Highland, Ind. (June 24, 2024) - Northwest Indiana Administrative Partner Scott Cockrum and Associate Kristanna Roper-Nikitaras recently obtained a verdict in an insurance company client's favor in a dispute over the applicability of a delivery exclusion in a personal auto policy.
Mr. Cockrum and Ms. Roper-Nikitaras had filed a declaratory judgment action on behalf of the insurer client in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana following a serious collision involving the client's insured. The insured driver held a personal auto policy with the client at the time he was involved in a collision that resulted in his death and severe injuries to a police officer in another vehicle. At the time, he was apparently on his way to deliver pharmaceuticals to a nursing home as part of his contract with a delivery company. At issue was whether, based on the facts available despite his death, the insurer could establish that he was delivering goods for compensation or a fee and, as a result, the policy exclusion would bar coverage.
The claim was contested by the insured's estate and the injured third party, who argued that the evidence was insufficient to assert the exclusion and that there was coverage. Mr. Cockrum and Ms. Roper-Nikitaras presented multiple witnesses and documentary evidence that supported the conclusion that he was delivering at the time of the collision.
They obtained a jury verdict in favor of the insurer client on the factual questions, and the court accordingly entered the declaratory judgment in its favor. As a result, the client is not responsible for the significant damages in the matter or any defense of the claim, and it was able to enforce an important exclusion in today's market.
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