DocketNumber: No. 07CA26.
Citation Numbers: 901 N.E.2d 835, 179 Ohio App. 3d 298, 2008 Ohio 5909
Judges: Harsha, Kline, McFarland
Filed Date: 11/10/2008
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 10/19/2024
[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *Page 300 {¶ 1} Walter Robson and Debi Oliver1 appeal the trial court's decision entering summary judgment in favor of the Quentin E. Cadd Agency on their negligent-procurement *Page 301 claim. They contend that genuine issues of material fact remain regarding whether Cadd breached its duty to provide the uninsured-underinsured-motorists ("UM/UIM") coverage that Oliver allegedly requested. Oliver stated that she requested a policy with "full coverage," which she assumed would include UM/UIM coverage. However, Cadd's agent stated that Oliver requested her to remove UM/UIM coverage from the policy. This is a factual dispute that precludes summary judgment. Moreover, Oliver's failure to read the policy does not preclude her claim. Instead, her failure to read the policy is a matter of comparative negligence that is reserved to the factfinder. Accordingly, the trial court erroneously entered judgment in Cadd's favor.
{¶ 2} However, because Robson cannot demonstrate that Cadd owed him any duty to obtain UM/UIM coverage, the trial court appropriately entered summary judgment in Cadd's favor as it relates to his negligent-procurement claim. Therefore, we sustain the sole assignment of error as it relates to Oliver but overrule it as it relates to Robson. We reverse the trial court's judgment in part and affirm it in part, and we remand this matter for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
{¶ 4} Approximately two years after the policy was issued, Oliver's employee, Robson, sustained injuries in an automobile accident involving the dump truck. Oliver and Robson eventually settled their claim against the tortfeasor and then sought UM/UIM coverage under the policy Cadd had procured through Progressive Preferred Insurance Company. Progressive denied the claim. Oliver and Robson then filed a complaint against Cadd and Progressive. They alleged that Cadd negligently failed to procure an insurance policy that contained UM/UIM *Page 302 coverage. They further sought a declaratory judgment that they are insureds under the Progressive policy. Oliver and Robson subsequently dismissed their claim against Progressive.
{¶ 5} Later, Cadd filed a motion for summary judgment. Cadd asserted several grounds to support its motion: (1) Ohio law no longer requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage and, thus, Robson and Oliver's claim fails as a matter of law; (2) any claim for negligent misrepresentation is time-barred, and Oliver cannot establish one of the elements of a negligent misrepresentation claim, justifiable reliance, because she failed to read the policy; (3) any claim for negligent procurement fails because Oliver did not read the policy; and (4) Robson and Oliver cannot prove that the absence of UM/UIM coverage proximately caused any alleged losses because Robson was not an "insured" under the policy.
{¶ 6} Robson and Oliver responded that genuine issues of material fact remain regarding their negligent-procurement claim. They asserted that Oliver's account of her discussions with Cox conflicted with Cox's account and that this dispute precluded summary judgment. Robson and Oliver disputed Cadd's assertion that Oliver's failure to read the policy precluded their claim. They further argued that the absence of UM/UIM coverage proximately caused their loss because Robson fits the definition of an "insured" under the UM/UIM policy provisions.
{¶ 7} The trial court subsequently granted Cadd summary judgment, without explanation. The court's decision reads, in its entirety, as follows: "Upon motion and for good cause shown, the Court grants the motion of the Quentin E. Cadd agency for summary judgment and dismisses all claims of the plaintiffs. The Court finds there is no just cause for delay."
The trial court committed reversible error in granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant-Appellee Quentin E. Cadd Insurance Agency when the record presents genuine issues of material fact sufficient to preclude summary judgment and require jury resolution.
{¶ 10} Cadd argues that Robson and Oliver asserted a claim for negligent misrepresentation, not negligent procurement, and that the allegedly disputed facts are not material to a negligent-misrepresentation claim. Cadd further contends that the statute of limitations bars the negligent-misrepresentation claim. Cadd also argues that a negligent-procurement claim fails, because Cadd did not breach its duty and because Oliver's failure to read the policy proximately caused the loss.
{¶ 13} "A trial court is not required to issue a written opinion containing findings of fact and conclusions of law when ruling on a motion for summary judgment. Tiefel v.Gilligan (1974),
{¶ 14} Here, the trial court issued a clear and concise pronouncement of its judgment that is sufficient to review the issues raised on appeal, even if the court did not explain its rationale. Consequently, we reject Robson's and Oliver's contention that we should remand the trial court's summary-judgment decision because it failed to articulate a rationale.
{¶ 16} Negligent misrepresentation occurs when "``[o]ne who, in the course of his business * * * or in any other transaction in which he has a pecuniary interest, supplies false information for the guidance of others in their business transactions, is subject to liability for pecuniary loss caused to them by their justifiable reliance upon the information, if he fails to exercise reasonable care or competence in obtaining or communicating the information.'" Delman v. Cleve-landHts. (1989),
{¶ 17} Here, contrary to Cadd's contention, Robson and Oliver's complaint does not state a claim for negligent misrepresentation. Robson and Oliver alleged in their complaint: "[Cadd] * * * was negligent in that notwithstanding the request by [Oliver] for underinsured motorist coverage, coverage was not bound nor written by and through [Cadd] * * * for underinsured motorist coverage." Then-cause of action does not allege that Cadd misrepresented some facet of the policy or made a false statement that the coverage was automatically included, but instead alleges that Cadd did not obtain the coverage Oliver requested. Moreover, throughout the summary-judgment proceedings, Robson and Oliver denied that they alleged a cause of action for negligent misrepresentation and instead argued that the complaint asserted a cause of action for negligent procurement. Thus, Cadd's argument that the complaint alleges negligent misrepresentation is meritless. *Page 305
{¶ 19} In Carpenter v. Scherer-Mountain Ins.Agency (1999),
The elements of a negligence claim are (1) the existence of a duty owed by the defendant to the plaintiff, (2) the breach of duty, (3) causation, and (4) damages. Anderson v. St. Francis-St. George Hosp., Inc. (1996),
77 Ohio St.3d 82 ,84 ,671 N.E.2d 225 ,227 . Whether the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiffs presents us with a legal question that depends upon the foreseeability of the plaintiffs' injury. Menifee v. Ohio Welding Products (1984),15 Ohio St.3d 75 ,77 ,15 OBR 179 ,180-181 ,472 N.E.2d 707 ,710 . An injury is foreseeable if a reasonably prudent person would have anticipated that an injury was likely to result from the performance or nonperformance of an act. Id. In the insurance context, an action for negligence may be based upon an insurance agent's failure to procure insurance. Minor v. Allstate Ins. Co. (1996),111 Ohio App.3d 16 ,21 ,675 N.E.2d 550 ,554 . An agent will be held liable if, "as a result of his or her negligent failure to perform that obligation [to procure insurance], the other party to the [insurance] contract suffers a loss because of a want of insurance coverage contemplated by the agent's undertaking." Id. If an insurance agent's negligence results in coverage less than that desired by an insured, the agent will be liable for the amount the insured would have received had the correct coverage been in place. Id. See, also, 3 Russ Segalla, Couch on Insurance 3d (1997), Sections 46:46 and 46:71.
{¶ 20} Here, genuine issues of material fact remain regarding whether Cadd breached its duty to obtain the insurance Oliver requested. Cadd's agent, Charlotte Cox, claims that Oliver decided not to obtain UMAJIM coverage in order to lower her costs. In contrast, Oliver claims that she requested "full coverage," which she apparently thought would include UMAJIM coverage. However, no issue of material fact remains regarding Oliver's failure to read or understand her policy, which clearly did not provide UMAJIM coverage. She had only to look at the declarations page to notice that UMAJIM coverage was not included. Thus, the question becomes whether her failure to read or understand her policy precludes a negligent-procurement claim. *Page 306
{¶ 21} Some courts have held that an insured's failure to read the insurance policy precludes a negligent-procurement claim as a matter of law. See, e.g.,Craggett v. AMI Ins. Agency (1993),
{¶ 23} In First Catholic Slovak Union v.Buckeye Union Ins. Co. (1986),
{¶ 24} In Fry v. Walters Peck Agency,Inc. (2001),
{¶ 25} In Horak v. Nationwide Ins. Co., Summit App. No. 23327,
{¶ 27} Similarly, in Bedillion v. Tri-Cty.Ins. Agency (Feb. 3, 1993), Summit App. No. 15722, 1993 WL 27381, the court held that the insureds' failure to read their policy did not preclude their negligence claim against the insurance agency. In that case, the owners of a beer and wine drive-thru purportedly requested "full coverage," including liquor liability coverage, but never read their policy or questioned their coverage before loss. The insurance agents denied any such discussion, and the matter was tried to a jury, which found the plaintiffs 40 percent negligent and the insurance agent and agency 60 percent negligent. On appeal, the agency asserted that because the insureds failed to read their policy and because they failed to complain about their coverage until after the loss, the trial court should have granted them either summary judgment or a directed verdict. The appellate court disagreed. The court explained:
The Bedillions apparently had no business or insurance expertise and asked both insurance agents to arrange for "full coverage." The Bedillions testified that the Wadsworth Beverage Center had a reputation for selling alcoholic beverages to minors and that, as teachers, they were concerned about preventing such sales. The Bedillions also testified that they discussed their concerns about liability arising out of the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors. Both the Nationwide agent and Raw denied any such discussion. With testimony coming down on both sides of the issue and with the definition of "full coverage" open to interpretation, the record indicates that there were a number of material facts at issue and that reasonable minds might differ as to whether the insurance agent breached his duty of care. Given the disparity in testimony the trial court properly denied the motion for summary judgment and permitted the jury to determine the credibility issues. Civ. R. 56(C). See, also, Temple v. Wean United, Inc. (1977),
50 Ohio St.2d 317 ,327 [, 4 O.O.3d 466,364 N.E.2d 267 ].Construing the evidence most strongly in favor of the non-moving party, this court cannot say that reasonable minds could come to one conclusion on the evidence submitted. See Strother v. Hutchinson (1981), 67 Ohio St.2d 282[, 21 O.O.3d 177,
423 N.E.2d 467 ]. The Bedillions were not barred by law from recovery because they had not read the policy and because they did not question their coverage before the loss. Those facts were properly considered by the jury when it weighed the comparative negligence of the parties.
{¶ 29} Contributory negligence is defined as "any want of ordinary care on the part of the person injured, which combined and concurred with the defendant's negligence and contributed to the injury as a proximate cause thereof, and as an element without which the injury would not have occurred."Brinkmoeller v. Wilson (1975),
{¶ 30} In this case, Oliver indisputably failed, for over two years, to notice that her policy did not contain UM/UIM coverage. Her failure to read the policy constituted a lack of ordinary care that combined with Cadd's alleged negligence and contributed to her injury. Thus, Oliver was contributorily negligent. However, we cannot state that Oliver's negligence in failing to read the insurance policy far outweighed any negligence on Cadd's part in failing to obtain the requested insurance. Consequently, the trial court improperly entered summary judgment in Cadd's favor on the negligent-procurement claim. Genuine issues of material fact remain for trial, namely, whether Oliver's negligence in failing to read her policy outweighs Cadd's negligence in failing to obtain the requested coverage. *Page 310
{¶ 31} However, we affirm the trial court's entry of summary judgment as it relates to Robson. As we discussed above, a plaintiff asserting a negligent procurement of insurance coverage claim must establish that the insurance agency owed the plaintiff a duty. An insurance agency has a duty to obtain the coverage its insured requests. SeeCarpenter,
{¶ 33} Accordingly, we sustain Robson and Oliver's assignment of error in part and overrule it in part. We reverse the trial court's judgment in part and affirm it in part, and we remand this matter for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part, and cause remanded.
KLINE, J., concurs in part and dissents in part.
MCFAKLAND, J., concurs.