Darrah v. California State Automobile Assn.

ELKINGTON, J.

This appeal concerns the uninsured motorist provisions of Insurance Code section 11580.2.

The car of an admittedly negligent uninsured motorist collided with an automobile owned and driven by George Rehm. Appellants and cross-complainants John L. Wheatley and Malcolm Darrah were passengers in the Rehm automobile. Rehm died and Darrah and Wheatley suffered serious bodily injuries as a proximate result of the accident. Rehm’s wife survived him.

[245]

Cross-defendant and respondent Allstate Insurance' Company (hereinafter referred to as Allstate) had in force a policy of automobile insurance issued to Rehm. The policy provided uninsured motorist coverage to Rehm and other persons occupying his vehicle, with liability limits of $10,000 as to any one claimant and $20,000 as to any one accident. Wheatley and Darrah were also automobile owners. At the time of the accident each had in force a policy of automobile insurance with the same uninsured motorist provisions and liability limits as the policy of Rehm. Wheatley’s policy was also written by Allstate, while Darrah’s was written by cross-defendant and respondent California State Automobile Association, Inter-Insurance Bureau (hereinafter referred to as CSAA).

Rehm’s widow, Wheatley and Darrah made claims for damages pursuant to the uninsured motorist provisions of the Rehm policy. Together these claims were for damages reasonably in excess of the $20,000 limits of the policy, and separately, each exceeded $10,000.

In an interpleader action commenced by Allstate, Wheatley and Darrah cross-complained for declaratory relief against Allstate and CSAA. They sought an adjudication that Allstate and CSAA were liable respectively under the uninsured motorist provisions of the Wheatley and Darrah policies for “the full amount of . . . damages up to the difference between what [was] received under the Rehm policy” and their own policy limits. The trial court, holding that there was no such liability, granted judgment on the pleadings against Darrah, and entered judgment against Wheatley upon his failure to amend after a successful demurrer to his complaint. These judgments are the subject of the instant appeals.

Wheatley and Darrah contend that they are entitled to recover under the uninsured motorist provisions of their own insurance policies, at least to the extent that each policy’s $10,000 coverage exceeds the amounts received by each of them under the Rehm policy.