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New Hampshire Insurance Co. v. Oliver3/3/1999
insured vehicle at the time he sustained his injuries. Rather, what Oliver argues is that he qualifies as an insured under the portion of the UM endorsement which identifies "You" as an insured. Oliver urges us to construe New Hampshire's policy in its entirety, and to apply the definition of "You" contained in the portion of the policy entitled Commercial General Liability Coverage Form ("General Liability policy") to the UM endorsement.
The General Liability policy provides that the word "You," wherever found throughout the policy, refers to the named insured (i.e., Seminole Tribe of Florida Inc.), and "any other person or organization qualifying as a named insured" under the policy. The General Liability policy further provides that an "employee" acting within the "scope of their employment" or "performing duties related to the conduct of business" is also an "insured."
Hence, Oliver contends that since he was injured "on the job," and was performing duties related to the Tribe's business, he qualified as an insured under the General Liability policy's definition of "You." Further, that since the General Liability policy provides that its definition of "You" applies throughout the main policy, that definition should be applied to the UM endorsement to qualify him as an insured under that portion of the policy. We decline to make such an application because the UM endorsement addresses the definition of an "insured." Thus, the UM endorsement's definition necessarily trumps the General Liability policy's definition for purposes of UM coverage.
As to New Hampshire's second argument, we agree that the availability of UM coverage turns on whether Oliver's injuries arose out of the "ownership, maintenance or use" of the uninsured motor vehicle. See Race v. Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 542 So. 2d 347, 349 (Fla. 1989). In Niglio v. Omaha Property and Casualty Ins. Co., 679 So. 2d 323 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996), we analyzed the scope of UM coverage. In that case, we noted three rules to be applied in determining an insurer's liability under the "ownership, maintenance, or use" provisions in UM policies. Those rules are: 1) The accident must have arisen out of the inherent nature of the automobile; 2) The accident must have arisen within the natural territorial limits of an automobile, and the actual use, loading, or unloading must not have terminated; and 3) The automobile must not merely contribute to cause the condition which produces the injury, but must, itself, produce the injury. Niglio 679 So. 2d at 325, citing Race, 542 So. 2d at 349 (quoting 6BJ. Appleman, Insurance Law and Practice §4317 (Buckley ed. 1979)). Further, we concluded that coverage is limited to those cases where injury is closely connected to the motor vehicle, so as not to do violence to the policy language "as understood by a person of reasonable intelligence." Id. at 325.
In Niglio, it was the third rule that precluded a finding of UM coverage. There, the plaintiff was injured in a drive by shooting. Id. at 323. The car in which the shooters were riding was uninsured, thus, the plaintiff sought coverage under his uninsured motorist policy. Id. We found that the gun, and not the car, produced the injury. Id. at 325. The car at issue merely transported and contained the shooters, thus, only contributed to the condition that produced the plaintiff's injuries. Id. at 325. As such, we concluded that the plaintiff's injuries did not arise out of the"ownership, maintenance, or use" of the uninsured motor vehicle. Id.
Recently, in Kelly v. Toth-Kip, 23 Fla. L. Weekly D1540 (Fla. 4th DCA June 24, 1998), we reached an identical Conclusion. In that case, a police officer stopped an uninsured driver be
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