Kender v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co.
Wisconsin Court of Appeals
329 Wis. 2d 378 (2010)
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
Matt Lucey (defendant) worked for Strom Engineering Corporation (Strom) (defendant), a Minnesota company. In March 2005, Lucey was in Wisconsin working with one of Strom’s clients, and Strom rented a car from Enterprise-Rent-A-Car Company, Inc. (Enterprise) (defendant) for Lucey to use while working in Wisconsin. After work, Lucey went to a club with a coworker and discussed employment over drinks. After leaving the club, Lucey caused a car accident with his rental car, injuring Jake Kender (plaintiff). In Wisconsin state court, Kender sued Lucey, Strom, and Enterprise, as well as the insurance company covering Strom, Auto-Owners Insurance Company (Auto-Owners) (defendant), which was a Michigan company, and the insurance company for Enterprise, Empire Fire & Marine Insurance Company (Empire) (defendant). Enterprise was liable only if Auto-Owners did not provide coverage. Strom’s Auto-Owners policy, which was executed in Minnesota, provided that it covered claims caused by any person using the vehicle with permission as a Minnesota-specific endorsement. Minnesota used the initial-permission rule, which provided that if the named insured gives permission to the driver initially, then the driver’s later use is deemed permissive even if the later use was not part of the initial permission. Wisconsin applied the mere-deviation rule, providing that permission includes only minor deviations from the scope of permission. Accordingly, Enterprise moved for a declaratory judgment that Minnesota law applied to Strom’s policy with Auto-Owners, and the trial court granted the motion. Auto-Owners filed an interlocutory appeal, arguing that Wisconsin law should apply.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Curley, J.)
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