DAVID L. RUSSELL, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This action arises out of a pileup on March 31, 2012, involving multiple vehicles. The underlying tort liability of the various participants is the subject of multiple federal and state court actions and certain of the involved persons have settled their claims. National Casualty Company filed this action seeking a declaratory judgment regarding the limits of its liability under a policy of insurance issued to Defendant Western Express. Presently before the Court are three motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff National Casualty argues that based on the language of the Policy its liability is limited to $1,000,000 and further seeks a declaration that its limits of coverage were exhausted by the settlement of certain claims arising from the accident and thus it has no further obligation thereunder (Doc. No. 90). Defendants Butler, Cardenas, Chmil, Crittenden, Factor, Fisher, and Ori (hereinafter "injured-party Defendants") responded in opposition to the motion and filed their own motion seeking a declaration that the Policy issued by Plaintiff provides the full amount of coverage for each person injured or killed in what they consider a series of accidents. (Doc. Nos. 93 and 104). Each injured-party Defendant was either involved in or is the personal representative of a person killed in the March 31, 2012 incident. Defendant Schneider and his employer, Defendant Western Express, the insured, seek summary judgment as well. They argue that despite the number of impacts, there was but a single "accident" under the Policy, giving rise to only a single $900,000 self-retention obligation under the Policy. (Doc. Nos. 88, 102, and 103). Western Express and Schneider responded to the Plaintiff's motion and to that of its co-defendants. (Doc. Nos. 103, 106). The Court has considered the parties' various positions and finds as follows.
At the outset the Court disposes of the suggestion by the injured-party Defendants that this Court await the termination of proceedings in the state court regarding the enforceability of an alleged settlement of the claims in the underlying tort litigation, Western Express v. Factor, Case No. DF-114498. The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals issued its decision on May 11, 2018, overturning and vacating the order of the District Court of Oklahoma County wherein that court concluded that a valid and binding settlement had been reached. On October 22, 2018, the Oklahoma Supreme Court denied Adam Factor's Petition for Writ of Certiorari, thereby mooting any argument that this Court should abstain from considering the instant motions. Accordingly, the injured-party Defendants' request that this Court await a decision from the Oklahoma state courts is denied as moot.
Summary judgment is appropriate if the moving party demonstrates that there is "no genuine issue as to any material fact" and that it is "entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). In applying this standard, the court views the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to
Generally, the facts underlying the March 31, 2012 incident are not disputed. At approximately 8:27 a.m. while driving through fog in the westbound lanes of Interstate 40 near the Oklahoma/Texas border, Defendant Schneider's truck hit a BMW being driven by Gorgis Ori. The two vehicles pulled off into the center median, although there are contentions that Defendant Schneider's vehicle was not completely cleared from the inside westbound lane.
National Casualty Company issued Policy Number CTO0124407 to Western Express, Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee for the period October 1, 2011 through October 1, 2012, providing commercial auto coverage. (Doc. No. 90-1, p. 3). The Policy included a "Commercial Auto Coverage Part Motor Carrier Coverage Form Supplemental Declarations" page, which contained a list of coverages. Id. at p. 9. The Policy includes liability coverage for 61 covered autos and identified the limit, that is, "[t]he Most We Will Pay for Any One Accident or Loss" as $1,000,000.
Plaintiff argues the initial impact between Defendant Schneider and the BMW driven by Ori as well as all subsequent impacts constitute a single "Accident" and therefore its exposure is limited to $1,000,000. The injured-party Defendants argue that National Casualty's exposure under the Policy is $1,000,000 per injured or deceased person, because each is a separate "Accident" when viewed from the standpoint of the injured or deceased.
The Policy under "Section II — Liability Coverage, A. Coverage" provides:
Doc. No. 90-1, p. 15. It provides for a "Limit of Insurance:"
Id. at p. 19. "Accident," "includes continuous or repeated exposure to the same conditions resulting in `bodily injury' or `property damage'." Id. at 25.
Before addressing the interpretation of the Policy, the Court addresses the admissibility of certain evidence submitted by the parties. The injured-party Defendants would have the Court adopt in toto a report submitted to the District Court of Oklahoma County in certain of the underlying tort litigation drafted by a court-appointed Special Master, former United States District Judge Michael Burrage. Plaintiff insurer and Defendant insured, Western Express and its employee Thomas Schneider, object to the Court's consideration of the Special Master's report. The injured parties do not address the admissibility of the Special Master's report in any of their briefs.
The Court will not adopt the legal opinion of the Special Master and the facts as set forth therein are based on allegations, not evidence. See, e.g., Doc. No. 91-1, pp. 13, 15-16 ("it is alleged by plaintiffs (and denied by defendants)"). The legal conclusions offered by the Special Master are inappropriate for the same reasons an expert witness is not permitted to offer legal conclusions. See Anderson v. Suiters, 499 F.3d 1228, 1237 (10th Cir. 2007)("While expert witnesses may testify as to the ultimate matter at issue, Fed. R. Evid. 704(a), this refers to testimony on ultimate facts; testimony on ultimate questions of law, i.e., legal opinions or conclusions, is not favored.") (citing Specht v. Jensen, 853 F.2d 805, 808 (10th Cir. 1988) ). It is the Court's obligation to determine the applicable law; issues related to the interpretation of written contracts, including insurance policies, are legal, not factual. Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Chester O'Donley & Assoc., 972 S.W.2d 1, 5-6 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1998). The Court is unwilling to abdicate its role to either the Special Master appointed by the District Court of Oklahoma County or the expert witness, Richard Dykstra, whose report the injured-party Defendants also submitted in support of their position. (Doc. No. 93-7).
Factor v. Western Express, Inc., No. 114,498 (Okla. Civ. App. May 11, 2018) Doc. No. 114-1 at 19.
Next the Court must determine what law applies to this dispute. When the Court's jurisdiction is based upon diversity of citizenship, it should apply the conflict of laws rules of the state in which it sits. Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Electric Mfg. Co., 313 U.S. 487, 496-97, 61 S.Ct. 1020, 85 S.Ct. 1477 (1941).
Kentucky Bluegrass Contracting, LLC v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., 363 P.3d 1270, 1274 (Okla. Civ. App. 2015). The parties argue between application of Oklahoma law, advocated by Plaintiff and Defendants Western Express and Schneider, and Tennessee law, endorsed by the injured-party Defendants. Each argues, however, that the result is the same regardless of which law applies. The Court assumes for the time being and for the sake of argument, that a conflict exists.
A court sitting in diversity jurisdiction applies the substantive law of Oklahoma as the forum state. See Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Tolliver, 636 F.3d 1273, 1277 (10th Cir. 2011). This includes Oklahoma's choice of law principles. Boyd Rosene & Assocs. v. Kan. Mun. Gas Agency, 174 F.3d 1115, 1118 (10th Cir. 1999). "The validity, interpretation, application and effect of the provisions of a motor vehicle insurance contract should be determined in accordance with the laws of the state in which the contract was made, unless those provisions are contrary to the public policy of Oklahoma, or unless the facts demonstrate that another jurisdiction has the
The Policy here was issued by the Illinois office of National Casualty to Western Express, an interstate trucking company with a Tennessee address. Oklahoma's only connection to this action is that the pileup occurred in Oklahoma. The Court's review of the pleadings in the underlying actions reveals that two individuals, Larry Barnes and Carol Newell, who settled their claims, were residents of Oklahoma. Additionally, there are allegations in at least one filing that McKinley Ranches, whose truck was involved in the pileup, was domiciled in Oklahoma. The parties advocating for Oklahoma law, however, rely primarily on the location of the accident to argue that Oklahoma has the most significant relationship to the dispute.
In Bohannan, the Oklahoma Supreme Court considered whether to apply the law of Oklahoma or California to determine the effect of uninsured motorist provisions in an insurance policy. The accident occurred in Oklahoma between two Oklahoma drivers, one of whom had a California resident as a passenger. The passenger had UM coverage under a policy issued in California. The court was called upon to consider whether the UM benefits for the California insurance policy should be construed under California or Oklahoma law. The court enunciated the test set forth above. Subsequent thereto the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, considering contractual interpretation in Roby v. Bailey, 856 P.2d 1013, 1015 (Okla. Civ. App. 1993), held:
Id. at 1015. The Court finds the involvement of three Oklahoma residents in the sixteen-vehicle pileup combined with the fact that the accident occurred in Oklahoma insufficient to give Oklahoma law the most significant relationship. Accordingly, Oklahoma law would apply to the exclusion of Tennessee law, only if Tennessee law violates the public policy of Oklahoma.
Neither the insurer nor the insured directly argues that application of Tennessee law would violate Oklahoma public policy. The mere existence of a conflict with Oklahoma law is not tantamount to a violation of public policy.
Next, the Court must discern Tennessee law and whether it conflicts with Oklahoma law. The general rules of contractual interpretation in both states are the same. As in Oklahoma, Tennessee courts generally interpret insurance policies "in the same manner as any other contract." Am. Justice Ins. Reciprocal v. Hutchison, 15 S.W.3d 811, 814 (Tenn. 2000). The Court's goal in resolving a dispute concerning contract interpretation is to determine the intention of the parties based on the "usual, natural, and ordinary meaning of the contractual language." Guiliano v. Cleo, Inc., 995 S.W.2d 88, 95 (Tenn. 1999). If possible, the Court must construe all provisions in a contract "in harmony with each other ... to promote consistency and to avoid repugnancy between the various provisions of a single contract." Id. The entire policy, including insuring clauses and exceptions thereto, is read as a whole. Am. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Lawyers Title Ins. Corp., 793 F.2d 780, 782 (6th Cir. 1986). In addition, exceptions should not be construed so narrowly as to defeat their evident purpose. Standard Fire Ins. Co., 972 S.W.2d at 8. The Tennessee Supreme Court provided a sequence for consideration of an insurance policy: (1) the declarations, (2) the insuring agreements and definitions, (3) the exclusions, (4) the conditions, and (5) the endorsements. Id. at 7. This sequence provides a logical starting point for the Court's analysis.
The Declaration page provides that the Policy consists of "Commercial Auto Coverage Part" and the Supplemental Declarations, quoted above, indicate that the most National Casualty will pay for "Any One Accident or Loss" is $1,000,000. As set forth above, the insuring agreement provides "Liability Coverage;" that is, National Casualty agreed to pay "all sums an `insured' legally must pay as damages because of `bodily injury' or `property damage' to which this insurance applies, caused by an `accident' and resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of a covered `auto'." "Accident" includes continuous or repeated exposure to the same conditions resulting in "bodily injury" or "property damage". The exclusions are contained within the Policy's "Limit of Insurance", quoted above.
The injured-party Defendants assert that the term "accident" as used in the Policy is ambiguous, and therefore should be broadly construed to find coverage.
An insurance policy provision is ambiguous if more than one reasonable interpretation exists. Am. Justice Ins. Reciprocal, 15 S.W.3d at 815. However, "[a] strained construction may not be placed on the language used to find ambiguity where none exists." Vencor, Inc. v. Standard Life & Accident Ins. Co., 317 F.3d 629, 635 (6th Cir. 2003) (quoting Farmers-Peoples Bank v. Clemmer, 519 S.W.2d 801, 805 (Tenn. 1975) ). In addition, ambiguity will not be found simply because parties disagree as to the interpretation of provisions. Id.
Defendants' interpretation of Tennessee law, specifically their contention that there were as many accidents as there were injured or killed parties, is premised on a 1954 case from the Supreme Court of Tennessee, Kuhn's of Brownsville, Inc. v. Bituminous Cas. Co., 197 Tenn. 60, 270 S.W.2d 358 (1954). Therein the court considered the extent of an insurer's liability for two collapsed buildings. The first, adjacent to the east of the insured property, collapsed the day excavation work was performed on the insured building. The second, to the west of the insured property, collapsed two days later. The court noted that the May 27, 1952 excavation work on the insured property was the proximate cause of both collapses. The first question presented was whether an exclusion exempted the insurer from coverage for personal property loss caused by excavation. After answering the first inquiry in the negative, the court was called upon to assess the amount of coverage available. The court's single-paragraph analysis provides little insight into the rationale behind its decision:
Id. at 65-66, 270 S.W.2d 358. As a result of Kuhn's, commentators concluded that Tennessee follows the "effects" test for construing insurance contracts, without regard to context.
The "effects" theory requires consideration of coverage from the vantage
Neither the parties' briefs nor the Court's independent research reveals any Tennessee case applying Kuhn's in the context of automobile insurance much less in the multi-vehicle context. Although the injured-party Defendants rely on Kuhn's and its progeny, the Court declines to do so given that (a) the express language of the Policy herein does not support application of Kuhn's, where the court did not address the policy definition of accident or other relevant policy terms; and (2) the rationale provided by the Tennessee court in Kuhn's, focusing on the two days separating the two collapses, is absent in this case, where the injuries and fatalities occurred on the same day at nearly the same time. See also Brooks v. Memphis & Shelby Cnty. Hosp. Auth., 717 S.W.2d 292, 297 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1986)(injury on one day and death days later by virtue of two separate acts of negligence by two employees were two accidents for purposes of recovery under the Governmental Tort Liability Act).
Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Light, No. 2:13-cv-02600-JTF-tmp, 2014 WL 12531101 (W.D. Tenn. Dec. 9, 2014).
As noted above, the Policy language herein provides the framework of this Court's analysis. The NCC Policy contains a limitation not contained in Kuhn's. Courts interpreting similar exclusions have concluded that by its terms, such language indicates the parties' intention to rely on a cause theory not an effects theory.
Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance § 39 Number of Accidents or Occurrences (2017). "Because the effect theory determines the number of accidents by the number of persons who sustained injuries (and the number of vehicles or other property that sustained damage, it has sometimes been called the `windfall' theory, has been said to violate `common sense,' and `has not been applied to automobile liability cases, perhaps because automobile accidents are more readily understood than cases involving damage to realty.' Ohlsson at 2.05[3][b]. Its rejection has therefore been encouraged." State Auto Property and Cas. Co. v. Matty, 286 Ga. 611,690 S.E.2d 614, 618 (2010).
12 Couch on Ins. § 170:7 (footnotes omitted). The phrase "one accident" has been used to limit an insurer's liability for nearly a century. In Hyer v. Inter-Insurance Exchange Auto. Club, 77 Cal.App. 343, 246 P. 1055 (1926), the insured collided with an oncoming vehicle which broke the insured's steering wheel. As a result, the insured lost control and his vehicle deflected and hit another car. The court ruled there was a single accident, and noted that "the use of the word `claims,' in the plural, in connection with the words `one accident,' clearly indicates that the parties understood that there might be several claims arising from one accident — as, for instance, where, as here, the vehicles of two or more persons are injured — but that though there might be several injuries and therefore several claims, the total liability of the insurer should not exceed $1,000 if the claims all arose from one accident." Id. at 1059.
In Banner v. Raisin Valley, Inc., 31 F.Supp.2d 591 (N.D. Ohio 1998), the court considered a multi-vehicle incident and a policy containing language nearly identical to this action. The insured entered a lane of oncoming traffic and hit a car, then hit a pickup traveling a few car lengths behind, and then hit an SUV behind the pickup before hitting a fourth car. The court had little difficulty concluding there was a single accident for coverage purposes.
Id. at 592 (footnotes omitted).
In Matty, the court considered coverage for a vehicle that struck two bicyclists in succession. The policy at issue had a $100,000 limit for "each accident," which was the "maximum limit of liability for all damages resulting from any one auto accident." The policy did not otherwise define "accident."
State Auto Property and Cas. Co. v. Matty, 286 Ga. 623, 690 S.E.2d 611, 612-13 (2010).
This case bears similarity to Dutch Maid Logistics, Inc. v. Acuity, Nos. 91932, 92002, 2009 WL 1019857 (Ohio Apr. 16 2009), with regard to the type of accident and policy terms at issue. The liability policy issued to Dutch Maid included the same liability language, the same limitation regardless of the number of vehicles involved, the same definition of "accident," and a policy limit of $1,000,000 per accident. Id. at *3. Five claims were filed against the insured from other vehicles involved in a multi-vehicle incident; the insurer argued there was but a single accident for purposes of policy limits, the court stated:
Id. at *4.
In assessing the number of accidents under a similar limitation in a 3-vehicle incident, the Supreme Court of Iowa noted,
As noted, the policy issued by Farmers to Crivaro leaves the term "accident" undefined. Yet the clause stating that the insurer's liability is limited "regardless of the number of ... [v]ehicles involved in the auto accident" is an important clue to its meaning. See Boelman [v. Grinnell Mut. Reinsurance Co.], 826 N.W.2d [494] at 501 [(Iowa 2013)] ("We read the policy as a whole when determining whether the contract has two equally plausible interpretations, not seriatim by clauses."). This language sweeps multi-vehicle events within the definition of a single accident. And if every impact constituted a separate accident, this language would have little or no meaning because the probability of more than two vehicles colliding at the same instant is very low. Id. at 502 ("We will not interpret an insurance policy to render any part superfluous, unless doing so is reasonable and necessary to preserve the structure and format of the provision.")
Just v. Farmers Auto Ins. Ass'n, 877 N.W.2d 467, 472 (Iowa 2016).
The Court finds that, given the facts upon which the parties agree, there were two "accidents" for purposes of the National Casualty policy. The initial impact between the BMW driven by Ori and the semi-truck driven by Defendant Schneider was the first. After that impact, both drivers moved their vehicles to the interior shoulder, although it is alleged that Schneider's truck protruded into the adjacent westbound lane or was moving very slowly on the shoulder and into that lane. There is no evidence that after Crittenhen hit Schneider's trailer that Schneider moved his truck
Id. at 91, 93. The facts as set forth by the parties do not establish liability among those involved in the accident nor should they, given the pending federal and state court litigation; questions of contributory negligence abound given the conditions on the date of the accident. However, there are sufficient undisputed facts from which the Court can conclude that as to bodily injury/property damage caused by the impact between Defendant Schneider and the car driven by Ori with Isso as a passenger, there is a $1,000,000 coverage limit. The remaining impacts share $1,000,000 in available coverage contingent upon a finding of liability as to Defendants Western Express/Schneider.
The cases regarding the "cause" approach often address the issue of the tortfeasor's control over the vehicle. See Progressive Preferred Ins. Co. v. Derby, No. F-01-002, 2001 WL 672177 (Ohio June 15, 2001). The injured-party Defendants argue that, if the Court uses the "cause" test, the control approach and the separation by time approach mandate that more than one accident occurred for coverage purposes. Even if this Court considered control and timing as the dispositive issues, the result would be the same. From the parties' submissions, Mr. Schneider was in control at the time he impacted the BMW, and at best maintained control until he was hit from behind by Mr. Crittenden. After the impact between Mr. Schneider's semi-truck and the Crittenden vehicle, his ability to avoid additional impacts was not dependent on his ability to maintain control of his vehicle; his vehicle was at that time relocated into the westbound lanes of traffic by the collisions. Although he may have had the ability to control his vehicle until he was hit by Crittenden, he never gained control of the situation. Id. at * 4.
As a result of the above, the Court concludes there is no conflict between Tennessee and Oklahoma law. In Republic Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Moore, 493 Fed. Appx. 907 (10th Cir. 2012), the court held that all of the injuries arising from contaminated food prepared by a restaurant constituted a single occurrence, despite sickening hundreds of people with E. coli over a period of ten days. The court considered it a single occurrence even though the contaminated food originated from two locations, a restaurant and a catered event at a church. The court adopted the position of the insurer that the injuries were caused by the continued preparation and service of contaminated food, that there was but one proximate cause of all the injuries, which was contamination originating at the restaurant. Id. at 911-12. Oklahoma utilizes the same cause test the Court predicts would apply in Tennessee, and as a result, there is no conflict, the principles set forth above would apply, and as the Court concluded, there would be two "accidents" and $2,000,000 in coverage available from the National Casualty Policy.
National Casualty asks the Court to enter a declaratory judgment finding that the limit of coverage is $1,000,000, which is subject to the $900,000 self-insured retention obligation of Western Express under the Policy, that the coverage has been exhausted by virtue of the settlement of certain claims arising from the March 31, 2012 impacts and that it has no further obligation under the Policy. The facts presented to the Court do not permit the Court to determine whether Plaintiff's obligations under the Policy have been fulfilled. Although certain claims were settled, there is no indication in the record as to the amount of the settlements so as to fully grant Plaintiff's motion. Additionally, with regard to the issue of the self-insured retention, the parties' briefs are inadequate to permit the Court to draw any conclusions. The Court finds that the maximum amount of National Casualty's liability for bodily injury with regard to the incidents of March 31, 2012 is $2,000,000.00 because there were two "accidents" under the terms of the Policy, without consideration of the self-insured retention. Judgment shall be entered accordingly.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 19th day of November 2018.
Id. at *3, n. 2.
Id. at *3. Quoting TIG v. Smart Sch., 401 F.Supp.2d 1334, 1347 (S.D. Fla. 2005), the Merryland court noted that "the definition of `sexual abuse occurrence' addresses whether separately covered claims will be treated as one or more occurrences for the purposes of determining the extent of TIG's exposure under the applicable policy." Id. at *6. The court concluded that the acts of abuse against the various victims as well as the negligent hiring were one occurrence under the Policy. In concluding its ruling the court declined "to rule in favor of the Defendant Parents based solely on public policy grounds ... being mindful of the admonition against rewriting contracts.... Nor can the Court refuse to grant properly based declaratory judgment in favor of [the insurer] simply because doing so may result in victims of the heinous acts ... being unable to collect damages for their injuries." Id. at *8. The court made no mention of either a causation or effect theory, focusing on the language of the policy.