# U ni te d S ta te s Co ur t of A pp ea ls For the Eig hth Circu it

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__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ Am eri can Alt ern at iv e In su ran ce Co rp or at io n
ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll l Pla in ti

ff - App el le e

v.
Ant ho ny W il li am s
ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll l Defe nd

an t - Ap pe ll an t

__ __ __ __ __ __ App eal fro m

Uni te d S ta te s Di st ric t Co ur t fo r th e Eas te rn Dis tri ct of Ark an sa s - Li tt le Ro ck

__ __ __ __ __ __ Su bm it te d: Jan ua ry

27 , 20 16 Fi le d: Jan ua ry

29 , 20 16 [Un pu bl is he d]

__ __ __ __ __ __ Befo re WOL LMAN, ARNOLD, and SMITH, Ci rcu it Ju dg es

.

__ __ __ __ __ __ PER CURI AM.

W hi le pa ram ed ic Ant h on y W il li am s was rid in g as a pa ss en ge r in hi s
em pl oyer’s am

bu la nc e, he was in

jure d in a co ll is io n wit h a ci ty bu s own ed by Cen tra l Ark an sa s Tran si t Aut ho rit y (CATA) an d dr iv en by Thu rm an S c o t t

. Mr. W il li am s ob ta in ed a jud gm en t ag ai ns t CATA an d Sco tt in th e am ou nt of $4 75 ,00 0. Afte r CATA pa id it s li ab il it y li m it s of $2 5,0 00 , Mr. W il li am s so ug ht un de rin su red m ot or is t(U IM ) be ne fi ts fr om A m er ic an A lte rn at iv e In su ran ce Co rp or at io n (AAIC), th e in su re r

f o r h i s em

pl oyer, am

bu la nc e own er Met ro po li ta n Em erg en cy Med ic al Serv ic es

. AAIC in tu rn fil ed th is di ve rs it y act io n se ek in g a de cl arat or y jud gm en t th at it was no t li ab le be cau se th e in su ran ce po li cy ex cl ud ed fro m th e de fin it io n of an “ un de rin su red

m ot or ve hi cl e” on e own ed by a go ve rn m en ta l un it or ag en cy su ch as CATA. The pa rti es fil ed cro ss -m ot io ns fo r su m m ary jud gm en t, an d th e d i s t r i c t co ur t en te red 1 jud gm en t in fav or of AAIC. Mr. W il li am s ap pe al s arg ui ng , as he di d be lo w, th at th e rel ev an t po li cy cl au se ex cl ud in g c ov erag e is vo id as ag ai ns t pu bl ic po li cy ; al te rn at iv el y , he a rg ue s t ha t t he cla us e was no t n eg ot ia te d.

Fo ll owi ng care fu l rev ie w, se e Mar ti n v. W al -Ma rt St or es , In c., 18 3 F.3 d 77 0, 77 2 (8 th Ci r. 19 99 ) (ap pl y in g su bs ta nt iv e la w of fo ru m st at e in di ve rs it y act io n) , we ag ree wit h th e di st ric t co ur t th at , un de r Ark an sa s la w, an in su rer is su in g a co m m erci al

au to m ob il e li a b i l i t y po li cy is no t req ui red to of fer UIM co ve rag e, se e Mo nd ay v. Can al In s. Co ., 73 S.W .3d 59 4, 59 7- 99 (Ark

. 20 02 ) (co ns tru in g pl ai n la n g u a g e o f Ark

. C o d e A nn

. § 23 -8 9- 20 9( a)(1 ) to req ui re in su rers to of fer UIM co ve rag e on ly

w h en is su in g “ pr iv at e pa ss en ge r au to m ob il e li ab il it y in su ran ce” po li ci es co ve r i n g pe rs on al or pr iv at e ve hi cl es ). W e al so ag ree wit h th e co ur t th at AAIC’s ex cl us io n of go ve rn m en t-o wne d ve hi cl es fro m UIM co ve rag e in th e po li cy at is su e is no t vo id as
a g a i n s t p u b l ic po li cy

. See Co uc h v. Farm ers In s. Co ., 28 9 S.W .3d 90 9, 91 6 (Ark

. 20 08 ) (co u r ts wil l no t fin d in su ran ce co ve rag e ex cl us io ns vo id as ag ai ns t pu bl ic po li cy un le ss le gi sl at ur e sp eci fic al ly pr oh ib it ed ex cl us io n)

. Fi na ll y , Mr. W il li am s’s arg um en t t ha t t he ex cl us io n c la us e was no t n eg ot ia te d i s n ot a ba si s fo r rev ers al

.

The jud gm en t i s af

fir m ed . See 8 th Cir . R. 47 B.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

The Ho n o r a b l e Ja m es M. Mo od y , Jr ., Uni te d St at es Dis tri ct Ju dg e fo r th e 1 East ern Dis tri ct of Ark an sa s.
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