Golf Cart as a Motor Vehicle
July 29, 2013
After obtaining a judgment against the tortfeasor for personal injuries sustained in an auto collision, the injured motorist brought an action against the tortfeasor's insurer seeking a declaratory judgment that a leased modified golf cart was a motor vehicle and was covered under the auto policy of the insured. This case is Angelotta v. Security National Insurance Company, 2013 WL 3357518.
While driving a modified golf cart on a public roadway, the insured, Snyder, sideswiped a car and then crashed into a lawfully stopped golf cart operated by Angelotta. Angelotta sued Snyder to recover for injuries he suffered as a result of the collision. Snyder had an auto liability policy issued by Security. Security refused to defend or indemnify Snyder, claiming that the vehicle driven by Snyder was not covered under the terms of the auto policy.
Angelotta obtained a final judgment against Snyder in the amount of $70,515. Snyder then assigned to Angelotta his rights to any monies from any and all actions he may have against Security. Angelotta then sued Security, seeking a declaratory judgment that the golf cart driven by Snyder was a covered auto under Security's policy.
The trial court entered a judgment for the insurer and this appeal followed.
The insurer argued that it was only obligated to cover bodily injury or property damage for which the insured was legally responsible if the injury or damage was caused by an accident that arose out of the ownership or use of an auto. An auto was defined in the policy as “any self-propelled private passenger motor vehicle with not less than four wheels designed principally for use on paved public streets and highways”. It was Security's position that the modified golf cart in question was not designed principally for use on paved streets and highways.
Angelotta acknowledged that the golf cart was not listed as a covered auto on the policy, but maintained that the golf cart was a low-speed vehicle under Florida law and as such, was a motor vehicle under Florida's financial responsibility law. Angelotta argued that the modifications made to the golf cart brought the vehicle within the statutory definition of a low-speed vehicle. The appeals court agreed.
The appeals court noted that Florida defines a golf cart as “a motor vehicle that is designed and maintained for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational purposes and that is not capable of exceeding speeds of 20 miles per hour”. By contrast, a low-speed vehicle is defined as “any four-wheeled electric vehicle whose top speed is greater than 20 miles per hour but not greater than 25 miles per hour. Low-speed vehicles must comply with the safety standards set by law”. In this instance, the court said, the facts established that the golf cart driven by Snyder was capable of exceeding speeds of 20 miles per hour and fell squarely within the state's statutory definition of a low-speed vehicle.
Based on the clear and unambiguous language of the state statute, the court held that Security was required to insure Snyder against loss from liability imposed upon him for damages suffered by Angelotta as a result of the accident. The modified golf cart driven by Snyder fell within the financial responsibility law's definition of motor vehicle, and since that law required the auto policy to insure the person named in the policy against loss from the liability imposed upon him by law, the insurer was obligated to cover this claim.
The ruling of the trial court was reversed and the case remanded.
Editor's Note: If the golf cart in this instance was not modified and did not meet the definition of a low-speed vehicle (that is, a motor vehicle) within the meaning of the state financial responsibility law, the insurer would have been correct in its denial of coverage. However, the modifications to the golf cart changed its nature and since an auto policy procured under the financial responsibility law is an insurance policy for the benefit of the public using the highways of the state, the insurer was required to defend and indemnify its insured after he caused injury to the claimant.