ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANT,
v.
ROY G. JACKSON, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1985-02-13
No. 84-429
RYDER, C.J., and OTT, J., concur.
463 So. 2d 538 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1985) Negative Treatment
Cited by 1 case

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Allstate Insurance Company appealed a judgment requiring it to provide personal injury protection (PIP) benefits to an insured who was injured while attempting to repair a refrigerator in a nonowned motor home. The court affirmed, holding that the injury arose out of the use of the motor vehicle even though it occurred outside the vehicle while repairing a non-essential component.


Holding

The court held that Jackson's injuries arose out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the motor vehicle under Florida Statute Section 627.736(1), requiring Allstate to provide PIP benefits. The injury had a sufficient nexus to the vehicle's use because Jackson was preparing the motor home for its intended use as a camping vehicle.


Headnotes

[1] Personal injury protection benefits are required for injuries arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle.

[2] The phrase "arising out of" in the context of motor vehicle insurance coverage does not require proximate causation but rather a nexus or causal connection between the mo…

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Key Quotes

“arising out of" does not mean "proximately caused by" the use of the motor vehicle, but merely requires a nexus between the motor vehicle and the injury.”

Establishes the legal standard for determining whether an injury is covered under PIP benefits—a nexus requirement rather than proximate causation.

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Facts & Procedural History

Roy Jackson, insured by Allstate, was injured on July 16, 1982, while standing beside an Oakley-owned Southwind motor home preparing it for a family c…

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Opinion of the Court
CAMPBELL, Judge.

CAMPBELL, Judge.

Appellant, Allstate Insurance Company, seeks review of the final judgment finding that appellant is obligated to provide personal injury protection benefits under its policy to appellee. We affirm.

The issue on appeal is whether personal injury protection (PIP) benefits under a policy insuring a motor vehicle owner, cover the person insured who is injured while standing outside of a nonowned motor vehicle and attempting to repair a part of that vehicle which is not essential to the motor vehicle’s use as a motor vehicle.

On July 16, 1982, Roy Jackson, appellee, who was insured by appellant, was injured when he attempted to repair a refrigerator in a Southwind motor home owned by Oakley. Oakley’s family and appellee’s family were planning to use the motor home the next day to go camping. While standing beside the motor home, appellee took a wrench and turned a valve on the refrigerator to see if the valve was open or closed. When the valve turned, liquid Freon spewed from the valve into appellee’s right eye causing injuries, the extent of which are not disputed.

It is not disputed that the motor home fits within the definition of “motor vehicle” contained in appellant’s policy.

The trial court found that the incident arose out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a vehicle as provided under section 627.736, Florida Statutes (1982), and appellant was obligated to provide PIP benefits to its insured. This appeal followed.

Section 627.736(1) requires that insur-anee policies provide PIP benefits for injuries to the insured “arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor ve-hide.”

Appellant states that the purpose of the PIP statute is to provide swift and sure recovery for victims of automobile accidents. Appellant urges that the instrumentality causing the injury must be the motor vehicle during its use as a motor vehicle. Appellant argues that the injury which occurred while appellee stood outside the motor vehicle repairing the refrigerator, did not arise from the use or maintenance of the motor vehicle as a motor vehicle and, therefore, the statute does not mandate coverage. We do not agree.

The Florida Supreme Court construed the clause “arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle” in Government Employees Insurance Company v. Novak, 453 So. 2d 1116 (Fla.1984). In Novak, the insured was in her car when she was shot in the face following her refusal to give the attacker a ride. The court stated that “arising out of” does not mean “proximately caused by” the use of the motor vehicle, but merely requires a nexus between the motor vehicle and the injury. The court, citing Novak v. Government Employees Insurance Company, 424 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), stated that the inquiry “should be whether the attack upon the decedent arose out of, or flowed from, the use of the vehicle.” Id. at 180. The court found there was a sufficient causal connection between the use of the motor vehicle and the insured’s injuries to hold the insurer liable for PIP benefits.

This court recently addressed the same issue in Allstate Insurance Company v. Robert Gillespie, et al., 455 So. 2d 617 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). In that case, the insured’s vehicle was at a traffic light when an individual approached on foot; a brawl began resulting in the pedestrian being shot. The pedestrian sued the insured. The court held' that the insured’s liability policy, which promised to defend the insured if he was sued, covered the incident due to the connection between the use of the car and the injury suffered.

Here, appellee was injured while he was preparing the mobile home for use by his family and himself in the manner contemplated for its use. Based on Novak and Gillespie, we hold that his injuries arose from, or flowed from, the use of the motor vehicle. Therefore, PIP benefits should be extended to appellee.

Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the trial court.

RYDER, C.J., and OTT, J., concur.


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