20 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 660a
Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2007GEICInsurance — Uninsured motorist — Wife is bound by husband’s election of non-stacked UM coverage when he purchased insurance coverage where it was established wife authorized husband to procure insurance on her behalf
GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, a Maryland corporation, Petitioner, vs. TEOFILO RODRIGUEZ and LISSETTE RODRIGUEZ, Respondents. Circuit Court, 20th Judicial Circuit in and for Collier County, Civil Division. Case No. 2012-CA-3977. March 28, 2013. Honorable Hugh D. Hayes, Judge. Counsel: Henry G. Gyden and Dorothy DiFiore, Haas Lewis DiFiore, P.A., Tampa, for Petitioner. Ryan Kuhl, Morgan & Morgan, P.A., Naples, for Respondents.
FINAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT
THIS MATTER having come before the Court on Petitioner’s, GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY (“GEICO”), Motion for Summary Judgment, and the Court having heard the argument of counsel, reviewed the court file, and being fully advised in the premises, it is therefore ORDERED as follows:
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. This is an action for declaratory judgment that arose from an automobile accident that occurred on April 26, 2012, in Collier County, Florida. Respondent, LISSETTE RODRIGUEZ, was operating a 2007 Jeep Wrangler owned by her husband, Respondent, TEOFILO RODRIGUEZ, when another vehicle experienced a brake failure and failed to stop at an intersection. As a result, Mrs. Rodriguez struck the left front of the other vehicle and was injured during the collision.
2. At the time of the accident, Teofilo and Lissette Rodriguez maintained an automobile insurance policy, number [Editor’s Note: Number Omitted], through GEICO, which had an effective policy period of November 14, 2011 through May 14, 2012. The named insureds on the GEICO policy were Teofilo and Lissette Rodriguez. Their daughter, Krystle Rodriguez, was listed as an additional driver. The GEICO policy provided coverage for four vehicles, including the 2007 Jeep Wrangler involved in the April 26, 2012, accident.
3. The GEICO policy provided bodily injury liability coverage in the amount of $300,000/$500,000 and also provided Uninsured Motorist (“UM”) coverage in the amount of $25,000/$50,000. The UM coverage was non-stacked.
4. When Teofilo Rodriguez purchased the GEICO policy, he was provided an Uninsured Motorist election form. Mr. Rodriguez checked the box that stated, “I want Non-Stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage at the limit checked below.” (emphasis added). Regarding the policy limit, Mr. Rodriguez selected $25,000/$50,000 coverage limits. The election form was electronically signed by Teofilo Rodriguez. There is no dispute between the parties that Teofilo Rodriguez elected non-stacked UM coverage at the above limits.
5. Respondents contend that Lissette Rodriguez is entitled to stacked UM benefits in the amount of $100,000 (four vehicles x $25,000) based on the fact that she did not sign the UM election form (even though the form was signed by her husband).
6. In asserting this argument, Respondents rely on the First District’s decision in Travelers Commercial Insurance Co. v. Harrington, 86 So. 3d 1274 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) [37 Fla. L. Weekly D1140c].
7. When there is a conflict between the Second District and another district court, this Court is bound to follow the precedents from the Second District. See generally Brodose v. School Bd. of Pinellas County, 622 So. 2d 513, 515 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993) (recognizing that, even though cases from other district courts reached a contrary conclusion, Circuit Courts in the Second District are obligated to follow Second District precedent). Moreover, this Court is bound by all precedents established by the Supreme Court of Florida. Accordingly, this Court concludes that the decision in Harrington is not controlling on this issue.
8. Rather, this Court must follow the decision in Acquesta v. Industrial Fire & Casualty Co., 467 So. 2d 284, 285 (Fla. 1985), in which the Supreme Court of Florida held that, when a husband or wife acts as the agent for the other spouse in purchasing automobile insurance, the non-signing spouse is bound by the coverage selected by the signing spouse, including the signing spouse’s rejection of UM coverage.
9. This same conclusion was reached by the Second District Court of Appeal in St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co. v. MacDonald, 509 So. 2d 1139 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987), in which the Second District applied Acquesta and held that, since the wife was acting as her husband’s agent, he was bound by the wife’s rejection of higher UM coverage when she applied for automobile insurance.
10. Lissette Rodriguez’s deposition testimony undisputedly establishes that she gave her husband the authority to purchase automobile insurance on her behalf. Thus, based on the decisions in Acquesta and MacDonald, Teofilo Rodriguez’s election of non-stacked UM coverage is binding on his wife, and thus, Lissette Rodriguez is only entitled to $25,000 in non-stacked UM benefits under the GEICO policy.
It is therefore ORDERED and ADJUDGED that Final Summary Judgment is entered in favor of GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY. This Court further declares that GEICO is only obligated to provide non-stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage to Lissette Rodriguez in the amount of $25,000. The parties acknowledge that GEICO has already fulfilled this obligation by tendering a check for $25,000 to Respondents.
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