Spangle

INTRODUCTION

Anthony McCarty purchased a used Chevrolet Blazer for his 16-year-old son, Kevin, 1 from Triple Crown Auto Sales, Inc. (Triple Crown). Approximately one week later, Kevin was driving the Blazer when he collided with and seriously injured plaintiff and appellant Pamela Spangle (plaintiff). Plaintiff obtained a judgment against Kevin far in excess of the insurance covering him. Plaintiff now seeks to recover against a “garage operations” liability policy issued to Triple Crown by defendant and respondent Mid-Century Insurance Company (Mid-Century). 2 Plaintiff’s theory is that, because Triple Crown incorrectly filled out the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) paperwork, title never transferred to Kevin, Triple Crown was still an owner of the Blazer when the accident occurred, and therefore Kevin was insured as a permissive user of the Blazer under Mid-Century’s policy.

This opinion concludes that (1) there are triable issues of material fact regarding title to the automobile and consequently whether Kevin was a permissive user of the automobile; and (2) it cannot be established as a matter of law that Kevin was not covered by the policy if he was a permissive…

I respectfully dissent. The insured had no objectively reasonable expectation of coverage under the garage operations provisions of the policy. The relevant coverage language is found in the portion of the policy entitled, “GARAGE COVERAGE FORM.” The pertinent coverage portion of the policy is entitled, “ ‘GARAGE OPERATIONS’—‘COVERED AUTOS’ ” and states, “We will pay all sums an ‘insured’ must pay as damages because of ‘bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ to which this insurance applies, caused by an ‘accident’ and resulting from ‘garage operations’ involving the ownership, maintenance or use of covered ‘autos.’ ” The definition of “garage operations” is as follows: “ ‘Garage operations’ means the ownership, maintenance or use of locations for *577 garage business and that portion of the roads or other accesses that adjoin these locations. ‘Garage operations’ includes the ownership, maintenance or use of the ‘autos’ indicated in SECTION I of this Coverage Form as covered ‘autos’. ‘Garage operations’ also include[s] all operations necessary or incidental to a garage business.” In terms of the latter definitional language, I agree with defendant the second sentence in the definition…

I concur in the judgment.

As the opinion points out, plaintiff’s theory is that, because Triple Crown incorrectly filled out the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) paperwork, title never transferred to Kevin, Triple Crown was still the owner of the Blazer when the accident occurred, and therefore Kevin was insured as a permissive user of the Blazer under Mid-Century’s policy. This preliminary issue was not decided by the trial court. Therefore, discussion about other issues is premature. I agree that it cannot be established as a matter of law that Kevin was not covered by the policy if he was a permissive user. I also agree that there are triable issues of fact regarding the permissive use question and that the summary judgment should be reversed.

Anthony McCarty purchased a used Chevrolet Blazer for his 16-year-old son, Kevin, [1] from Triple Crown Auto Sales, Inc. (Triple Crown). Approximately one week later, Kevin was driving the Blazer when he collided with and seriously injured plaintiff and appellant Pamela Spangle (plaintiff). Plaintiff obtained a judgment against Kevin far in excess of the insurance covering him. Plaintiff now seeks to recover against a "garage operations" liability policy issued to Triple Crown by defendant and respondent Mid-Century Insurance Company (Mid-Century). [2] Plaintiff's theory is that, because Triple Crown incorrectly filled out the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) paperwork, title never transferred to Kevin, Triple Crown was still an owner of the Blazer when the accident occurred, and therefore Kevin was insured as a permissive user of the Blazer under Mid-Century's policy.

This opinion concludes that (1) there are triable issues of material fact regarding title to the automobile and consequently whether Kevin was a permissive user of the automobile; (2) it cannot be established as a matter of law that Kevin was not covered by the policy if he was a permissive user. The…