Opinion ID: 491024
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: transport's insurance coverage

Text: 12 Transport contends that even if the lease was in effect, Ainsworth was not, as the district court found, acting in the scope of his employment with PST when the accident occurred. We reject the contention that Nevada standards of respondeat superior govern the responsibility of Transport's insured for liability arising from the accident. 13 We rely on the federal statutory and regulatory scheme to decide the issue of authorized carrier responsibility. E.g., Westmoreland, 727 F.2d at 496-97; Rodriguez v. Ager, 705 F.2d 1229, 1234-36 (10th Cir.1983) (discussing cases); see Simmons v. King, 478 F.2d 857, 867 (5th Cir.1973); contra Wilcox v. Transamerican Freight Lines, Inc., 371 F.2d 403 (6th Cir.) (per curiam), cert. denied, 387 U.S. 931, 87 S.Ct. 2053, 18 L.Ed.2d 992 (1967). Cf. Transport Indemnity Co. v. Carolina Casualty Insurance, 133 Ariz. 395, 405-06, 652 P.2d 134, 144 (1982) (uniform interpretation of motor carrier insurance contracts implements federal policy to ensure authorized carrier responsibility). The special interstate character of the authorized carrier insurance industry underscores the need to refer to the federal scheme to determine when mandatory coverage comes into effect. 14 The BMC-90 endorsement and the federal scheme do not require that covered losses occur while the driver is in the scope of employment or acting under common-law principles of vicarious liability. 5 For purposes of determining Transport's liability, such findings by the district court are unnecessary. 6 Westmoreland, 727 F.2d at 496-97; Rodriguez, 705 F.2d at 1234-36; Proctor v. Colonial Refrigerated Transportation, Inc., 494 F.2d 89, 92 (4th Cir.1974); Simmons, 478 F.2d at 867; Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Fairchild, 620 F.Supp. 1245, 1250 (D.Idaho 1985); Cosmopolitan Mutual Insurance Co. v. White, 336 F.Supp. 92, 99 (D.Del.1972). 15 Transport's BMC-90 was expressly intended to meet PST's obligation to assure financial responsibility whenever PST leased vehicles from others to transport freight. See 49 U.S.C. Sec. 10927; 49 C.F.R. Secs. 1057.22(c)(2), 1043; see also id. Secs. 1057.12(d); 1057.12(k)(1) (requiring lessee to assume responsibility for insurance in written leases for periods longer than 30 days). In compliance with Sec. 1057.22(c)(2), the written lease specified that PST was responsible for damage to the public. It would be anomalous to hold that Transport, employed by the carrier to insure for public damage resulting from its trip leasing activities, may avoid responsibility. 16 Once the trip lease went into effect upon delivery of the equipment to PST, the specific indemnities under the BMC-90 endorsement applied. We therefore conclude that PST's insurer Transport is liable. It remains to be determined whether Planet shares that liability. 7