Appeals panel reverses summary judgment for insurer in hit-and-run

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Summary judgment in favor of an insurer should not have been granted in a hit-and-run case, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The court reversed a Marion Superior Court order and held that the hit-and-run driver was uninsured as a matter of law.

Judge Melissa May wrote a unanimous seven-page ruling that reversed summary judgment in favor of the insurer in Shannon Robinson and Bryan Robinson v. Erie Insurance Exchange, 49A02-1211-PL-908.

Bryan Robinson was the driver of a vehicle struck by a Jeep that fled the crash scene. Robinson a covered driver under a policy held by Shannon, his mother. Bryan wasn’t injured but the vehicle was totaled, and Erie denied coverage on the ground that the policy didn’t include collision coverage.

The trial court granted summary judgment for Erie, which argued a hit-and-run driver can’t be identified and no coverage was available under the uninsured driver provision because Bryan wasn’t injured.

“As the car that hit Bryan must be considered an uninsured motor vehicle, Erie’s summary judgment motion should have been denied and Robinson’s should have been granted. We accordingly reverse,” May wrote.

 

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