Posted on Jul 01, 2014
The Pennsylvania Superior Court yesterday, June 30, 2014 in Erie Ins. Group v. Catania, — A.3d — (Pa. Super. June 30, 2014) upheld a regular use exclusion in a case involving a Pa. auto accident. The case involves a Pa. car accident where a person was injured by an uninsured motorist while in the course and scope of his employment. He pursued an uninsured motorist (UM) claim with his personal carrier Erie which denied coverage under a regular use exclusion. The trial court found in favor of Erie and the insured appealed.
The Superior Court affirms the trial court decision. First, the Superior Court follows its recent 2013 decision in Hand v. City of Philadelphia, 65 A.2d 916 (Pa. Super. 2013) as well as the Supreme Court opinion in Williams v. GEICO, 32 A.3d 1195 (Pa. 2011) and another Superior Court opinion in Brink v. Erie Ins. Group, 940 A.2d 528 (Pa. Super. 2008) and held that Catania was not entitled to relief while driving a delivery truck for his employer which he did not own and was regularly used but not insured under the Erie policy. Second, the court holds that the policy only covered personal vehicles and in its coverage and premium structure never contemplated exposure for injuries that occurred in a non-owned work vehicle so Catania could not have any expectation of coverage.
For a copy of the opinion please contact Schmidt Kramer Pennsylvania Auto Accident Lawyer Scott Cooper at scooper@Schmidt Kramer.com.
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