Great West Casualty Co. v. Robbins

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting plaintiff-insurance company’s motion for summary judgment in action seeking declaration that policy issued by plaintiff for insured’s truck trailers did not cover injuries incurred by third-party when driver of truck pulling insured’s trailer struck third-party under circumstances where insured had loaned trailer to company which had hired truck driver. Dist. Ct. could properly find that driver of truck pulling insured’s trailer was not “insured” under terms of policy, because said driver (and his employer) had borrowed said trailer for use in business other than insured’s business as contemplated under exclusion set forth in policy. Ct. rejected defendant’s (estate of injured third-party) argument that policy was ambiguous with respect to coverage question, or that instant trailer was actually used in insured’s business, where Ct. found that insured did not have requisite control over truck driver. Ct. also observed that although Wisconsin law would invalidate instant exclusion from coverage, operative law was Minnesota law, where instant policy was issued and delivered to Minnesota-based insured.