When the rubber hits the road… A woman identified in Kansas court records only as M.O. demanded that Geico pay her $1 million for a claim she filed against a driver who allegedly infected her with human papillomavirus (HPV) when the couple had sex in his car. Geico sued for a declaratory judgement that their auto policies "do not provide coverage for M.O.'s alleged injuries." The company won. From the Memorandum and Order:
Among other things, GEICO alleges that the auto policy only applies to bodily injuries arising "out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the … auto," and that M.O.'s alleged damages have no nexus to the ownership, maintenance, or covered use of the 2014 Hyundai Genesis. In other words, the vehicle's covered use did not cause M.O.'s alleged injuries; instead, her injuries arose from an intervening cause—namely, her failure to prevent transmission of STDs by having unprotected sex. Likewise, the umbrella policy does not provide coverage because it only applies if the auto policy provides coverage. GEICO also asserts that various policy exclusions preclude coverage under the umbrella policy.
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While the legal outcome seems reasonable, the comment that it's "her failure" that resulted in the infection is rather offensive.
(via Reason)
