BM&S Secures Dismissal of Claims Against Insurance Company for Uninsured Motorist Benefits

In a recent case win for Black Marjieh & Sanford LLP, a dismissal of claims was secured against an insurance company for uninsured motorist benefits.

In Purnell v. Manufacturers Alliance Insurance Company, et al., a hybrid personal injury/insurance coverage action, Manufacturers Alliance Insurance Company (“MAIC”) was granted summary judgment dismissing all claims against them.

The case involved a plaintiff tow truck driver who was severely injured when he was pinned between his tow truck and a van that was headed to the scrap heap. During the hook up process, another individual, unbeknownst to plaintiff, drove a construction forklift directly into the van to push it closer to the tow truck, not realizing that plaintiff was standing there, which resulted in plaintiff getting pinned between the tow truck and the van and having his leg crushed.

The plaintiff sued the alleged tortfeasors, none of whom were insured, as well as insurance carriers, including MAIC, the insurance company for plaintiff’s employer, who BM&S represented, seeking uninsured motorist benefits for the $500,000 policy limit.  In obtaining summary judgment, BM&S successfully argued that neither the van nor the forklift qualified as “uninsured motor vehicles” under the terms and conditions of the MAIC policy in that the incident occurred on private property and that the soon-to-be-scrapped van and the construction forklift were not “motor vehicles” pursuant to New Jersey statutory law and binding case law. The Court agreed and the motion was granted.