Lanier v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co.

Evidence that the minor plaintiff and his mother were living with the insured at the time of their accident with an uninsured driver raised an issue of fact as to whether the minor plaintiff was a relative as defined by the insured's uninsured motorist coverage.

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Cody Lanier, by his next friend and natural guardian Catherine Marie Lanier, his mother, filed a suit for injuries suffered in a motor vehicle collision and served State Farm Mutual Insurance Company State Farm as the uninsured motorist carrier. This appeal is from the grant of partial summary judgment to State Farm. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse.

On April 6, 1997, Cody, then aged five, was injured in a collision while a passenger in an automobile driven by his maternal grandfather, Freddy Kent. The insurer of the other driver subsequently became insolvent. Accordingly, a copy of the complaint against the other driver was served on State Farm as Kent’s uninsured motorist carrier. Kent owned three vehicles, each covered by a different policy issued by State Farm. State Farm moved for summary judgment, conceding coverage with respect to the policy on the car involved in the collision, but resisting coverage as to the other two policies. The basis for its resistance was that Cody was not a “relative” of his grandfather within the meaning of those policies, as he did not live with him at the time of the collision. Under those policies, uninsured motorist coverage extended to a “relative,” defined as “a person related to the named insured . . . by blood . . . who lives with the named insured.” The sole factual issue underlying this appeal is whether Cody lived with his grandfather at the time of the collision.

Lanier v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co.

Evidence that the minor plaintiff and his mother were living with the insured at the time of their accident with an uninsured driver raised an issue of fact as to whether the minor plaintiff was a relative as defined by the insured's uninsured motorist coverage.

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