Court Opinion

ID: 9750036
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 14:14:29.031979+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:01.768386
License: Public Domain

SHEA, J.,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. There is precedent in the law of this state for upholding the validity of the type of policy exclusion in question. Such an exclusion, in my opinion, does not violate the uninsured-motorist statute, so called.
I do not believe that the public policy in this state is as it is stated by the majority. Rather, that policy was expressed by this court as follows: “In enacting [the Uninsured Motorist Statute G.L.1956 (1979 Reenactment) § 27-7-2.1], the legislature intended that, as a matter of public policy, protection should be given to the named insured in such policies against economic loss resulting from injuries sustained by reason of the negligent operation of uninsured motor vehicles or hit-and-run motor vehicles.” Aldcroft v. Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York, 106 R.I. 311, 318, 259 A.2d 408, 413 (1969). The court in that opinion went on to state that it was the Legislature’s intent that such protection be afforded to an insured motorist operating on the public way. Id. at 318-19, 259 A.2d at 414.
In Lally v. Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. of America, 114 R.I. 582, 337 A.2d 243 (1975), decided six years after Aldcroft, we considered an exclusion similar to the one before us. In that case the plaintiff was injured when she was struck by a go-cart while walking on the sidewalk. After determining that the sidewalk was not part of the public highway, we upheld the exclusion and the denial of coverage. The fact that the vehicle in Lally was a go-cart, rather than a snowmobile, is in my opinion of no consequence. In Lally our court adhered to the legislative intent set forth in Aldcroft, that is, to grant uninsured-motorist coverage only to those injured on the public roads.
It is well settled that the language used in an insurance policy “must be given its plain, ordinary and usual meaning.” Malo v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., 459 A.2d 954, 956 (R.I.1983). “Liability insurance is generally written for a specific hazard in order to enable the underwriter to calculate premiums on some equitable as well as predictable basis. As a result, the hazard to be covered under each policy is carefully defined and other hazards are excluded.” 7A Appleman, Insurance Law and Practice § 4500.04 (Berdal ed. 1979).
*143“Snowmobile” is defined in G.L.1956 (1982 Reenactment) § 31-3.2-1(3) as “a motor vehicle designed to travel over ice or snow supported in whole or in part by skies, belts, cleats, or low pressure tires.” In addition, § 31-3.2-7(l)(a) provides that snowmobiles shall not be operated “upon the roadway shoulder or inside bank or slope on any highway in this state or elsewhere within the right of way” except that snowmobiles may make direct 90-degree crossings of streets or highways, § 31-3.2-7(b). They also may be operated on public streets or highways in an emergency when snow upon the highway renders travel by automobile impractical. Section 31-3.2-7(d).
Under the terms of the policy and these definitions, a snowmobile is not a vehicle designed for use on a public road. This incident should not be covered under the uninsured-motorist portion of the policy. If this injury occurred on a public road, the policy definition of motor vehicles would encompass this accident.
I subscribe to the thinking that uninsured-motorist statutes are intended to encompass accidents involving motor vehicles and occurring on the public roads. Thus snowmobiles should be included under uninsured-motorist coverage only when they are being used on the road. 2 No-Fault and Uninsured Motorist Automobile Insurance § 24.30[12][vi] at 24-147 (Matthew Bender 1988).
For these reasons I would vacate the judgment appealed from and remand the case for entry of judgment for the plaintiff.