Opinion ID: 1997757
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Standard of Review Superior Court Decision

Text: State Farm filed a motion for summary judgment in Superior Court. It argued that the carrying persons for a charge provision conclusively precluded any payment under its insurance policy for either liability or no-fault coverage to the Appellants for their injuries. The Superior Court held that the exclusion was not valid for purposes of denying liability coverage, because it was inconsistent with the statutory requirement that every vehicle in the State have a specific minimum amount of insurance coverage to compensate persons injured in automobile accidents. See 21 Del.C. § 2118; 21 Del.C. § 2902. Conversely, the Superior Court concluded that State Farm had established that the no-fault exclusion met both prongs of Section 2118(f): (1) that the exclusion was customary; and (2) that it was not inconsistent with the requirements of the statute. Therefore, the Superior Court held that the exclusion was valid even with regard to what would otherwise be the statutory minimum amount of no-fault coverage. The Superior Court's interpretation of an insurance policy is a determination of law subject to a de novo standard of review. Universal Underwriters Ins. Co. v. The Travelers Ins. Co., Del.Supr., 669 A.2d 45, 47 (1995). This Court must determine whether State Farm's carrying persons for a charge exclusion is enforceable as a matter of law.