Court Opinion

ID: 9743282
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 21:29:52.283441+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:40.304208
License: Public Domain

Judge, RILEY,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The summary judgment record, read in favor of Moons and Williams, established that the uninsured vehicle, being driven by Keith, approached the car being driven by Williams. Keith drove up next to the passenger side of the vehicle and because Williams' car was blocked by another stopped car, Williams was unable to drive away. Only because Keith was able to drive his car next to the Williams' car and use his vehicle to position himself to fire shots, was he able to shoot at his target. The use of Keith's uninsured vehicle due to its speed and location were necessary and integral parts to the shooting. It also allowed the shooter a quick and efficient escape after he had entrapped Williams' car behind the car in front of it. In my view, the bullet wound injuries of Moons and Williams are inexorably bound to the shooter's use of the uninsured vehicle.
Indiana's uninsured motorist statute requires that insurers make uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage available to insureds in every automobile liability policy. Harden v. Monroe Guar. Ins. Co., 626 N.E.2d 814, 818 (Ind.Ct.App.1993), trans. denied. Here, Williams' policy includes an uninsured/underinsured benefit provision which defines an "insured person" in relevant part as:
We will pay for damages for bodily injury an insured is legally entitled to collect from the owner or driver of an uninsured motor vehicle. The bodily injury must be caused by accident arising out of the operation, maintenance or use of an uninsured motor vehicle.
If the insurance policy language is clear and unambiguous, courts give to that language its plain and ordinary meaning and enforce the contract according to its terms. Rice v. Meridian Ins. Co., 751 N.E.2d 685 (Ind.Ct.App.2001).
Williams is entitled to coverage because he was injured as a result of Keith using his uninsured motor vehicle in a manner that could only have caused injury. Keith used the automobile to position himself to *966shoot Williams and Moon. I find a specific tie between the vehicle and the injuries to be more than a "mere situs." I find that the use of the vehicle was not passive but that Keith actively used the vehicle to position himself to shoot the injured parties and to use the vehicle in his escape. Cf. Protective Ins. Co. v. Coca-Cola Bottling, 467 N.E.2d 786 (Ind.App.1984), reh'g. denied, trans. denied.
I would deny the summary judgment and remand for further proceedings.