United States District Court, D. Arizona
ORDER
Honorable John J. Tuchi, United States District Judge.
At
issue is Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc.
56, MSJ), supported by Plaintiff's Statement of Facts
(Doc. 57, PSOF), to which Defendant Neetan Mandalia filed a
Response (Doc. 58, Resp.) and responsive Statement of Facts
(Doc. 59, DSOF), and Plaintiff filed a Reply (Doc. 61,
Reply). For the reasons that follow, the Court grants
Plaintiff's Motion.
I.BACKGROUND
A.
The SLP policy with Empire
On
March 16, 2015, Defendant Sean Patton (“Patton”)
rented a car from Enterprise Rent-a-Car Company
(“Enterprise”) at its Indio, California location.
(PSOF, Ex. 2-A.) Patton signed a four-page rental agreement
with Enterprise. (PSOF, Ex. 2-A.) Page one contains the
bolded and capitalized headline ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF
THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT, WHICH CONSISTS OF PAGES 1 THROUGH
4. Below is smaller capitalized print that
states “I HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS ON PAGES 1 THROUGH 4.” Patton signed
underneath this. (PSOF, Ex. 2-A.)
On its
third page, the rental agreement contains a bolded and
underlined heading “Limits on Use and
Termination of Right to Use.” Directly
underneath is the following:
Renter
agrees to the following limits on use:
(4) Vehicle shall not be used for: any illegal purposes; in
any illegal or reckless manner; in a race or speed contest;
or to tow or push anything.
(7) Vehicle shall not be driven by any person impaired by the
use of alcohol, narcotics, intoxicants, or drugs, used with
or without a prescription.
(9) Vehicle shall not be driven or taken outside the states
authorized on Page 1.
The
center of page one contained the following in all capitals:
“PERMISSION GRANTED TO OPERATE VEHICLE IN THE STATE OF
RENTAL AND THE FOLLOWING STATE(S): CA ONLY.” (PSOF, Ex.
2-A.)
Patton
also elected to purchase separate supplemental liability
protection (“SLP”) provided by Plaintiff Empire
Fire and Marine Insurance Company (“Empire”).
(PSOF, Ex. 2-A.) He did so by initialing the following, on
page one of the Enterprise rental agreement:
“RENTER ACCEPTS OPTIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL LIABILITY
PROTECTION (SLP) AT FEE SHOW IN COLUMN TO RIGHT. SEE
PARAGRAPH 17.”
Paragraph
17 is located on page three of the rental agreement and
provides a summary of both the SLP coverage and its
exclusions. Under the headline Optional
Supplemental Liability Protection, the
agreement says “THIS IS A SUMMARY ONLY
AND IS SUBJECT TO ALL PROVISIONS, LIMITATIONS,
EXCEPTIONS AND EXCLUSIONS OF THE SLP POLICY. UPON REQUEST, A
COPY OF THE POLICY IS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW.”
Paragraph 17 also contains the bolded and underlined headings
SLP Benefits and SLP
Exclusions. The latter directs the renter to
refer to the SLP for a complete list of exclusions. However,
it lists, among others, the following “key
exclusions” from coverage:
(a) Loss arising out of an accident which occurs while Renter
. . . is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or other
substances unless prescribed by a physician;
(j) Loss arising out of the use of Vehicle when such use is
otherwise in violation of the terms and conditions of the
Rental Agreement.
B.
The SLP policy with Empire
The SLP
is a separate document.[1] The declarations page lists
“Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company” as the
insurer and “ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS INC” as the
policyholder. (PSOF, Ex. 2-C at 3.) Section I of the SLP
provisions contains a heading titled
EXCLUSIONS. (PSOF, Ex. 2-C at 7.)
Underneath, it states:
In addition to the exclusions contained in the
“underlying insurance”, this insurance does not
apply to the following:
(1) Loss arising out of an “accident” which
occurs while the “insured” is under the influence
of alcohol or drugs, or other substances unless prescribed by
a physician.
(2) Loss arising out of the use of a “rental
vehicle” when such use is in violation of the terms and
conditions of the “rental agreement.”
C.
The incident with Mandalia and subsequent litigation
After
Patton signed the rental agreement and elected to purchase
the SLP policy, he drove from Indio to Arizona. He met his
girlfriend in Tempe and the two went to a bar. After leaving
the bar, they drove off in the rental car. A heated argument
ensued, and Patton pulled the car over in a parking lot. He
then noticed a group of people pointing and laughing at them.
Patton drove toward the group to confront them and hit
Defendant Neetan Mandalia (“Mandalia”) with the
car. (PSOF ¶ 24; DSOF ¶ 24.) The police report
states that at 2:39 a.m., after Patton struck Mandalia, a
breathalyzer showed Patton's blood alcohol content
(“BAC”) to be 0.098. (PSOF ¶ 25; DSOF ¶
25.) Police ...