An appellate court in Minnesota, affirming a trial court's decision, has ruled that a homeowners' insurance policy did not cover a negligence claim against the insured for injuring a woman with a golf cart at a motorcross racetrack, even if there was a home in the area.
The Case
Shelley Lynn Yocom allegedly was injured while watching a motocross race at Midway Recreation Park when she was struck from behind by a golf cart driven by Jamey Swanson. The raceway property was jointly owned by Jack and Cynthia Stamschror, who also served as officers of the raceway corporation. In addition to the raceway, there was a home on the Stamschrors' 40-acre property.
Following the accident, Ms. Yocom sued Mr. Swanson, the Stamschrors, Midway Recreation Park, Inc., and the entity that leased Midway Recreation Park for the race. Ms. Yocom alleged various acts of negligence with regard to use, maintenance, and oversight of the raceway.
After Ms. Yocum settled her claims against Mr. Swanson for the $300,000 liability limit under the homeowners' insurance policy he had with RAM Mutual Insurance Company, she sued RAM Mutual to recover that amount.
Both parties moved for summary judgment on the issue of whether the policy afforded coverage to Mr. Swanson.
In support of her motion, Ms. Yocom submitted a county property tax statement showing that the Stamschrors' property was classified as agricultural homestead and residential homestead for tax purposes.
The trial court determined that the RAM Mutual policy did not provide incidental-liability coverage because Midway Recreation Park was not a “residential premises . . . used by the insured.”
Accordingly, the trial court granted summary judgment to RAM Mutual, and Ms. Yocom appealed. She asserted that the trial court had erred by interpreting “residential premises” to exclude the property on which she was injured. She also contended that the trial court had erred by “ignoring” evidence that the county classified the entire property as residential.
The Appellate Court's Decision
The appellate court affirmed.
In its decision, the appellate court explained that the sole coverage issue was whether Mr. Swanson was operating the golf cart on “that part of residential premises not owned by an insured while temporarily used by an insured” within the meaning of the RAM Mutual insurance policy.
The appellate court then decided that Mr. Swanson was not entitled to incidental liability coverage in connection with this accident because Ms. Yocom provided no evidence that the area Mr. Swanson was using – the raceway – was “part of residential premises.” She did not allege that the raceway area was residential in nature; rather, the accident occurred while she and Mr. Swanson were attending a public motocross event. According to the appellate court, Ms. Yocom offered “no evidence that any person actually lived at the house located on the 40-acre property or the house's proximity to the raceway.” She also did not suggest or prove that Mr. Swanson used the property for residential purposes.
Accordingly, the appellate court ruled, the policy did not cover Ms. Yocom's injuries.
The appellate court then pointed out that Ms. Yocom cited no legal authority to support her contention that county tax classifications governed whether an incident occurred on “residential premises” under a homeowners' insurance policy.
It concluded that because Mr. Swanson and Ms. Yocom were both at the raceway, for a public motocross race, when the accident occurred and because there was “no evidence that either party was at or near a house,” RAM Mutual's policy did not cover Ms. Yocom's claims against Mr. Swanson.
The case is Yocom v. RAM Mutual Ins. Co., No. A18-1320 (Minn. Ct. App. April 15, 2019). Attorneys involved include: Thomas R. Braun, Dominique J. Navarro, Brenton M. Tunis, Restovich Braun & Associates, Rochester, Minnesota (for appellant); Scott V. Kelley, Daniel J. Bellig, Farrish Johnson Law Office, Chtd., Mankato, Minnesota (for respondent).
Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].