State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Osborne
2020 IL App (5th) 190060 (Ill. App., 2020)Words & Phrases
Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Definitions Non Owned AutoTrial Judge
Thomas J. FosterAppellate Judge
BoieHolding
UIM coverage not triggered because policyholder’s regular car was not "out of use," thus rental car did not qualify as a "temporary substitute car."Fact Summary
This case arises out of a head-on automobile collision that occurred on June 21, 2015, in Fulton County, Georgia. The accident involved a 2015 Chrysler (Hertz rental car) that defendant, Michael Osborne, rented from Hertz Corporation (Hertz). The passengers in the Hertz rental car included Michael Furlow, Halle Young, and Clayton Flood. Furlow and Young died from injuries sustained in the accident. Flood survived the accident but sustained severe injuries.
At the time of the accident, Michael and his wife, Anna Osborne, owned a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban that they insured with the plaintiff, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm). In this decision we will refer to this policy as “the State Farm auto policy.” This appeal centers on the interpretation of the language of this policy. The defendants, Connie Bush, as independent administrator of the estate of Furlow, deceased, and Kimberly Ingoldsby, individually, as mother and next friend of Flood, a minor, and as independent administrator of the estate of Young, deceased, maintain that the State Farm auto policy provided Furlow, Young, and Flood with coverage under the policy’s medical payments coverage and under its underinsured motor vehicle coverage. State Farm disagrees with the defendants’ interpretation of the policy and filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a judgment declaring that there was no coverage under the policy.
All parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The circuit court ruled against State Farm and entered a summary judgment holding that the State Farm auto policy provided coverage for Furlow, Young, and Flood’s injuries because the Hertz rental car qualified as a “Temporary Substitute Car” under the policy’s language. State Farm now appeals the circuit court’s judgment. For the following reasons, we reverse and remand with directions for the circuit court to enter a summary judgment in favor of State Farm.