AMERICAN LIBERTY INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANT,
v.
DONALD D. GAFFNEY, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1970-01-21
No. 69-155
LILES and MANN, JJ., concur.
230 So. 2d 720 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1970) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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

American Liberty Insurance Company appealed a judgment finding it liable under a motorcycle insurance policy for injuries caused by an unauthorized driver. The court reversed, holding that clear exclusionary language in the policy endorsement precluded coverage when a person other than the named insured or family member operated the motorcycle.


Holding

The clear and unambiguous exclusionary language in the policy endorsement applied, and coverage did not extend to McGill's operation of the motorcycle. The endorsement purposefully excluded from the definition of "insured" any person using the motorcycle with permission of the insured, which McGill was, and thus the appellant had no duty to provide coverage.


Headnotes

[1] An insurance policy endorsement that clearly and unambiguously defines the term "insured" is not subject to strict construction rules applicable to exclusionary provision…

[2] An insurance policy endorsement can amend the definition of "insured" as set out in the main policy.

Previewing 2 of 4 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

“It is clear that the appellant purposely and intentionally excluded from the word "insured", by the above-quoted endorsement, any person using the Honda with the permission of the insured, in which category James McGill falls.”

Establishes that the endorsement's exclusionary language was intentional and directly applicable to McGill's situation

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

Appellee obtained motorcycle liability insurance naming himself as the applicant and his nephew James Antilia as the principal operator, with "NONE" l…

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
HOBSON, Chief Judge.

HOBSON, Chief Judge.

Appellant-plaintiff appeals a final judgment entered by the court below in favor of the appellee-defendant whereby it was held that the appellant was liable to the appellee under an insurance policy issued by appellant to appellee.

The appellee is the uncle of James Robert Antilia. Appellee applied for bodily injury liability and property damage liability insurance on a Honda motorcycle which was principally operated by his nephew, James Antilia. The application for insurance provided for the name of the applicant, principal operator, and other drivers. This application was signed by the appellee and contained his name as the applicant; James Antilia as the principal operator; and under the space provided for “other drivers” there appeared in large capital letters the word NONE.

*721The appellant issued its policy in the name of the appellee. There was a special endorsement attached to the policy entitled “Amendment of Insuring' Agreements Motorcycle, Motorscooter & Motorbike Endorsement.” This endorsement specifically provided that the words “motor vehicle or automobile” as used in the policy included only a motorcycle, motorbike or motorscooter. This endorsement further provided:

“INSURING AGREEMENT III DEFINITION OF INSURED: With respect to the insurance for Bodily injury and Property Damage Liability, and Collision and Upset, the unqualified word ‘insured’ includes only the Named insured and if the Named insured is an individual, his spouse, if a resident of the same household, and Members of the insured’s Family It is futher [sic] understood and agreed that such insurance as is afforded by the policy for Bodily injury Liability, for Property Damage Liability, for Medical Payments and for Collision or Upset does not apply while the automobile is operated, driven, or manipulated by any other person than the named insured or a member of the named insured’s family, resident in the same household, unless otherwise shown as follows: -”

The facts upon which the controversy as to coverage under the policy arose are summarized as follows: The nephew of ap-pellee, James Antilia, and his friend, James McGill, were at a skating rink when it began to rain. Antilia had left the key in the Honda and McGill asked Antilia if he could move the Honda out of the rain. Antilia granted McGill permission to move the Honda and while McGill was operating it, caused personal injuries to Laura June Wilson.

The lower court held that the operation of the Honda by McGill was a limited use to which Antilia consented and fell without the purview of the exclusionary provisions of the insurance policy contained in the above-quoted endorsement.

The endorsement quoted above is clear, plain and unambiguous as to the definition of the word “insured” and such word includes only the named insured (appellee), his spouse if a resident of the same household, and members of the insured’s family (James Antilia). This endorsement specifically amends the definition of the word “insured” as set out in the policy itself. Under the definition of “insured” as it appears in the policy proper, the appellant would have to provide coverage under the facts of this case to the appellee. This is so because the policy defines “insured” to include, among- others, any person using the Honda with the permission of the insured. It is clear that the appellant purposely and intentionally excluded from the word “insured”, by the above-quoted endorsement, any person using the Honda with the permission of the insured, in which category James McGill falls. It is also without dispute that the application signed by appellee specifically stated that there would be no other drivers of the Honda other than himself and James Antilia.

The rule of strict construction applicable to exclusionary provisions of an insurance policy is not applicable when the language of the policy is so clear, plain, and unambiguous as to leave no room for construction.1 Under the facts of this case the exclusionary provisions in the endorsement apply and the lower court was in error in holding that the insurance policy issued by the appellant provided coverage to the appellee.

For the foregoing reasons the final judgment entered below is reversed.

LILES and MANN, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Craine v. Maddie Virginia GEE, 276 So. 2d 521 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973)
    …App.1965, 175 So. 2d 581; Kickliter v. National Union Fire Insurance Co., Fla.App.1966, 188 So. 2d 872; Ringenberger v. General Accident F. & L. Assur. Corp., Fla.App.1968, 214 So. 2d 376; American Liberty Insurance Company v. Gaffney, Fla.App.1970, 230 So. 2d 720. We have considered appellant’s other point on appeal and found it to be without merit. The judgment appealed is Affirmed. MANN, C. J., and LILES, J., concur.…
  • Ranger Ins. Co. v. Mathews, 267 So. 2d 867 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
    …is, appellees’ argument that it is fraudulent for an insurance company to provide coverage in the “insuring agreements” and eliminate the coverage in an exclusion is not well founded. See American Liberty Insurance Company v. Gaffney, Fla.App. 1970, 230 So. 2d 720; Kickliter v. National Union Fire Insurance Company, Fla.App. 1966, 188 So. 2d 872; Alabama Farm Bureau Mutual Casualty Insurance Company v. Goodman, 279 Ala. 538, 188 So. 2d 268 (1966). There have been cases, many of which are cited by the appellee…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw