Opinion ID: 2233244
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Is Farm Bureau Bound by the Original Judgment Entry in Suit I?

Text: In its resistance to the estate's motion for summary judgment on the contract claim, Farm Bureau did not raise any policy defenses (for example, failure to provide suit papers or violation of the consent-to-be-bound provision) to the original judgment entry in suit I. Nor does Farm Bureau raise any such defenses here. That is not surprising for three reasons. First, the estate notified Farm Bureau that it was making a UIM claim under the decedent's policy because in the estate's lawsuit against Carter, the estate learned that Carter had liability coverage of only $100,000, a sum the estate believed was insufficient to cover its damages. Second, the lawsuit against Carter was being defended. Last, the district court reduced the verdict by reducing the consortium award by the percentage of fault attributed to the decedent. Moreover, the estate proved Carter's negligence and its damages. And, as mentioned, Carter was defended up to and including the entry of the original judgment. Therefore at this point the estate had a valid judgment, and Farm Bureau had no reasonable basis to withhold or refuse its consent. The fact that Carter's attorney did not object to the consortium instruction did not render the defense insubstantial. In our view an insubstantial defense equates with no defense at all or one that is imaginary or illusory. That was far from true in this case. Were we to hold otherwise, an insured would rarely be able to obtain a judgment meeting the legally entitled to recover condition of UIM coverage. This is because, as a practical matter, a lawsuit is hardly ever perfectly defended. For all of these reasons, we conclude the estate satisfied the legally entitled to recover condition of the UIM coverage provision of the decedent's policy. Contrary to the district court ruling, Farm Bureau was bound by the original judgment entry in suit I.