Court Opinion

ID: 9775426
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:58:17.266686+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:26.101338
License: Public Domain

LIMBAUGH, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. Although Judge Benton’s plurality opinion correctly states that we should look first to the terms of the policy, we need direct our attention no further. The plain language of the policy definition provides all that is needed to resolve the case, and it is unnecessary, if not improper, to divert to a statutory definition from the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law. The Ragsdales’ policies defined “uninsured motor vehicle” as “(a) a motor vehicle not insured by a bodily injury liability ... insurance policy....” The words “not insured” necessarily refer to a person not protected by liability insurance. Because the Armstrong vehicle was insured by a liability insurance policy at the time of the accident, the Ragsdales should not be able to invoke the uninsured motorist coverage.
To avoid this harsh result, Judge Benton’s plurality would impose the § 303.190 defini*786tion so that the term “motor vehicle liability policy,” as used in the policies’ definition of “uninsured motor vehicle,” becomes “motor vehicle liability policy with limits of at least $25,000/$50,000.” The fallacy of this approach is that § 303.190, by its own terms, applies only to the provisions of Chapter 303, the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law. Moreover, the sole purpose of the § 303.190 definition is to establish the kind of motor vehicle liability insurance policy that is sufficient to show proof of financial responsibility. That section does not purport to govern the contents of uninsured motorist provisions, like Ragsdales’, which are governed, instead, by § 379.203. Neither § 379.203, nor any other statute pertaining to uninsured motorist coverage, defines “motor vehicle liability policy.” For that reason, I would rely solely on the plain language of the policy.