A federal district court in Florida has ruled that a motorcycle was a vehicle under the terms of three automobile insurance policies and, therefore, that the motorcycle’s owner was not entitled to uninsured or underinsured (“UM”) benefits under the policies for injuries he suffered in an accident.
The Case
When Kristen Cusack’s son, Christopher Straub, moved in with
Kristen and Robert Cusack, he owned an uninsured Harley Davidson
motorcycle.
He subsequently was involved in an accident while driving his motorcycle.
Straub sued State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, which had issued automobile insurance policies to the Cusacks, to recover UM benefits.
State Farm moved for summary judgment, arguing that the “plain meaning” of the term motor vehicle in its policies included Straub’s motorcycle and, therefore, that he could not recover UM benefits under the policies as a result of an exclusion in the policies.
The State Farm policies
The automobile policies issued by State Farm to the Cusacks
stated:
Exclusions
THERE IS NO COVERAGE:
2. FOR AN INSURED WHO SUSTAINS BODILY INJURY:
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