Commerce Insurance Co., Inc. v. Gentile, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-156-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-11706 COMMERCE INSURANCE CO., INC. vs. VITTORIO GENTILE & others.[1] September 16, 2015. Insurance, Motor vehicle insurance, Coverage, Misrepresentation. Motor Vehicle, Insurance, Permission to operate. Contract, Insurance. Practice, Civil, Summary judgment. This case concerns the obligation of Commerce Insurance Company (Commerce) to pay optional bodily injury benefits under a standard Massachusetts automobile insurance policy. The defendants Vittorio and Lydia Gentile (Gentiles) were the policyholders, and their grandson Vittorio Gentile, Jr. (Junior), was an “excluded operator” under the policy. While operating one of the Gentiles’ vehicles covered by the policy, Junior caused an accident that seriously injured Douglas and Joseph Homsi (Homsis).[2],[3] Commerce sought a judgment declaring that the Gentiles’ violation of the operator exclusion form relieved it of any duty to pay the Homsis under the optional bodily injury provisions of the insurance contract.[4] A Superior Court judge ruled that the Gentiles had violated their duty of “continuing representation” (as to whether Junior was in fact operating their vehicles), and therefore, Commerce was relieved of its duty to pay the optional coverage for the Homsis’ injuries. The Appeals Court affirmed the judgment on that basis and on the basis that the Gentiles had committed a breach of the insurance contract. Commerce Ins. Co. v. Gentile, 85 Mass. App. Ct. 67 (2014). We granted further appellate review. Facts. The Gentiles purchased through Commerce the standard Massachusetts automobile insurance policy, seventh edition, which was approved by the Commissioner of Insurance (commissioner). The policy insured both the Gentiles and their vehicles. A section of the policy titled “Our Agreement” provided that “[t]his policy is a legal contract under Massachusetts law.” It stated further that “[o]ur contract consists of this policy, the Coverage Selections Page, any endorsements agreed upon, and your application for insurance.” The policy included a separate operator exclusion form, which also was approved by the commissioner. In 2004, after receiving advice from the insurance agent that their premium would be significantly higher if Junior operated their vehicles, Lydia, as the “[p]olicyholder”, and Junior as the “[e]xcluded [o]perator” both executed the operator exclusion form. The form stated that Junior would not operate the Gentiles’ insured vehicles: “It is agreed that the person named below [i.e., Junior] will not operate the vehicle(s) described below, or any replacement thereof, under any circumstances whatsoever.” Another provision of the form allowed […]