American Service Insurance Company v. Jones

State: Illinois

Court: 1st District Appellate

Docket No: 1-08-0402 Rel

Case Date: 03/31/2010

Preview:THIRD DIVISION March 31, 2010 No. 1-08-0402 AMERICAN SERVICE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant and Cross-Appellee, v. ARTHUR JONES, RAMOS MOVERS, INC., JOSE G. TORRES, Defendants-Appellees (Elite Rental, Inc., and National Casualty Company, Defendants-Appellees and Cross-Appellants; State Farm Mutual Insurance Company, Defendant). ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY

No. 05 CH 5359 )

HONORABLE MARY ANNE MASON, JUDGE PRESIDING.

JUSTICE STEELE delivered the opinion of the court: In this declaratory judgment action, plaintiff American Service Insurance Company (ASI) appeals an order of the circuit court of Cook County granting summary judgment to defendants Elite Rental, Inc. (Elite), National Casualty Company (National), Ramos Movers, Inc. (Ramos), and Jose G. Torres (Torres) on count II of ASI's complaint, ruling that ASI provided primary coverage and was obligated to defend Ramos in an underlying automobile collision suit, while National's policy provided excess coverage. National and Elite cross-appeal from the circuit court's ruling on their counterclaim, granting summary judgment to ASI and Torres and declaring that National's policy provides $1 million of coverage.1

1

Defendant State Farm Mutual Insurance Company, which insured Torres, is not a party

to this appeal.

1-08-0402 BACKGROUND The record on appeal discloses the following facts. Ramos is a moving company that owned two trucks for personal moving services. On October 5, 2004, defendant Arthur Jones (Jones) rented a truck from Elite on behalf of Ramos to complete a scheduled move that day from Crystal Lake, Illinois, to Crown Point, Indiana. En route, Jones was involved in a collision with Torres, while still in Illinois, resulting in injuries to Torres. Since 1995, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ILCC) had issued a public carrier certificate and certificate of public convenience and necessity to Ramos, granting Ramos the authority to operate as a common carrier of household goods between points within a 50-mile radius of Chicago, Illinois, and as a common carrier of other goods to and from points in Illinois. In 2003, Ramos applied to ASI for truck insurance. The application describes Ramos as a local household furnishings mover. The application listed a truck and a van, each located in Chicago, Illinois, with an operating radius of 50 miles. ASI insured Ramos under a general liability policy, listing Ramos's two trucks as covered vehicles. The ASI policy included a single, combined limit for bodily injury and property damage of $750,000. The policy provides: "COVERAGE A

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