Garcia v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance
District Court, D. Wyoming · 2011-08-29
This case concerns a dispute over uninsured motorist (UM) benefits under an automobile insurance policy issued by Nationwide to plaintiff Michael Garcia. Garcia was injured in a 2009 collision with an uninsured driver while working, received workers' compensation benefits covering his medical expenses and lost wages, and sought additional UM coverage from his personal policy with a $250,000 limit. Nationwide sought to offset or exclude the workers' compensation payments from the UM benefits based on policy language, but Garcia argued this violated Wyoming insurance regulations. The court granted Garcia's motion for partial summary judgment and denied Nationwide's cross-motion, holding that Section 5(b) of the Wyoming Insurance Department's regulations expressly prohibits reducing UM benefits by workers' compensation amounts, rendering any contrary policy exclusion unenforceable, and that policy ambiguities must be construed in favor of the insured.