CENTURY INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK, A FOREIGN CORPORATION, APPELLANTS,
v.
CHERYL FILLMORE, A MINOR BY AND THROUGH HER MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, SHERYLYN FILLMORE, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that a commercial tow truck qualifies as a 'motor vehicle' under the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, entitling an insured pedestrian struck by it to personal injury protection benefits.
A five-year-old child, a pedestrian, was struck by a commercial tow truck and injured. Her grandmother's no-fault insurance policy, issued by the appe…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Motor Vehicle Definition cases and more on FLexlaw
ROBERT A. GREEN, Jr., Associate Judge.
The appellant, defendant below, seeks interlocutory review of a partial summary judgment for the appellees as to liability under a no fault automobile insurance policy.
The appellee, Cheryl Fillmore, a five-year old child, sustained certain personal injuries when she was struck by a commercial vehicle while she was a pedestrian. At the time of the accident she resided in a household with her mother and grandmother. Her grandmother had a no fault automobile insurance policy issued by the appellant, which provided for personal injury protection covering injuries sustained by an insured when struck by a motor vehicle. A claim was filed for Cheryl Fillmore’s injuries, which the appellant denied claiming a commercial tow truck was not a motor vehicle. As a result, the appellees filed the instant declaratory judgment action. Appellant defended, alleging no coverage. The parties stipulated as to the basic facts and the appellees moved for a summary judgment as to liability. After hearing on the motion, the trial court entered the partial summary judgment appealed herein. We affirm.
The issue turns on the definition of “motor vehicle” in § 627.732(1), Fla.Stat. The trial judge correctly held the vehicle involved was within the definition. See: DeThorne v. Beck, Fla.App.1973, 280 So. 2d 448.
In a pedestrian case, such as this, where the action is against the plaintiff-appellee’s insurance carrier for personal injury protection benefits, such an interpretation is the only reasonable one. For purposes of being entitled to these benefits, subject to the carrier’s right to claim against the third party tortfeasor for indemnification, it cannot matter whether the tow truck is a “commercial vehicle”.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Alcides Camacho v. Allstate Ins. Co., 310 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)…Act, and, therefore, only statutory revision by the legislature could effect the result which the plaintiff proposes. To the extent this holding may conflict with our prior decision in Century Insurance Company of New York v. Fillmore, Fla.App.1974, 306 So. 2d 548, opinion filed December 10, 1974, we recede from that decision. Therefore, for the reasons stated and upon the authorities cited, the summary final judgment herein appealed is affirmed. Affirmed. . In Negron, the plaintiff, driving a United State…
-
Heredia v. Allstate Ins. Co., 346 So. 2d 1230 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)…urance Company, 310 So. 2d 330 (Fla.3d DCA 1975); and Saborit v. Deliford, 312 So. 2d 795 (Fla.3d DCA 1975). Cf. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Butler, 340 So. 2d 1185 (Fla.4th DCA 1976). But see Century Insurance Company of New York v. Fillmore, 306 So. 2d 548 (Fla.3d DCA 1974). Affirmed.…
Authorities Cited
- DeTHORNE v. Beck, 280 So. 2d 448 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973)