Opinion ID: 2010331
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Questions of Fact Remain Regarding Reader's Permission and Use

Text: Applying the above analysis and viewing the facts in the light most favorable to O'Neal, we conclude that genuine issues concerning the material facts at issue remain and that the trial judge erred by granting summary judgment to State Farm. Specifically, we conclude that material factual disputes remain concerning both the scope of Reader's initial permission and her alleged deviation. The record reflects that Pitts' son ran the catering business until he relocated to Texas in the summer of 2005. When Pitts took over, the two related businesses had no employees and a few used vans. In August 2005, Pitts asked Melissa Wilson, who had been cleaning Pitts' house, whether she would like to work for the catering business instead. Wilson agreed; her hours fluctuated, and she was paid as an independent contractor to save taxes. Wilson did not have a car when she started working for Pitts, so Pitts suggested that Wilson buy one of her vans. According to Wilson, Pitts took a small amount out of her weekly check to pay for the van. Reader also had been cleaning houses when one of Pitts' friends introduced her to Pitts. Reader started working for the catering businesses, on an as needed basis, in November 2005. There is at least some evidence that Reader, also, was buying one of Pitts' vans. But the van Reader was buying (or had already bought) broke down, so Reader was driving another of Pitts' vans at the time of the accident. Wilson testified that Reader used the van for all purposes and that Pitts was well aware of that fact. Wilson also testified that Reader did not have a license and that Pitts knew that fact as well. Viewing these facts in the light most favorable to Reader, we find material facts disputed about the original scope of permission. Whether Reader was purchasing a van from Pitts may affect the context in which Pitts allowed Reader to use the van involved in the accident. If Reader was purchasing or had purchased a van and that van was not working, it is reasonable to infer that Pitts would have allowed Reader to use that second van as if it were her own. Therefore, questions remain regarding what vehicle(s) Pitts permitted Reader to use and why Pitts gave that permission. Turning to the accident, we also find material fact questions remain concerning how Reader used the van on the night of the accident. As State Farm acknowledges, where a driver receives unrestricted permission to use a vehicle, no court has held that intoxication, alone, vitiates permission as a matter of law. [18] We decline to be the first. Instead, we consider a permittee's level of intoxication as merely a single, nondeterminative element in analyzing where, when, and how that permittee used the vehicle. [19] Although it is clear that Reader operated the van while highly intoxicated, there is evidence that she operated the vehicle in an otherwise reasonable manner. She was not speeding, and she did not lose control of the van. After the van unexpectedly pulled hard, she successfully brought the van to a complete stop in the highway shoulder. Reader did make the mistake of leaving the van's engine running when she got out of the van, but the evidence suggests that even that mistake might not have been consequential. It is possible that, but for Cutler's actions, the accident would not have occurred. For these reasons, we conclude that the record evidence does not support the trial judge's determination that, as a matter of law, Reader's use constituted a major deviation. Because we agree with the trial judge's conclusion that O'Neal's claim for PIP benefits also turns on whether Reader exceeded the scope of her permission, [20] we reverse his grant of summary judgment in relation to both O'Neal's claims under the omnibus clause and for PIP benefits.