NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANT,
v.
DADE MOVING & STORAGE, INC., APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1996-12-04
No. 95-3488
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and NESBITT and SHEVIN, JJ.
683 So. 2d 1113 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1996)

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

National Insurance Company appealed a summary judgment awarding Dade Moving & Storage coverage for stolen cargo and moving equipment under a commercial auto policy. The court held that cargo theft was excluded under the policy's care, custody, and control exclusion, but moving equipment was covered as part of the vehicle's insured equipment.


Holding

The stolen cargo fell squarely within the policy's care, custody, and control exclusion and was therefore not covered. However, the moving equipment constituted part of the vehicle's insured equipment and was a covered loss, as the policy covered the auto and its equipment and ambiguities in insurance contracts must be construed in favor of the insured.


Headnotes

[1] An insurance policy exclusion for property in the insured's "care, custody or control" applies to property transported by the insured.

[2] An insurance policy exclusion for property in the insured's "care, custody or control" does not apply to liability assumed under a sidetrack agreement.

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“This insurance does not apply to any of the following: 6: care, custody or control: 'property damage' to or 'covered pollution cost or expense' involving property transported by the 'insured' or in the insured's care, custody or control.”

Establishes the policy's explicit exclusion for cargo and property in the insured's care, custody, and control

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Dade brought its moving van to a truck repair shop for repairs while the vehicle was loaded with cargo and moving equipment. The repair took several d…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
NESBITT, Judge.

NESBITT, Judge.

Dade Moving & Storage, Inc. (Dade) brought one of its vehicles to a local truck company for repair. Originally, the repair was to be done quickly, and Dade left the truck loaded. Aboard was the merchandise Dade was transporting and the truck’s moving equipment. The repair eventually took several days, during which time the vehicle along with the cargo and moving equipment were stolen. The truck was later recovered. Gone, however, were a number of the cargo items and the moving equipment.

Dade had in force a commercial auto coverage policy with National Insurance Company and sued under the policy for the loss. National denied coverage on both the cargo and equipment. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. After hearing argument, the trial court entered final summary judgment in Dade’s favor. National argues that the policy at issue did not afford coverage for the cargo. We agree. “Section 11-Liability Coverage B” provided:

Exclusions

This insurance does not apply to any of the following:

6: care, custody or control:
“property damage” to or “covered pollution cost or expense” involving property transported by the “insured” or in the insured’s care, custody or control. But this exclusion does not apply to liability assumed under a sidetrack agreement.

Dade’s cargo theft claim falls squarely within this exclusion. A second policy provision expressly excluded coverage for the benefit of any person or organization holding, storing or transporting property for a fee. Thus, in this ease of contract interpretation, reviewing the contract, there was simply no coverage provided for the stolen cargo.

A different analysis, however, is applicable to the moving equipment, which the insurer also argues was not a covered loss. We have long held that a contract of insurance is to be construed so as to give effect to the parties’ intent and if uncertainty is present in the policy it should be construed against the insurer and in favor of the insured. Stuyvesant Ins. Co. v. Butler, 314 So. 2d 567 (Fla.1975); Aetna Ins. Co. v. Webb, 251 So. 2d 321, 323 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971); see Travelers Ins. Co. v. Smith, 328 So. 2d 870 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976).

The instant policy provides coverage for the auto and “its equipment,” and mentions coverage for equipment in several sections. Because the vehicle insured was a moving van, absent further definition of the term “equipment,” the trial court properly construed that term in Dade’s favor, and held the loss of the moving equipment was a covered loss.

Accordingly, we reverse that part of the order under review construing the policy at issue as affording coverage for the lost cargo, we affirm the balance of the order.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw