Court Opinion

ID: 9856284
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:43:51.335803+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:38:32.498814
License: Public Domain

BROTHERTON, Justice,
dissenting:
*88You have to dance with the one that brought you.
Uninsured motorist protection is not a common law right of action. It is an action created totally by the West Virginia Legislature and which exists only by statute and in the individual policy. The statute requires every contract of insurance issued in the State of West Virginia to include an uninsured motorist provision, including certain terms and conditions. Therefore, the action is not one based in tort, but one based on statute and contract, West Virginia statute, and contract.
The insured in this case brought an action pursuant to his West Virginia policy and West Virginia statutes. He had to. There was no other possible way to bring the action. There was no common law right of action and the Virginia statute applies only to insurance policies issued in Virginia.1 The insured did not have a Virginia policy. Nevertheless, the West Virginia policy and statute required that there be a touching before the insured could recover. This put the insured in a pickle. The only way he could get to court was the West Virginia statute, but under that statute the insured would lose once in court because there was no touching at the time of. the accident in Virginia. Therefore, the insured used the West Virginia policy in order to get his case into court, and once there switched and used the law which applied to insurance policies issued in Virginia.
The insured used the West Virginia statute to bring him to the ball, but once there, he dropped West Virginia and danced with the Virginia statute. This is bad etiquette and worse law.
I therefore respectfully dissent.

. The case cited by the insured, Doe v. Brown, 203 Va. 508, 125 S.E.2d 159 (1962), merely interprets the Virginia statute.