Matthew Moehrle Wins Court Of Appeals Case

On April 6, 2015 the Minnesota Court of Appeals awarded a win to attorney Matthew Moehrle on an insurance coverage case. Matthew successfully defended our client – an insurance company – against claims by two other insurance companies on the question of which company has the final obligation to pay damages to an injured motorcyclist. Our client wrote the homeowners insurance policy for the homeowner who was at fault in the accident. The motorcyclist had been forced off the road and crashed because the homeowner had strung a rope from a tree he was cutting down and tied it to the hitch of his pickup which was parked in the road. Luckily the motorcyclist saw the rope at the last second and avoided it, but was unable to completely avoid getting hurt.

Matthew successfully argued to the court of appeals that, because the homeowner was using his pickup truck at the time of the accident, his automobile policy, if anything, should cover the loss. This is because the terms of the homeowners policy issued by our client specifically excludes coverage for losses arising out of the use of a motor vehicle. In the end the court of appeals agreed that the homeowners policy provides no coverage, and determined that the insurance company which issued the automobile policy for the pickup is the company that has the obligation to pay.

If you have any questions regarding a potential appeal or questions about insurance coverage, please contact Matthew today.