Court Opinion

ID: 9734893
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 17:50:10.928492+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:52.138721
License: Public Domain

Annabelle Clinton Imber, .Justice, dissenting. This appeal involves the interpretation of the term “family” as it is used in a motor-vehicle insurance policy. The circuit court ruled that the term “family” is not ambiguous as used in the policy and the majority agrees. I must conclude that the term “family” as used in the policy is ambiguous. Therefore, I respectfully dissent. The insurance policy at issue provides coverage to “any member of [the insured’s] family residing in [the insured’s] household.” Thus, coverage is extended to those persons, other than the insured, who meet two qualifications. First, the person must be a member of the insured’s “family.” Second, the person must reside in the insured’s household. In this case, it is undisputed that Sarah Smith resided in Raymond Smith’s household on the date of the accident. Therefore, the question is whether Sarah Smith was also a member of Raymond Smith’s family on that date. The circuit court’s ruling, as adopted by the majority, recognized the two prongs of the insurance coverage and concluded that “to define [‘family’] as requested by the plaintiff, would render the phrase ‘in your household’ synonymous with ‘family.’ ” Such a conclusion, however, misconstrues Smith’s argument below and on appeal. In addressing the issues raised by the parties’ respective motions for summary judgment, Smith contended: “Residing in the household” is not synonymous with “family.” The definition of family I use is an economic unity. Clearly someone can rent out a room to a boarder, that person “resides in the household” but that person is not an economic unit with their landlord.” Thus, as Smith framed the argument below, there is no merger of the two-prong requirement.1  The question then becomes whether the term “family” is ambiguous. Ambiguous terms within an insurance policy should be construed against the insurer. Southern Farm Bureau Ins. Cas. Co. v. Williams, 260 Ark. 659, 543 S.W.2d 467 (1976). The majority, relying on Matthews v. Penn-America Ins. Co., 106 Wash. App. 745, 25 P.3d 451 (2001), states that “‘family’ has the common parlance as kin, by blood, marriage or adoption.” Matthews, however, is not apposite. In Matthews, the Washington Court of Appeals emphasized that the policy defined “family” to include a ward or foster child. Matthews v. Penn-America Ins. Co., 106 Wash. App. 745, 25 P.3d 451 (2001). In addition, the policy stated that a spouse is insured if a resident of the same household. Id. The court went on to explain that if it were to adopt the broad definition proposed, then the words “ward” and “foster child” would simply repeat those persons already included in the broad definition of “family,” and be meaningless. Id. In crafting its opinion, the Washington appellate court stated: “Thus, the specific references to spouse, ward, or foster child strongly point to the traditional family definition — • those connected by blood or law.” Id. More importantly, another decision by the Washington Supreme Court, which the Matthews court also cited, recognized that the term “family” is inherently susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation: The word ‘family’ conveys the notion of some relationship, blood or otherwise. In its most common use, the word implies father, mother, and children, immediate blood relatives; but the word is also used to designate many other and extended relationships. Collins v. Northwest Cas. Co., 180 Wash. 347, 352, 39 P.2d 986, 989 (1935) (emphasis added). The Washington Supreme Court concluded, as I do, that the term “family” is indefinite in its application such that it can be used to identify various relationships.. See also Black’s Law Dictionary 727-28 (4th ed. 1968) (“Family. The word is used to designate many relationships, [citing Collins v. Northwest Cas. Co., supra.] In broad or primary sense ‘family’ means: a collective body of any two persons living together in one house as their common home for the time; a collective body of persons, living together in one home, in a permanent and domestic character, under one head or management; a collective body of persons who live in one house and under one head or management.’’(citations omitted)). Unlike the insurance policy in Matthews, supra, the policy at issue here has no qualifiers such as “spouse,” “ward,” or “foster child”; instead, the term “family” is unqualified and undefined. Moreover, a cardinal rule of insurance law in Arkansas is that: [PJolicies of insurance will be interpreted and construed liberally in favor of the insured and strictly against the insurer. . . . An ambiguity exists when a provision is susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation. If there is doubt or uncertainty as to the policy’s meaning and it is fairly susceptible of two interpretations, one favorable to the insured and the other favorable to the insurer, the former will be adopted. . . . Phelps v. U.S. Life Credit Life Ins. Co., 336 Ark. 257, 261-62, 984 S.W.2d 425, 428 (1999) (quoting Keller v. Safeco Ins. Co., 317 Ark. 308, 311, 877 S.W.2d 90, 92 (1994)). Accordingly, I conclude that the term “family,” as used in Southern Farm Bureau’s insurance policy, is ambiguous; that is, the undefined term “family” is susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation. As Southern Farm Bureau suggested in its brief, the interpretation of that term will depend on extrinsic evidence, and, therefore, presents a jury question. Smith v. Prudential Prop. and Cas. Co., 340 Ark. 335, 10 S.W.3d 846 (2000). This case should be reversed and remanded for trial. For the above-stated reasons, I respectfully dissent.   The concurrence also concludes that construing the term “family” to mean economic unit causes it to merge with the phrase “resides in the household” because the term “household” means an economic unit. As support for this conclusion, the concurrence draws a distinction between the words “house” and “household.” Such a construction merely points out an ambiguity in the term “household.” See, eg., Black’s Law Dictionary 744 (7th ed. 1999) (“household, n. 1. A family living together. 2. A group of people who dwell under the same roof.”); Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language 688 (1989) (“household, n. 1. the people of a house collectively; a family including its servants.”). In Arkansas, ambiguous terms are construed against the insurer. Southern Farm Bureau Ins. Cas. Co. v. Williams, 260 Ark. 659, 543 S.W.2d 467 (1976). Thus, because the term “household” is susceptible to more than one interpretation, it should be construed in favor of Sarah Smith.