In
its decision from yesterday, June 30, 2014 in the case of Erie Ins. Group v. Catania, 2014 Pa.Super. 136, --- A.3d --- (Pa. Super. June 30,
2014 Shogan, Olsen, and Wecht, J.J.)(Op. by Shogan, J.), the Pennsylvania Superior Court handed down its latest opinion upholding
the validity of the regular use exclusion.
The
Erie v. Catania involved an accident
where a person was injured by an uninsured motorist while in the course and
scope of his employment. The Plaintiff pursued an uninsured motorist (UM)
claim with his personal carrier, Erie, which denied coverage under a regular
use exclusion. The trial court found in favor of Erie and the insured
appealed.
The
Superior Court affirms the trial court decision. Following its recent
2013 decision in Hand v. City of
Philadelphia, 65 A.2d 916 (Pa. Super. 2013) as well as the Supreme Court
opinion in Williams v. GEICO, 32 A.3d
1195 (Pa. 2011) and another Superior Court opinion in Brink v. Erie Ins. Group, 940 A.2d 528 (Pa. Super. 2008), the Erie v. Catania court essentially held
that the Plaintiff was not entitled to relief while driving a delivery truck
for his employer which he did not own, which was not insured by Erie, and which
the Plaintiff regularly used.
Once
again upholding the All-American principle that you can’t get something for
nothing, the Erie v. Catania court
also held that the Erie policy only covered personal vehicles and that the
policy’s coverage and premium terms never contemplated exposure for injuries
that occurred in a non-owned work vehicle.
Accordingly, the court found that the Plaintiff did not legally have any
reasonable expectation of coverage under the Erie policy.
Click HERE to review the Erie v. Catania decision.
To view other Regular Use Exclusion posts here on Tort Talk, click this LINK.
I send thanks to Attorney Scott B. Cooper of the Harrisburg, PA law firm of Schmidt Kramer for bringing this case to my attention.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
You Can't Get Something for Nothing: Regular Use Exclusion Upheld - Again
Labels:
Automobile Insurance,
Regular Use Exclusion,
Regularly Used Non-Owned Exclusion,
UM,
Uninsured Motorists Claims
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