Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company “Empire” filed a declaratory judgment action against James R. Carver, Carver’s Service, Inc., Jacqueline P. Daniels and Joseph L. Daniels the “defendants”, among others, seeking a ruling that its insurance policies provided no coverage for claims arising from a January 26, 1999 automobile accident. Canal Indemnity Company “Canal” also filed a declaratory judgment action against the defendants seeking a ruling that its insurance policy did not provide coverage for claims arising from the January 26, 1999 accident. The accident involved a single automobile driven by Shana Carver, James Carver’s wife, and owned by Carver’s Service. Haley Mosley, Shana Carver’s daughter, was a passenger in the vehicle, as were Joey Allen Daniels and Joseph Patrick Daniels. Shana Carver and Joey Allen Daniels died in the accident while Haley Mosley and Joseph Patrick Daniels, both minors, were injured. As a result of the accident, Haley Mosley, through her father and natural guardian, George Mosley, sued James Carver and Carver’s Service. Joseph L. Daniels and Jacquelyn Daniels, as next friends and legal custodians of Jordan Ashley Daniels and Joseph Patrick Daniels, also filed a lawsuit against James Carver and Carver’s Service in connection with the accident.
In Case No. A04A1747, James Carver and Carver’s Service appeal from the order of the trial court limiting Canal’s coverage of the claims of Jacquelyn Daniels and Joseph L. Daniels to the mandatory minimum required by law. In Case No. A04A1746, James Carver and Carver’s Service claim the trial court erred in ruling on Empire’s motion for summary judgment without considering an excess insurance policy that Empire had issued to Carver’s Service. In Case No. A04A1748, Jacqueline Daniels and Joseph L. Daniels also claim the trial court erred by failing to consider the excess insurance policy. We have consolidated these appeals for purposes of this opinion. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in Case No. A04A1747. In Case No. A04A1746 and Case No. A04A1748, we agree that the trial court overlooked the excess insurance policy and remand the cases for a ruling as to that policy.
