Opinion ID: 1606898
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Doctrine of Reasonable Expectations.

Text: West urges that even if there is no ambiguity in the policy terms, property damages should be allowed because of the doctrine of reasonable expectations. In Rodman v. State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co., 208 N.W.2d 903, 906 (Iowa 1973), we first recognized this doctrine and explained that the objectively reasonable expectations of applicants and intended beneficiaries of insurance policies will be honored even though painstaking study of the policy provisions would have negated those expectations. The doctrine will apply if the exclusion (1) is bizarre or oppressive, (2) eviscerates terms explicitly agreed to, or (3) eliminates the dominant purpose of the transaction. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sandbulte, 302 N.W.2d 104, 112 (Iowa 1981). Reasonable expectations may be established by proof of the underlying negotiations or inferred from the circumstances. Id. The affidavit of Linda West, filed with the resistance to the summary judgment, does not address the underlying negotiations. The affidavit states her interpretation of the policy provision based upon her review of the declarations page and the body of the insurance policy. There are no circumstances attributable to the insurer which would lead West or any reasonable person to expect property damage would be covered under the underinsured motorist provisions. See AID (Mut.) Ins. v. Steffen, 423 N.W.2d 189, 191 (Iowa 1988). The affidavit does not create a genuine issue of material fact. Northland is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.