STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Brittany BIERMAN, as Special Administrator of the Estate of Blake Edward Miller, Deceased, Defendant-Appellant.
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[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
Page 620
Appeal
from the Circuit Court of Marion County. No. 17-MR-48,
Honorable Michael D. McHaney, Judge, presiding.
Eric L.
Terlizzi, of Salem, for appellant.
Elizaveta
Klementieva and Frank C. Stevens, of Taylor Miller LLC, of
Chicago, for appellee.
OPINION
OVERSTREET,
PRESIDING JUSTICE
[435
Ill.Dec. 548][¶ 1] The decedent, Blake
Edward Miller, died as a result of injuries he sustained in a
collision involving a nonowned, uninsured vehicle. The
plaintiff, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
(State Farm), brought action against Brittany Bierman, as
special administrator of Blakes estate, seeking a
declaratory judgment that it owed no coverage for Blakes
injuries. State Farm asserted that Blake was not an
"insured" for purposes of uninsured motorist
coverage and medical payments coverage under three policies
of automobile
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[435 Ill.Dec. 549] liability insurance issued by State Farm
to Winnie Robertson, Blakes former stepmother. On
cross-motions for summary judgment, the circuit court entered
summary judgment in favor of State Farm. Brittany appeals the
circuit courts order. For the following reasons, we reverse
the circuit courts order, and we remand for further
proceedings.
[¶
2] I. BACKGROUND
[¶
3] On June 18, 2016, Blake, a passenger in a
nonowned, uninsured vehicle driven by Jared Simcox, was
critically injured in a one-vehicle collision, and on July 6,
2016, Blake died from his injuries. On the date of the
accident, Blake had been living rent-free with Winnie in her
home in Sandoval, Illinois, for approximately six months.
Blake, born in 1986, was the biological son of Jodie Ramsey
and David Miller. David was married to Winnie from 1993 until
2003, when they divorced, but David continued to periodically
reside with Winnie postdivorce until his death in 2009.
Winnie never adopted Blake.
[¶
4] Winnie was a named insured pursuant to three
State Farm insurance policies, each of which provided
uninsured motorist coverage to insureds thereunder.
Specifically, State Farm issued policies of motor vehicle
insurance to Winnie for a 2000 Ford F-150 pickup truck,
another 2000 Ford F-150 pickup truck, and a 2006
Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and the policies were in effect
on the date of the automobile accident. All three policies
provided uninsured motorist coverage of $100,000 per
person/$300,000 per accident. The two policies issued to the
Ford pickup trucks also included medical payments coverage of
$10,000.
[¶
5] The policies provided, in pertinent part:
"DEFINITIONS
* * *
Non-Owned Car means a car that is in the
lawful possession of you or any resident
relative and that neither:
1. is owned by :
a. you ;
b. any resident relative ;
c. any other person who resides primarily in
your household; or
d. an employer of any person described in a., b., or
c. above; nor
2. has been operated by, rented by, or in the possession of:
a. you ; or
b any resident relative
during any part of each of the 31 or more consecutive days
immediately prior to the date of the accident or
loss .
* * *
Resident Relative means a person, other
than you, who resides primarily with the first
person shown as a named insured on the Declarations
Page and who is:
1. related to that named insured or his or her spouse by
blood, marriage, or adoption, including an unmarried and
unemancipated child of either who is away at school and
otherwise maintains his or her primary residence with that
named insured; or
2. a ward or a foster child of that named insured, his or her
spouse, or a person described in 1. above.
* * *
MEDICAL ...