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Layne v. Westfield Insurance Co.2/13/2002
Plaintiffs-Appellants Mark M. Layne and James W. Hansberry appeal from the judgment of the Ross County Court of Common Pleas which granted, on remand from a previous appeal to this Court, the motion for summary judgment of Appellee Westfield Insurance Company.
Appellants argue, inter alia, that the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a decision, subsequent to the release of our first opinion, that conflicts with the mandate we issued to the trial court on remand. We agree and reverse the judgment of the trial court.
I. Proceedings Below
This is the second time we have addressed issues involving these parties on appeal. In order to provide context for the present appeal, we will revisit the facts and holding from the first appeal. See Hansberry v. Westfield Insurance Co., Layne v. Westfield Insurance Co. (June 27, 2000), Ross App. Nos. 99CA2504 and 99CA2505, unreported.
Plaintiffs-Appellants Mark M. Layne and James W. Hansberry (appellants) were injured in separate automobile accidents in 1996 and 1997 during the course and in the scope of their employment with the Ross County Board of Commissioners (the Board). Both accidents were caused by either an uninsured or underinsured motorist.
At the time of each accident, the Board held an automobile policy, issued by Appellee Westfield Insurance Company (Westfield), which listed both appellants as insureds. However, appellants' claims were denied because, according to Westfield, the Board had expressly rejected its offer to carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM coverage).
A. The Initial Action
Shortly thereafter, appellants each filed separate declaratory- judgment actions in the Ross County Court of Common Pleas against Westfield, each seeking a declaration that UM/UIM coverage was available to them. Specifically, they made two arguments: (1) that Westfield failed to provide an adequate written offer of UM/UIM coverage to the Board; and (2) even if a valid offer was made, the Board's rejection of that offer was invalid. Thus, appellants concluded, in the absence of a valid offer that was properly rejected, UM/UIM coverage existed by operation of law.
Eventually, appellants and Westfield filed motions for summary judgment in their respective cases, which the trial court consolidated for purposes of briefing and decision.
1. Westfield's Argument
In support of its summary-judgment motion, Westfield attached a copy of a document it referred to as Form AC753 and two affidavits: the first from James M. Caldwell, a commissioner on the Board; and the second from Gary Brenning, a Westfield agent.
a. The Affidavits
Caldwell, in his affidavit, averred that Brenning had worked with the Board in the renewal of their policy for the policy period of August 3, 1993 through August 3, 1994. Caldwell testified that Brenning had orally offered the Board UM/UIM coverage equal to the bodily injury liability limits on their primary policy, and that this offer was confirmed in writing in Form AC753.
Caldwell further testified that the Board understood the nature of UM/UIM coverage, but chose to reject it because they "did not want to spend tax dollars for this coverage since Workers[`] Compensation laws already protected County employees injured while employed *."
In Brenning's affidavit, he corroborated much of what was stated in Caldwell's affidavit. Brenning testified that he discussed UM/UIM coverage with the Board and explained their rights under Ohio law to them. He further stated that, following these discussions, the Board indicated that they would reject UM/UIM coverage and m
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