A federal district court in Pennsylvania has ruled that an insurance company did not owe coverage to a couple injured in an auto accident under a policy issued to the husband's father where the couple did not reside with his parents.
The Case
Adam McGeehan and his wife Laura McGeehan alleged that they were traveling in a Chevy Trailblazer when they were struck by a vehicle operated by William Schick. Mr. Schick's insurance carrier paid the liability limits of his policy for bodily injury.
At the time, Adam McGeehan's father, Paul McGeehan, held an insurance policy issued by First Liberty Insurance Corporation on a Lincoln Navigator that provided underinsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage with a liability limit of $300,000 per accident and an endorsement that allowed stacking of UIM benefits. First Liberty rejected Adam and Laura McGeehan's claim for “family member” coverage under this policy.
First Liberty maintained that a “family member” was covered under the policy only if the family member was a resident of Paul and Roseann McGeehan's household at the time of the accident, and that Adam and Laura McGeehan were not residents of that household.
First Liberty filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a determination of its rights and responsibilities under its insurance policy. First Liberty moved for summary judgment.
First Liberty asserted that a “family member” had to be both (a) a person who was related to the insured by blood, marriage, or adoption, and (b) a resident of the insured's household.
The McGeehans argued that the definition of “family member” was ambiguous and it could be read to mean that “blood” relatives and those related by “marriage” automatically qualified as “family members” but that those related by adoption were covered only if they also were residents of the household.
The First Liberty Policy
The First Liberty insurance policy provided:
“Family member” means a person related to [the insured] by blood, marriage or adoption who is a resident of [the insured's] household. This includes a ward or foster child.
The District Court's Decision
The court granted the motion.
In its decision, the court found that the “clear and unambiguous meaning” of the policy language was that all categories of “family members” had to be residents of the insured's household.
It then decided that, as a matter of law, Adam and Laura McGeehan were not “residents” of Paul and Roseanne McGeehan's household at the time of the accident. The court found insufficient evidence in the record to support an inference that Adam and Laura McGeehan had established residency in his parents' home following their marriage.
The case is First Liberty Ins. Corp. v. McGeehan, No. 1:16-cv-199-SPB (W.D. Pa. April 9, 2019). Attorneys involved include: THE FIRST LIBERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, Plaintiff, Counter Defendant: Edward A. Schenck, LEAD ATTORNEY, Cipriani & Warner, P.C., Pittsburgh, PA. For PAUL MCGEEHAN, ROSANNE MCGEEHAN, HUSBAND AND WIFE, ADAM MCGEEHAN, LAURA MCGEEHAN, HUSBAND AND WIFE, Defendants: Alexander K. Cox, LEAD ATTORNEY, Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C., Erie, PA; Bryan G Baumann, LEAD ATTORNEY, Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennet, Erie, PA. For LAURA MCGEEHAN, HUSBAND AND WIFE, ROSANNE MCGEEHAN, HUSBAND AND WIFE, PAUL MCGEEHAN, ADAM MCGEEHAN, Counters Claimants: Bryan G Baumann, LEAD ATTORNEY, Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennet, Erie, PA.
Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].