Brian Ferguson, a cable installer, lent his wife, Angella, the van provided by his employer, the cable company KTS, and she got into an accident. The other parties in the accident (“Plaintiffs”) sued, and claimed coverage under KTS’ insurance policy with Penn National Insurance (“Defendant”). Brown et al. v. Penn National Security Insurance Company dba Penn National Insurance, No. 1:12CV-1204, U.S. District Court, M.D. North Carolina.

A Magistrate Judge heard the motion by Defendant for summary judgment and made a Recommendation to the U.S. District Judge who was in charge of the case.

The Magistrate Judge’s Recommendation was to grant the motion in part in favor of Penn National, finding no coverage under the insurance policy (“the Policy”). However, the Magistrate Judge also recommended denial of the motion in part, finding there was a genuine issue of fact whether there was coverage under North Carolina’s Motor Vehicle Safety and Responsibility Act of 1953 (the “Act”), N.C. Gen. Stat. sections 20-279.1 et seq., as amended.

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Sometimes an accident occurs and someone is injured, but the responsible person has no insurance or does not have adequate insurance to pay full compensation for the injuries or property damage. Fortunately, insurance coverage may be available if the injured party is a resident of the same household as an insured person under an underinsured motorist (UIM) policy.

A 16-year-old girl named Harley was riding in her cousin Randall’s truck when he crashed it. Harley was injured when she was thrown from the truck.

Harley’s medical expenses came to $81,087, but Randall’s insurance was only $30,000. She filed a complaint through her guardian ad litem, and Randall’s insurer paid.

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A driver traveling under the speed limit is passed by another driver, who then swerves into the lane directly in front of her. They collide.

The passing driver is at fault, of course.

Not necessarily. The driver who was passed may have been contributorily negligent, meaning that she too played a role in the collision, by not driving defensively.

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It seems axiomatic that if one car hits another, the first car is responsible for the collision.

It isn’t always that simple. In North Carolina, if the plaintiff driver brought the collision on himself or herself by his or her own action or inaction, the defendant may escape liability because of the plaintiff’s contributory negligence. Where the evidence before the court could support a jury finding of contributory negligence by a plaintiff, the trial judge will give the appropriate jury instruction to advise the jury what factors are proper for them to consider before reaching their verdict.

The defendant is not completely in the clear, though, even if the evidence supports a finding that a plaintiff has been contributorily negligent.

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A law enforcement officer driving his or her official vehicle must sometimes violate traffic regulations, such as stop signs, traffic lights, and speed limits, to pursue a suspected lawbreaker, or to drive as fast as possible to the scene of a serious crime or accident.

The officer is required to weigh the necessity of the high-risk driving against the risk to civilians.

A recent case involved a speeding sheriff’s deputy, who crashed into a driver emerging into his path from a residential neighborhood, causing both the deputy and the driver to be injured.

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