Case Title: Kaufmann v. Economy Fire & Casualty Co.

Citation: 389 N.E.2d 1150, 76 Ill. 2d 11

Docket Number: 50195, 50403

State: illinois

Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Date: 1979-05-18T00:00:00Z

Document:
76 Ill. 2d 11 (1979)
389 N.E.2d 1150
JUSTIN KAUFMANN et al., Appellees,
v.
ECONOMY FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, Appellant.  JANET BOHNEN SALERNO, Appellee,
v.
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant.
Nos. 50195, 50403 cons.

Supreme Court of Illinois.
Opinion filed May 18, 1979.
*12 *13 Jacobs, Williams & Montgomery, Ltd., of Chicago (Barry L. Kroll, John D. Daniels and David A. Novoselsky, of counsel), for appellant.
Robert Higgins, of Chicago (Sidney Z. Karasik, of counsel), for appellees.
James J. Hoffnagle, of Taylor, Miller, Magner, Sprowl & Hutchings, of Chicago, for appellant.
Michael J. McArdle and Donald R. Crowe, of Mahoney & McArdle Chartered, of Chicago, for appellee.
Judgments affirmed.
MR. CHIEF JUSTICE GOLDENHERSH delivered the opinion of the court:
In cause No. 50195, defendant, Economy Fire and Casualty Company (hereafter Economy), appealed from the judgment of the circuit court of Cook County entered in favor of plaintiffs, Justin Kaufmann, Geraldine Kaufmann, Daniel E. Kaufmann and Judd Kaufmann, in an action for declaratory judgment. The appellate court affirmed (52 Ill. App.3d 940), and we allowed Economy's petition for leave to appeal. In cause No. 50403, defendant, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (hereafter State Farm), appealed from a similar judgment entered in favor of plaintiff, Janet Bohnen Salerno. The appellate court affirmed (55 Ill. App.3d 735), and we *14 allowed State Farm's petition for leave to appeal. The causes were consolidated for argument and opinion.
On March 9, 1973, Economy issued to plaintiffs Justin and Geraldine Kaufmann a policy of automobile liability insurance which included uninsured motorist coverage with limits of $10,000 for each person and $20,000 for each accident. On December 26, 1973, Economy issued to plaintiff Daniel Kaufmann a similar policy which included identical uninsured motorist coverage. Although at the time the policy was issued to plaintiffs Justin and Geraldine Kaufmann, Daniel Kaufmann did not reside with his parents, it appears from the pleadings that after May 1, 1973, he had at all times resided with them.
On November 10, 1974, an uninsured motorist struck an automobile owned and operated by Daniel, and he, his parents and his brother, Judd, were injured. Economy admitted liability under the uninsured motorist coverage in Daniel's policy, but refused to pay additional amounts under the policy issued to his parents. Plaintiffs sought a declaration that the limits of liability under the uninsured motorist coverage of each policy, $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident, could be cumulated so as to provide coverage of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident despite an "other insurance" clause in Justin and Geraldine's policy which provided:
In cause No. 50403, defendant, State Farm, had issued to plaintiff, Janet Salerno, a policy of automobile liability insurance effective August 21, 1973, and at other times during 1973 had issued to Janet's father, Howard Bohnen, two similar policies, providing coverage for two automobiles owned by him. Each of the three policies provided uninsured motorist coverage of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident, and contained an "other insurance" provision virtually identical to the one set forth above. On December 30, 1973, Janet, while a passenger in an uninsured automobile, was injured when that automobile was struck by another uninsured vehicle. It is undisputed that at the time of the accident Janet resided with her father.
The circuit court entered judgments holding the uninsured motorist coverage provided in the policy issued to Justin and Geraldine Kaufmann and in the policies issued to Howard Bohnen applicable to the respective accidents, and the appellate court affirmed.
Defendants contend that under Morelock v. Millers' Mutual Insurance Association (1971), 49 Ill. 2d 234, the judgments of the circuit and appellate courts must be reversed. Plaintiffs contend that the "other insurance" clauses are ambiguous and ineffective to prevent aggregated coverage under policies issued by the same insurer to members of the same family and that "other insurance" clauses which purport to preclude the aggregating of uninsured motorist coverage are contrary to public policy, repugnant to the uninsured motorist statute, and void.
*16 In Putnam v. New Amsterdam Casualty Co. (1970), 48 Ill. 2d 71, the court considered the various types of "other insurance" clauses found in uninsured motorist coverages, and in its discussion criticized certain resolutions of the conflicts created by the various policy provisions for the reason that they "place no emphasis whatever on the most significant factor of all  the intent of the parties" (48 Ill. 2d 71, 78).
In Glidden v. Farmers Automobile Insurance Association (1974), 57 Ill. 2d 330, the insurer had issued three automobile liability insurance policies to the plaintiff, covering three separate vehicles. Plaintiff's wife, while a pedestrian, was struck and killed by an uninsured motorist. The "other insurance" provision in the policies was identical to those here involved. The court concluded that the "excess insurance" provision was not applicable because at the time of the accident in question the insured was not occupying an automobile. In considering the pro rata provision the court pointed out that one insurer had issued three different policies, on three separate vehicles, to the one insured, that each policy provided separate uninsured motorist coverage, and that a separate premium was accepted by the insurer for those coverages. The court went on to say:
Under the definitions therein contained, each Kaufmann plaintiff was an "insured" under each of the policies. Under the definitions contained in the policies issued to her father, plaintiff Salerno was also an insured. Under these circumstances, as in Glidden, the meaning of the clause is ambiguous and should be construed in favor of the insureds. As the court said in Glidden:
As the court said in Squire v. Economy Fire & Casualty Co. (1977), 69 Ill. 2d 167, in the payment of multiple premiums the insured must have expected to receive, and the insurer to provide, additional insurance *18 benefits. Here, where each of the plaintiffs was an insured under each of the policies issued by the same insurer, each of which provided uninsured motorist coverage for which premiums were collected, we hold that the "other insurance" clause is inapplicable.
It cannot be determined from the opinion in Morelock v. Millers' Mutual Insurance Association (1971), 49 Ill. 2d 234, whether the plaintiff, Kathryn F. Morelock, was an insured under the definitions contained in her father's policy. To the extent that Morelock is contrary to the holding of this case, it is expressly overruled.
Because of the conclusion reached with respect to the "other insurance" provision, we need not and do not consider plaintiffs' contentions that the provision is contrary either to the statute or public policy. The judgments of the appellate court are affirmed.
Judgments affirmed.
MR. JUSTICE UNDERWOOD, dissenting:
Until the filing of this opinion, this court has consistently held that uninsured motorist coverages in several policies could be "stacked" only when those policies had been issued to the same person by the same company. (Morelock v. Millers' Mutual Insurance Association (1971), 49 Ill. 2d 234; Glidden v. Farmers Automobile Insurance Association (1974), 57 Ill. 2d 330; Squire v. Economy Fire & Casualty Co. (1977), 69 Ill. 2d 167.) Today the court overrules Morelock and holds, for the first time, that the coverages in different policies issued to different people at different times may be added together despite the presence of clauses in those policies to the contrary. I thought Morelock was correctly decided, and I would adhere to it.
MR. JUSTICE RYAN joins in this dissent.