An insurer does not have to defend or indemnify a refrigeration sales and service company in an auto care negligence lawsuit because of a policy exclusion, a federal appeals court said Thursday, upholding a lower court decision.
Seffner, Florida-based Tasman Services LLC purchased a commercial general liability policy from Lansing, Michigan-based Southern-Owners Insurance Co. which provided coverage, including for bodily injury and property damage, resulting from the use of a car not owned by the company but used in its business.
But the coverage did not apply if there were other policies that provided similar coverage, according to the ruling by the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta in Southern-Owners Insurance Co. v. Tasman Services LLC.
In August 201
6, an employee driving a U-Haul truck rented to Tasman collided head-on with another vehicle, causing serious and permanent injuries to the woman driving it.At the time of the accident, the employee was insured under a GEICO policy that provided coverage for bodily injury and property damage resulting from her use of an automobile, and there was a U-Haul lease that provided coverage for Tasman and all authorized drivers.
The injured driver sued the Tasman employee and Tasman in state court, claiming the company was vicariously liable for its employee’s negligence.
Southern-Owners agreed to defend the company subject to a reservation of rights but filed a complaint in US District Court in Tampa, Florida, seeking a declaratory judgment that it was not obligated to defend or indemnify in the case.
The district court ruled in favor of the insurer and was upheld by a three-judge appeals court.
The panel said it disagreed with Tasman and Injured Driver that an 11th Circuit ruling in a comparable case involving the issue of other similar coverage was ambiguous.
Attorneys in the case did not respond to requests for comment.
In January, the 11th Circuit upheld a $1.1 million jury verdict against Southern-Owners for its handling of a construction accident in which a worker lost his ability to walk.
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