Simpson v. Farmers Insurance Company, Inc.

Yvonne Joanne Simpson (plaintiff) had to drive her car into a ditch in order to avoid hitting another vehicle and wound up hitting a utility pole. As a result, Simpson was injured. The driver of the other car was never identified. There was no contact between this car and Simpson’s car. Simpson sought recovery under the uninsured-motorist provision (UM) of her insurance policy with Farmers Insurance Company, Inc. (Farmers) (defendant). The UM provision required Farmers to pay the insured’s damages for bodily injury caused by the owner or operator of an uninsured vehicle. The definition of “uninsured automobile” included “hit and run” vehicles, which were defined as motor vehicles that caused bodily injury “arising out of physical contact” between the motor vehicle and the insured. Farmers refused to pay Simpson’s claim because, Farmers claimed, the UM provision required physical contact between the unidentified vehicle and Simpson’s vehicle. Simpson filed a declaratory-judgment action against Farmers to determine if her injuries were covered by the UM provision of her policy with Farmers. Farmers moved for summary judgment because, it claimed, since Simpson’s vehicle never came into contact with the unidentified vehicle, her accident was not covered under the UM provision. The trial court granted Farmers’ motion for summary judgment. Simpson appealed.