Opinion ID: 1627385
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: ace policies

Text: Ace Pest Control is shown as the named insured on the declarations page of all three Ace policies in which State Farm denied coverage. Plaintiff argues that the policy is ambiguous and therefore should be construed against the draftsman, State Farm, and should be construed in favor of coverage. Plaintiff argues that a corporation is not a person, has no spouse or relatives and can't sustain bodily injury. He argues that corporations can only act through officers, directors, shareholders or, as in this case, employees. Therefore when a corporation is listed as the named insured overage should include employees as the `person named in the declaration.' Defendant argues that a permissive occupant receives uninsured motorist coverage for the State Farm vehicle they are occupying. State Farm claims this is the only uninsured motorist coverage provided when the policy is issued to a corporation and has no other named insured. Counsel for State Farm admitted in an argument that there would be no situation in which the Ace policies could be stacked under this interpretation. This issue appears to be one of first impression in the State of Alabama. There are a number of decisions from other states. Some of these cases involve employees and some involve either an officer, director or shareholder of a closely held corporation. In either case the Plaintiff is seeking coverage of a person arguing that a policy which names a corporation that is not a person, spouse or relative and cannot sustain personal injury is ambiguous. Plaintiff argues that the parties to the contract must have intended to insure officers, director, shareholders or employees of the corporation. A Missouri appellate court facing this issue for the first time noted, `The clear majority of cases from other jurisdictions hold occupancy restriction in uninsured (and underinsured) motorist insurance coverage valid where the corporation is named insured in the policy and the injured employee is a permissive user of the automobile who is injured when not occupying the automobile. See generally Barnes v. [Thames, 5]78 So.2d 1155 (La.App.1991); Davis v. Brock, 602 So.2d 104 (La.App.1992); [ Sproles v. Greene], 329 N.C. 603, 407 S.E.2d 497 (1991) (underinsurance context); Chastain [v]. United States Fidelity & G[uar]. Co., 199 Ga.App. 86, 403 S.E.2d [889] (1991); Sears v. Wilson, 10 Kan.App.2d 494, 704 P.2d 389 (1985); But cf. Hager v. American West Insurance Company, 732 F.Supp. 1072 (D.Mont.1989); Decker v. CNA Ins. Co., 66 Ohio App.3d 576, 585 N.E.2d 884 (1990).' McMurtry v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, 845 S.W.2d 700, 702-03 (Mo. App.1993). This Court will follow the majority view and hold that employees are not named insureds when the corporation is named as the insured and finds that Plaintiff is not entitled to stack the Ace policies.