Court Opinion

ID: 9786563
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 23:58:00.825555+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:36:46.511001
License: Public Domain

Justice BENDER,
dissenting:
In my view, the majority's test is flawed in two ways. First, our Colorado cases do not require concurrency between use and injury. Second, the majority's causation prong misreads our prior holdings. According to my reading of the cases, the test should be whether an injury originates in, grows out of, or flows from the use of a car. Applying either the majority's test or my suggested test, Christina Kastner should recover because her ongoing assault, kidnapping, and rape were causally related to the transportation use of her car.
Admittedly, ambiguities exist in our accident recovery cases. The majority's attempt to synthesize these cases is no enviable task, and I do not fault the majority for seeking to achieve clarity from these disparate and somewhat inconsistent holdings. However, I read our precedent differently and would apply different rules to determine whether our statutes and Kastner's insurance policy permit her recovery. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
L.
Unlike general contract terms, "the provisions in [an insurance] policy are often imposed on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. It is not a negotiated contract but one with terms required by legislation or dictated by an insurer." Huizar v. Allstate Ins. Co., 952 P.2d 342, 344 (Colo.1998). Accordingly, this Court "assumes a "heightened responsibility' to serutinize" insurance policy provisions to ensure that they comply with "public policy and principles of fairness." Id. Further, the legislative history of the uninsured motorist statute "instructs us to find coverage for the innocent insureds whenever possible." State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Nissen, 851 P.2d 165, 169 (Colo.19983). For this reason, ambiguities in insurance coverage should be construed against the insurer. Id. at 166.
A.
As the majority points out, the foreseeable use of a car is generally limited to its transportation purpose.1 See maj. op. at p. 1262-1263. However, the majority requires that Kastner's injuries be concurrent with her vehicle's use. See maj. op. at p. 1265 ("Use of a car to get to an isolated area to commit a crime may relate to a vehicle's general transportation purpose, but here it was not concurrent with the injury itself ...." (emphasis added)). The majority appears to derive this concurrency requirement from a sentence in Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. McMichael, 906 P.2d 92, 101 (Colo.1995) ("The first issue we must determine is whether [the insured] was using an insured vehicle in a manner that was not foreign to its inherent purpose at the time of the accident.")(emphasis added). As a preliminary matter, the majority's concurrency requirement contradicts our traditional causation test, under which an injury need only originate in, grow *1268out of, or flow from the use of a vehicle, regardless of when it occurs.2 More importantly, though, we have never required concurrency between use and injury. For instance, Kohl v. Union Ins. Co., 731 P.2d 134 (Colo.1987), involved a group of hunters on their way home from a hunting trip who stopped briefly at a convenience store. While the group was conversing in the store's parking lot, one of the hunters decided to unload his rifle in a jeep when it accidentally discharged, killing a fellow hunter and seriously injuring two others. Id. at 185. This Court held that the injuries, though not concurrent with the jeep's use at the time of the injuries, were covered under the insured's policy. Id. at 185-36. Contrary to what the majority suggests, McMi-chael did not change this holding.
B.
In its causation prong, the majority imposes a strict but-for analysis and borrows its "independent significant act" element from other jurisdictions.
My first criticism of the majority's causation prong is its misplaced reliance on a strict but-for test. Specifically, the majority misreads McMichael as requiring, at a minimum, but-for causation. See maj. op. at p. 1263 ("[Wle have always required a claimant to show something more than a mere 'but for' relation between the use of the vehicle and the injury."). To justify its strict but-for test, the majority focuses on a single sentence from McMichael in which we described the evolution of our causation analysis. See maj. op. at p. 1264. The sentence explained that in KoRl, we used a but-for test as a threshold causation requirement. However, the majority fails to mention that the very next sentence of McMichael significantly qualifies the causation analysis from Kohl by stating that our precedent follows a "more liberal interpretation" requiring "only that the injury originated in, grew out of, or flowed from a use of a vehicle." 906 P.2d at 103. Thus, as I read McMichael, we specifically rejected the strict but-for test:
In Kohl, we explained that in order to establish the requisite causal relationship between the use of the vehicle and the injury, the claimant must show that the accident would not have occurred but for the vehicle's use. Although the use of "but for" terminology suggests that the use of the vehicle must be the cause of the injuries, we have utilized a more liberal interpretation in our cases. . .. In fact, we have interpreted the test as requiring the plaintiff to show only that the injury originated in, grew out of, or flowed from a use of a vehicle.
Id. (emphasis added) (citations omitted).
My reading of McMichael as requiring something less than but-for causation finds support in the statute and our previous decisions. As the majority notes, the insurance statutes require coverage for injuries "arising out of the use of a motor vehicle." Since our 1972 decision in Azar v. Employers Cas. Co., 178 Colo. 58, 495 P.2d 554 (1972), we have "broadly and comprehensively" construed the "arising out of" language to mean " 'originate from,' 'grow out of, or 'flow from.' " Id. at 61, 495 P.2d 554. Decades later, McMichael confirmed that our cases require something less than but-for causa tion. 906 P.2d at 108 (Vollack, C.J., dissenting)(noting that the insured did not satisfy the but-for test).
Our cases have consistently interpreted the "originated in, grew out of, or flowed from" language in a flexible way. In Azar, we interpreted the phrase as requiring only that a vehicle "contribute[ ] to or [be] connected to" an injury. 495 P.2d at 555. We have used equally flexible terms in our most recent decisions. See McMichael, 906 P.2d at 1083-104 ("related to"); Cung La v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co., 880 P.2d 1007, 1010 (Colo.1992) ("contributed to"). Thus, our causation test has traditionally been satisfied where a vehicle's use contributed to, or was connected or related to, the insured's injury. Thus, the majority's holding that a vehicle's use must be "inextricably related" to an insured's injury appears to contradict our case law.3
*1269My second criticism of the majority's causation prong is that it borrows the "independent significant act" element of its causation test from other jurisdictions,4 and the ele ment finds little or no support in our cases. In our cases, an intervening act by itself does not break the causal chain between use and injury. See Cung La, 830 P.2d at 1011 ("Here, the fact that the firearm contributed to the injuries does not preclude the requisite causal connection."). Thus, intervening acts, even intentional criminal acts such as the shootings in Cung La and State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. McMillan, 925 P.2d 785 (Colo.1996), and the auto theft in Nissen, do not preclude recovery where a vehicle's use contributes to the injury-causing acts. See Cung La, 830 P.2d at 1011; Nissen, 851 P.2d 165. For example, the insured in Nissen looked out the window of the restaurant where she was eating and saw a thief entering and attempting to steal her car from the restaurant parking lot. She ran outside, jumped on the hood of the car, and was injured when the thief attempted to flee while she remained spread-eagle on the car's hood. In this case, we approved the insured's recovery under her uninsured motorist policy for the severe injuries she suffered when the thief crashed her car into an oncoming truck. 851 P.2d at 165.
Instead of holding that independent significant acts bar recovery, we have consistently concluded that an insured may not recover where a vehicle serves as the "mere situs" for an injury. McMichael, 906 P.2d at 108-104. Our cases have narrowly construed the mere situs restriction to mean that a vehicle is the mere situs for an injury if it in no way contributes to it. See id. at 104 (discussing Mason v. Celina Mut. Ins. Co., 161 Colo. 442, 423 P.2d 24 (Colo.1967), in which a youth was accidentally shot when he and two friends were toying with a pistol in a parked car and "the event could have occurred on the street, in a house, or on a porch"). In Kohl, where the hunter unloaded his rifle near the gun rack inside the jeep, we found that the injury was "intimately related" to the jeep's use even though the gun could have been unloaded outside the jeep. Id. Similarly, in both Cung Lo and McMillan the shooters could have waited until their respective victims got out of their cars to shoot them, but because the cars contributed to the shootings, we found that they were not the mere situs of the crimes. See Cung La, 830 P.2d 1007; McMillan, 925 P.2d 785. In short, the mere situs restriction only applies when the vehicle does not contribute to the injury in any way.
Based on these cases, I believe the proper test for causation should be whether an injury "originated in, grew out of, or flowed from" the use of a vehicle This test is satisfied where a vehicle's use contributes to an injury unless the vehicle was the "mere situs" of the injury.
IL
Irrespective of whether the majority's view or my view on the issues of use and causation is correct, Kastner should recover.
I agree with the majority's statement of the facts with one addition: Kastner's ordeal, which began in the mall parking lot, took place during the Christmas shopping season.5 This fact helps to explain why the mall parking lot was full at the time of Kastner's abduction, and why it is highly unlikely that Kastner's assailant could have kidnapped or raped her without the use of her car.
My primary objection to the majority's analysis is that it focuses exclusively on Kast-*1270ner's rape injuries, all of which occurred while the car was stopped, without considering the ongoing kidnapping and assault violations. Without question, Kastner's injuries were ongoing. They began in the mall parking lot, where she was assaulted with a knife and kidnapped. While driving Kastner to the park, the assailant continued to hold the knife on her as he threatened to kill her. During the brief period when he stopped the car in the park, the assailant raped and robbed Kastner. On the way to the liquor store where he dropped her off, the assailant threatened severe harm to Kastner and her children if she reported the assault. Kastner suffered harm throughout her ordeal, not just during the rape.
A.
Even applying the majority's test, Kastner should recover. Because the majority focuses exclusively on the injuries caused by the rape, it concludes that Kastner's injuries were not concurrent with the car's use. However, Kastner's ongoing injuries-the kidnapping and extended assault-were concurrent with the vehicle's use because they both occurred while Kastner's car was being used for transportation purposes. Moreover, the majority concedes that the use of Kast-ner's car to get to the park relates to the car's general transportation purpose. See maj. op. at p. 1265.
Although the majority concludes that Kast-ner fails to satisfy the but-for and "independent significant act" tests under its causation prong, the facts of this case undermine this conelusion. But for the use of Kastner's vehicle, it is highly unlikely that the assailant would have been able to kidnap her from a crowded parking lot during the Christmas shopping season. It is also highly unlikely that Kastner would have been raped if the assailant could not have used her car to transport her from the mall. Kastner's assailant escaped detection by driving Kastner to a secluded park on a dark winter night. It is also highly unlikely that the rape would have occurred in a busy mall parking lot during Christmas season in a car parked only ten spots from the mall entrance. Thus, I conclude that but for the use of the car, Kastner would neither have been raped nor kidnapped. In any case, causation findings are within the province of the trier of fact, and the trial court specifically found that Kastner's injuries arose from the use of her car.
Under the rationale of our Colorado cases, independent significant acts like the assailant's rape and kidnapping of Kastner do not break the causal chain between use and injury. We have not regarded comparable intentional criminal conduct, like the shootings in McMillan and Cung Lo and the auto theft in Nissen, to constitute independent significant acts sufficient to defeat causation. Similarly, the criminal acts of Kastner's assailant did not break the chain of causation. Thus, Kastner satisfies the majority's strict tests for use and causation and she should be entitled to recover.
B.
Applying the test supported by my reading of our cases, Kastner should also recover. Beyond doubt, Kastner's kidnapping and ongoing assault were sufficiently temporally related to the transportation use of her car. The fact that Kastner's assailant stopped her car briefly to rape her should not prevent her from recovering. Kastner's injuries during this brief stop are analogous to the accidental shooting in Kohl, which occurred while the hunters' jeep was parked. We allowed the insured to recover in that case, and we should in this case as well. As in Kokl, the injuries that occurred while the car was stopped in this case are sufficiently related to the car's transportation use to warrant recovery.
Moreover, Kastner's injuries were causally related to her car's use. The assailant's use of Kastner's vehicle contributed both to Kast-ner's kidnapping and rape. Kastner's assailant was able to kidnap her from a crowded mall during the Christmas shopping season only by transporting her in the car. The rape was facilitated by the assailant's ability to remove Kastner to a remote area. Kast-*1271ner's car was not the mere situs of her injuries. The car contributed to Kastner's kidnapping and rape in at least as significant a way as the vehicles in McMillan and Cung La contributed to the shootings in those cases. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
I am authorized to state that Chief Justice MULLARKEY and Justice MARTINEZ join in this dissent.

. The majority construes foreseeable use so narrowly that its analysis appears to be at odds with «our Colorado cases. The majority equates foreseeable use with the mutual intent of the insurer and insured. See maj. op. at p. 1261 ("we must look to the intent of the parties at the time of contracting" (citation omitted)). Yet our cases have consistently rejected the insurer's purported intent regarding foreseeable use, and the insurer's intent regarding use also does not necessarily control the use analysis. In our most recent cases, the insurers uniformly argued that they had not foreseen the various uses to which the insureds' vehicles had been put, and this Court rejected their arguments. See Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. McMichael, 906 P.2d 92 (Colo.1995) (rejecting insurer's argument that it had not foreseen ordinary pickup's use as barricade where the truck was later fitted with an overhead beacon and emergency flashers); Cung La v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co., 830 P.2d 1007 (Colo.1992) (rejecting insurer's argument that shooting was not a foreseeable use of vehicle); Nissen, 851 P.2d at 168 (focusing on the "reasonable expectation" of the insured regarding use in the face of coverage ambiguity). In fact, even the intent of the insured does not necessarily govern the use analysis. See Cung La, 830 P.2d 1007 (insured neither foresaw nor intended that car would be involved in shooting); State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. McMillan, 925 P.2d 785 (Colo.1996) (insured did not contemplate or intend that car would be used in drive-by shooting). Thus, I conclude that the use giving rise to an injury need not have been foreseen by either the insurer or the insured at the time they entered into a policy.

. See Part LB.

. The majority appears to derive its "inextricably related" language from the use of the phrase *1269"integrally related" in McMichael. 906 P.2d at 103. However, the "integrally related" statement merely elaborated on our "mere situs" test, which "distinguish[es] between 'injuries that are related to the use of an automobile, and injuries that are related to an automobile only because they coincidentally occurred in the vehicle. " 906 P.2d at 103-104 (quoting Kohl, 731 P.2d at 136).

. See maj. op. at p. 1265. See also Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Howser, 309 S.C. 269, 422 S.E.2d 106, 109 (1992) (per curiam) ("Once causation is established, the court must determine if an act of independent significance occurred breaking the causal link.") (emphasis added); Cont'l W. Ins. Co. v. Klug, 415 N.W.2d 876 (Minn.1987) ("events of independent significance").

. The date of Kastner's assault, kidnapping, and rape was December 8, 1998.