second permittee] and was benefitted by its operation."); Kornke, 21 Md.App. at 197, 193, 319 A.2d at 614, 612 (The Court of Special Appeals held that coverage extended to the second permittee because, at the time of the accident, the second permittee's driving of the car was, "at the very least, for the convenience of the first permittee ..., and, of course, the first permittee was present in the car[.]").

Precedent clearly establishes that, for coverage under an omnibus clause to extend to a second permittee, when the second permittee has been expressly forbidden by the named insured from driving the vehicle, the first permittee must be in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Indeed, not only must the first permittee be in the vehicle at the time of the accident, but also, the use of the vehicle itself must be within the scope of permission that the named insured granted. See Liberty, 154 Md.App. at 616, 841 A.2d at 53 ("[T]he operation of [the named insured]'s car was not `for a purpose germane to the permission granted.' ... [T]he use of the car at the time of the accident was outside the scope of the permission granted." (Citation omitted)); Kornke, 21 Md.App. at 193, 319 A.2d at 612 ("[A]t the time of the accident, the operation of the car by the second permittee was for a purpose germane to the permission granted by" the named insured).

I would reject Petitioners' contention that there is an exception in Maryland case law providing coverage to a second permittee, even if the first permittee is not in the vehicle at the time of the accident, so long as the second permittee's use of a vehicle serves some purpose of, or benefits, the first permittee. In support of this position, Petitioners seize on the following language in Kornke, 21 Md.App. at 197, 319 A.2d at 613-14: "or b) because the second permittee was serving some purpose or advantage of the first permittee when the accident occurred." (Emphasis added) (citations and paragraph break omitted). Petitioners theorize that Kornke sets forth an "either/or" test, under which coverage may extend to second permittees either where the first permittee is in the vehicle at the time of the accident or where the first permittee is not in the vehicle but the second permittee is serving some purpose or benefit of the first permittee. In Kornke, id. at 196-97, 319 A.2d at 613-14, the Court of Special Appeals stated:

(Citations and paragraph break omitted). That the Court of Special Appeals in Kornke used the word "or," however, is not dispositive given that Court's holding and the long history in both this Court and the Court of Special Appeals of applying the language in Kornke with the word "and."

In Kornke, id. at 192, 319 A.2d at 611, preceding the language set forth above, the Court of Special Appeals stated:

(Emphasis added). Thus, the Court of Special Appeals acknowledged that, based on its review of the relevant authorities, in determining coverage under an omnibus clause, there are three significant factors—(1) whether at the time of the accident operation of the car was for a purpose germane to the permission given; (2) whether the car's operation was for the convenience of the named insured or the first permittee; and (3) whether the first permittee was in the car at the time of the accident. The Court of Special Appeals used the term "and" when describing the factors; thus, all three factors must be satisfied.

Later, when discussing the exception—that, under certain circumstances, coverage may extend to a second permittee where the named insured expressly prohibited anyone other than the first permittee from driving the vehicle—the Court of Special Appeals set forth factors "a" and "b" as described above and concluded:

Id. at 196-97, 319 A.2d at 613-14 (citations and some paragraph breaks omitted). Viewed in context, it is evident that the Court of Special Appeals intended "a" and "b" as being two factors that formed a conjunctive test (or joint requirements) for coverage, and determined that both factors had been satisfied in Kornke because, at the time of the accident, the first permittee was in the vehicle and the second permittee was serving some purpose of, or benefitted, the first permittee. In Kornke, the Court of Special Appeals did not resolve the case on the basis of one factor having been satisfied—instead, that Court determined both factors, or requirements, to be satisfied. The Court of Special Appeals stated that, given that both factors were satisfied, it did not matter (i.e., the Court was not required to resolve) whether the "liberal rule" or the "minor deviation rule"3 applied in Maryland. Kornke, 21 Md.App. at 197, 319 A.2d at 614. In other words, in Kornke, the Court of Special Appeals stated that, if both factors are satisfied—i.e., at the time of the accident, the first permittee is in the vehicle and the second permittee's use of the vehicle is for the benefit or purpose of the first permittee—it does not matter whether Maryland is a "liberal rule" State or a "minor deviation rule" State because, under either rule, coverage would extend to the second permittee. In Kornke, the first permittee's presence in the vehicle at the time of the accident played a key role not only in satisfying both factors, but also in determining in the first instance that the first permittee was "using" the vehicle, as that term was used in the omnibus clause.

To the extent that Petitioners read Kornke as setting forth two separate tests or "exceptions" instead of two factors that are jointly required, such a reading is inaccurate; and, in any event, such tests would be dicta. It is clear that, in Kornke, 21 Md.App. at 183, 319 A.2d at 606, the first permittee was in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Thus, under Petitioners' interpretation, Kornke's providing two alternative means for coverage was not based on the case's facts, which did not involve an absent first permittee; thus, consideration of that circumstance was not necessary to the decision of the Court of Special Appeals.

In post-Kornke case law, it has become abundantly clear that the Court of Special Appeals and this Court view the two circumstances—i.e., that, at the time of the accident, the first permittee is in the vehicle and the second permittee is serving some purpose or benefit of the first permittee—as two factors that must both be satisfied to extend coverage under an omnibus clause to a second permittee. In other words, despite the one-time use of the word "or" in Kornke, the Court of Special Appeals and this Court have always applied the factors as a conjunctive, or two-part, test, and have required both factors to be satisfied. For example, in Allstate, 275 Md. at 471-72, 341 A.2d at 406-07, we employed a conjunctive, or two-part, test, holding that the second permittee was covered as an insured because, among other things, "the first permittee [ ] was a passenger in the car and had control and direction of the car" and "the second permittee [ ] was serving some purpose of" the first permittee. (Citation omitted). In other words, we held that coverage under the omnibus clause extended to the second permittee because both factors were satisfied.

And, in Bond, 289 Md. at 386 n. 1, 424 A.2d at 769 n. 1, although repeating the word "or," we described the two factors as part of one of two possible variations from the general rule, stating:

(Emphasis added). Later, in Nationwide, 81 Md.App. at 115, 123, 566 A.2d at 1122, 1126, the Court of Special Appeals harmonized the two factors and used the word "and" when setting forth the factors, stating: "We hold that the instant case falls within the first proposed exception alluded to in Bond, and meets the Kornke `tests' since [ ] the first permittee[ ] was in the car with [the second permittee] and was benefitted by its operation"; and "we hold that this case, like Kornke, fits the first exception alluded to in Bond since the first permittee was both present and benefitted by the second permittee's driving." (Emphasis added). Given Kornke and subsequent case law, I would hold that the first permittee's presence in the vehicle at the time of the accident is a factor that must be satisfied to extend coverage under an omnibus clause to a second permittee.

A close reading of Maryland case law indicates that both this Court and the Court of Special Appeals have always required that the first permittee be in the vehicle at the time of the accident for coverage to extend to a second permittee. This critical circumstance is warranted for common sense reasons. By reading Kornke as the Majority does, see Maj. Op. at 395-97, 112 A.3d at 492-93—that Kornke establishes an "either/or" disjunctive test permitting coverage to be extended to a second permittee where, at the time of the accident, the first permittee is not in the vehicle so long as the second permittee is serving some purpose or benefit of the first permittee—going forward, this Court will undoubtedly be faced with situations in which parties seek to extend insurance coverage under an omnibus clause to third, fourth, or even fifth permittees based solely on the assertion that the permittees were using vehicles for the benefit or purpose of a first permittee.4 Under this scenario, any number of extended permittees could presumably seek coverage. Rather than go down a slippery slope, I am convinced that Maryland is best served by maintaining what years' worth of case law has established—that a first permittee must be in the vehicle at the time of the accident for coverage to extend to a second permittee.

Nor am I persuaded that Maryland's compulsory motor vehicle insurance scheme mandates that coverage be extended in situations where a first permittee is not in the vehicle at the time of the accident. To be sure,

Montgomery Cnty. v. Distel, 436 Md. 226, 236, 81 A.3d 397, 403 (2013) (citation omitted) (alteration in original). The purpose of Maryland's compulsory motor vehicle insurance scheme is "to provide coverage, or payment, for liability claims." Id. at 237, 81 A.3d at 403 (citations and footnote omitted). Omnibus clauses, such as the one in the policy at issue here, generally "extend[ ] coverage to a third party who operates the vehicle within the permission of the named insured." Id. at 249, 81 A.3d at 411 (citation omitted). In Distel, id. at 249-50, 81 A.3d at 411, we explained:

(Citations and internal quotation marks omitted) (last alteration in original). Although, under Maryland's compulsory motor vehicle insurance scheme, every vehicle is required to be covered by an automobile liability insurance policy, an omnibus clause in a policy is not intended to extend coverage to any and all possible drivers of the insured vehicle. There are recognized limitations to coverage. For example, nothing in Maryland's compulsory motor vehicle insurance scheme mandates the extension of coverage to car thieves or drivers who fall outside the extended coverage of an omnibus clause, such as those drivers who operate the vehicle outside of the scope of permission that the named insured granted. See id. at 250, 81 A.3d at 411 ("A permissive use clause limits the coverage under the omnibus clause to claims that arise while the third party is operating the vehicle within the scope of the permission granted by the named insured." (Citation, footnote, and internal quotation marks omitted)). Obviously, use of a vehicle by a thief would be fall outside the scope of extended coverage of an omnibus clause, as the thief would not be using the vehicle for the benefit of the first permittee, and the thief may or may not be in a vehicle with the first permittee. The point of the comparison is, however, that Maryland's compulsory motor vehicle insurance scheme—although intended to protect the public—contemplates, and, indeed, anticipates, that there are times in which there will not be insurance coverage; in other words, there is no doubt that there will be certain situations that are not afforded the extended coverage of an omnibus clause. As with other limitations on coverage under an omnibus clause, the requirement that a first permittee be in the vehicle at the time of an accident for coverage to extend to a second permittee is an allowable limitation that is firmly established in Maryland case law.

For the above reasons, respectfully, I concur in the judgment only.

Judge HARRELL and Judge BATTAGLIA have authorized me to state that they join in this opinion.