No. 31972 _
Glen Falls Insurance Company v. Billie Joe Smith, Robin Smith and Johnny
Combs and GMAC Insurance Company v. Johnny Combs
Albright, Chief Justice, dissenting, in part, and concurring, in part:
I strongly disagree with the majority's affirmance of the lower court's grant of
summary judgment in favor of Glen Falls Insurance Company
(See footnote 1)
on the basis that Appellant was
not the foster child of Mr. Smith at the time of the accident, because this result was reached
by ignoring time-honored principles governing the interpretation of ambiguous terms in
insurance policies and in complete disregard of the realities surrounding the human
relationship of foster child and foster parent. I have serious concern with the analysis used by
the majority not only because of the specific result reached in this case, but also because it
casts doubt on the vitality of two firmly rooted principles in our law _ that an insurance
contract will be construed in favor of the insured and that a term not defined within an
insurance policy will be given its ordinary meaning.
The Glen Falls portion of this case involves the meaning of the term foster child
as it appears within the four corners of an insurance policy,
not as it appears in statutes setting
forth the state's responsibility to protect abused and neglected children. I submit that the term
“foster child” in the context of this case involves the human relationship of a foster child and
foster parent, not a legal relationship created by the state removing a child from its home. This
conclusion is reached based on traditional methods this Court has employed in analyzing
ambiguous terms in an insurance contract.
The term “foster child” which is included in the definition of “family member”
is not defined in the insurance policy at issue. Given the uncertainty regarding its meaning,
“[i]t is well settled law in West Virginia that ambiguous terms in insurance contracts are to be
strictly construed against the insurance company and in favor of the insured.” Syl. Pt. 4,
National Mut. Ins. Co. v. McMahon & Sons, Inc., 177 W.Va. 734, 356 S.E.2d 488 (1987),
overruled on other grounds, Potesta v. U.S. Fidelity & Guar. Co., 202 W. Va. 308, 504
S.E.2d 135 (1998). In applying this standard, we give “[l]anguage in an insurance policy . . . its
plain and ordinary meaning,” and the interpretation is made from the standpoint of “a
reasonable person in the insured's position.” Syl. Pts. 1 and 4,
Soliva v. Shand, Morahan &
Co., Inc., 176 W. Va. 430, 345 S.E.2d 33 (1986) (citation omitted), Syl. Pt. 1
overruled on
other grounds, National Mut. Ins. Co. v. McMahon & Sons, Inc., 177 W. Va. 734, 356 S.E.
2d 488 (1987).
See also Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 211 comment e (“[C]ourts in
construing and applying a standardized contract seek to effectuate the reasonable expectations
of the average member of the public who accepts it.”). This standard was established in large
part because insurance contracts are usually contracts of adhesion where the insured is not in
the position to negotiate the terms of the policy with the insurer.
See Mitchell v. Broadnax,
208 W.Va. 36, 537 S.E.2d 882 (2000);
Auber v. Jellen, 196 W.Va. 168, 469 S.E.2d 104 (
1996).
The plain and ordinary meaning of a term such as foster child is generally found
in a common dictionary. The phrase “foster child” is defined under the word “foster” in
The
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1969) as “receiving, sharing, or
affording parental care and nurture
although not related through legal or blood ties.”
Id. at
519 (emphasis added). Such a common sense reading has been applied by a number of courts
over the years.
See e.g. In re Norman's Estate, 295 N.W. 63 (Minn. 1940);
Joseph v. Utah
Home Fire Ins. Co., 835 P.2d 885, 888 (Or. 1992) (“In the common understanding, the
defining relationship is one of nurturing, supporting, rearing _ one of fostering _ and not
necessarily a 'legal relationship.'”);
see also 66 A.L.R. 5
th 269 §12, Annotation,
Who is
“Member” or “Resident” of Same “Family” or “Household” within No-fault or Uninsured
Motorist Provisions of Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy (1999) (compilation of cases). This
straightforward definition also reflects common experience.
Over the years many people with large hearts and wise ways have reached out to
feed, clothe, shelter, nurture and love children not born of them, adopted by them or otherwise
legally related to them. In turn, many of those children have in their adult years returned that
love so freely given _ hence establishing the actual lifetime relationship of foster child and
foster parent. Such relationships are not necessarily dependent on state intervention by our
courts or our governmental agencies. The Glen Falls insurance policy _ as it defined family
member _ may be easily read to include such non-legal relationships by reason of its use of
the term “foster child.” The undisputed facts in this case clearly demonstrate that Appellant
and Mr. Smith shared a
human relationship which comports with the ordinary or commonly
held definition of foster child/foster father. At the time relevant to this case, Mr. Smith
provided Appellant, at the least, shelter, some monetary support, companionship, shared meals
and shared time.
Rather than looking to the plain meaning of the term “foster child,” the majority
announced in syllabus point five that “the terms 'ward' and 'foster child' as used in the
definition of 'family member' in an automobile insurance policy . . . [are limited in meaning
to] a legally recognized relationship.”
(See footnote 2)
It is hard to believe that a common person in the same
position as Mr. Smith when he obtained the insurance policy would believe that some “legally
recognized relationship” had to be in place in order to afford protection through the policy to
those who were members of his household. The reasoning of the majority hardly favors the
insured. I find it most difficult to understand why the majority, members of this Court who
have given careful attention to honoring the best interests of families and family structures,
could come to a conclusion which negates the human relationship that exists between a foster
parent and foster child in order to deprive an insured person the benefits of an insurance
contract purchased to protect himself and the members of his real family. The relationship of
foster child and foster parent
may be created in the course of a statutory abuse and neglect
proceeding by court order,
but long before this State created such proceedings, the foster
child/foster parent relationship has been and continues to be forged by the freely given and
received acts of love and caring common to many such relationships without any governmental
involvement at all.
The majority also found that even if Mr. Smith had established the legally
recognized relationship of foster child/foster parent, Appellant's age precluded coverage under
the insurance policy because he was beyond the age of eighteen at the time the accident
occurred. The age restriction makes no sense in the context of the other relationships listed
in the policy because had Appellant been the adult child of the insured through blood, marriage
or adoption and resided with the insured, then he would have clearly fallen within the insurance
policy's internal definition of family member regardless of age. The majority's reliance on
the fact that Appellant was over the age of majority as further reason for denying insurance
coverage simply makes no sense in the context of the policy or the expectations of the insured.
While the foregoing reflects my serious reservations with the outcome involving
the Glen Falls policy, I concur with the majority's affirmance of the lower court's grant of
summary judgment for GMAC Insurance Company as the facts do not show that Appellant was
a resident of his biological mother's household on the date of the accident for which he sought
underinsured motorist coverage. Accordingly, I dissent, in part, and concur, in part, with the
majority opinion.
Footnote: 1