Great West Casualty Co. v. Brambila
2022 IL App (1st) 210939 (Ill. App., 2022)Words & Phrases
Uninsured Motorist Coverage: Definitions Uninsured VehicleTrial Judge
Allen P. WalkerAppellate Judge
HoffmanHolding
Insured motorist's denial of liability does not transform him into an uninsured motorist.Fact Summary
Brambila allegedly suffered injuries when his vehicle was struck by a vehicle being driven by John Grygorcewicz, who died in the incident. He first filed an uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) claim with Great West, with whom he had two insurance policies through his employer, Port to Port, Inc. Great West denied Brambila's UM claim on the basis that Grygorcewicz was, at the time of the incident, insured by State Farm Insurance Company, precluding the availability of UM benefits.
Brambila also filed a common-law negligence action against Grygorcewicz's estate. During the course of that litigation, Grygorcewicz's estate asserted an "act of God" defense, claiming that Grygorcewicz was not liable for the accident. Brambila presented that development to Great West and argued that Grygorcewicz's estate's denial of liability through this act-of-God defense was akin to a denial of insurance coverage, rendering Grygorcewicz an uninsured motorist.
Great West eventually moved for summary judgment, arguing that Grygorcewicz did not meet the definition of "uninsured motorist" because he was in fact insured at the time of the accident. Great West further asserted that Grygorcewicz's estate's act-of-God defense merely denied liability and was not the same as his insurer denying coverage, which had not happened and would be required to make UM benefits available to Brambila. In response, Brambila argued that, when determining the availability of UM benefits, the issue is not whether Grygorcewicz was insured at the time of the accident, but rather whether that insurance is now available to compensate him for his injuries.