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The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case stemming from a 2019 semi-truck accident that killed three people, in which a leasing company claims an insurer disregarded its interests during mediation with the victims’ family.

According to court documents, on July 24, 2019, Bruce Pollard, a semi-truck driver, caused a multiple-vehicle accident on I-465, leading to the deaths of Alanna Koons and her two children.

At least seven other people were injured.

Following the accident, Joseph Koons, Alanna’s husband, claimed that Pollard was negligent in causing the crash and the death of his wife and two daughters, and that Pollard, Weston Transportation, Inc., for whom he was driving at the time, and his employer, Transport Leasing/Contract, Inc., were liable for Koons’s wrongful death damages.

In 2020, Koons entered into a written settlement agreement to resolve the claims with Weston and Pollard.

Also included in those negotiations was Northland Insurance Co., the liability insurer for Weston, Pollard and, TLC argues, TLC. At an Aug. 28, 2020, mediation, Northland agreed to pay Koons $840,000 of its $1 million insurance (with the remaining $160,000 for other parties), and Weston agreed to pay $600,000 out of its own pocket to settle the Koons claim.

TLC then sued Northland for breach of contract because, according to TLC’s appellant brief, they were not included in those discussions with Koons, Northland and Weston, and the two companies tried to “sell out” and deceive TLC.

“Northland worked hand-in-hand with its named insured’s counsel to resolve claims for the named insured (Weston) while casting blame in the direction of the additional insured, TLC,” the brief stated.

Northland opposed TLC’s claims, saying its policy never covered the claims that TLC ultimately faced from Koons.

“The claims TLC faced—and paid to resolve—were for its own independent negligence,” Northland wrote in its appellee brief. “Those claims fell outside the scope of coverage; exhaustion aside, Northland had no duty to fund their settlement.”

The Marion Superior Court ruled in favor of Northland’s original motion for summary judgment and denied TLC’s motion for summary judgment.

According to court documents, the lower court held that “Northland did not have a contractual duty to settle and obtain a release of all claims on behalf of all potential insureds under the Policy,” and that Northland “properly denied coverage to TLC for the suit” because “its duties…terminated upon payment of the full policy limits toward settlement of the underlying claims.”

TLC has appealed the lower court’s decision, saying the court failed to acknowledge evident issues of material fact and that the summary judgment order does not conform to the standard under Indiana Trial Rule 56.

TLC requests that the trial court’s decision be reversed and set for a jury trial.

The scheduled panelists for Tuesday’s hearing are Judges Melissa May, Paul Mathias and Cale Bradford.

The case is Transport Leasing/Contract, Inc. v. Northland Insurance Company,24A-CT-3066.