Exclusion for Operating an Automobile Without a Reasonable Belief that he or she is Entitled to do So
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/violating-term-graduated-license-eliminates-auto-zalma-esq-cfe and https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4100 posts.
Posted on March 22, 2022 by Barry Zalma
United Equitable Insurance Company (UEI) sought and received a finding that it had no duty to defend, indemnify, or provide coverage in relation to an October 4, 2018, automobile accident. A defendant injured in the accident attempted to obtain benefits from the auto policy issued by UEI.
In United Equitable Insurance Company v. Cicely Calhoun, Individually and as Mother and Next Friend of Jadis Baker, a Minor; et al, No. 1-21-0525, 2022 IL App (1st) 210525, Court of Appeals of Illinois, First District, Third Division (March 9, 2022) the Court of Appeal resolved the dispute.
FACTS
On September 22, 2018, Cicely Calhoun was issued an automobile insurance policy by UEI, which covered her Chevrolet Impala. The policy listed both Calhoun and her 16-year-old son, Jadis Baker, who had been issued a graduated driver’s license days earlier, as operators of the vehicle. Less than two weeks later, on October 4, 2018, Baker was driving five passengers in the Impala, which had seatbelts for only a driver and four passengers, when Baker collided with a light pole.
Andre Robinson-Dock, one of the passengers in the vehicle at the time of the accident sued for personal injuries. Thereafter, UEI sued seeking declaratory judgment against Robinson-Dock and the other alleged passengers. UEI claimed that Baker held a graduated driver’s license and the graduated licensing statute prohibited Baker from operating a motor vehicle with more than one passenger under the age of 20, excluding siblings, step-siblings, children, or stepchildren of the driver. There were five passengers in Baker’s vehicle at the time of the collision, all of whom were under the age of 20 and not related to Baker. UEI further alleged that the Impala seated a driver and four passengers, and Baker was driving the vehicle in violation of the graduated licensing statute and the Illinois Vehicle Code, both of which prohibited him from operating the vehicle with more than one passenger in the front seat and more passengers in the back seats than the number of available safety belts.
Robinson-Dock generally admitted UEI’s allegations regarding Baker’s age and that he possessed a graduated license. Robinson Dock also admitted that the Impala seated a driver and four passengers and that Baker had five passengers in the Impala at the time of the accident. Additionally, Robinson-Dock admitted that the five passengers were under age 20 and that they were not related to Baker’s.
Robinson-Dock alleged that Baker was named in the policy as an operator, that he had a valid driver’s license, and that he had given Robinson-Dock permission to be present as a passenger at the time of the accident. Robinson-Dock claimed that, as a permissive user of the vehicle, he was an insured under the policy. He further alleged that denying coverage to him as a permissive passenger would violate public policy and, therefore, the reasonable belief exclusion was unenforceable against him.
UEI filed a motion for “prove-up,” requesting a default judgment against the defendants who had failed to appear, and further requesting summary judgment against Robinson-Dock. UEI argued that Robinson-Dock had admitted the facts necessary to find that Baker could not have had a reasonable belief that he was entitled to drive at the time of the accident, as he was driving in violation of the conditions placed on his graduated license.
The trial agreed with UEI and found “that … Jadis Baker was a 16-year-old driving a vehicle with a graduated driver’s license, subject to the driving restrictions contained in [the graduated driver’s license statute], and was driving 5 passengers all under the age of 20 years old, in a vehicle that only contained seatbelts for 4 passengers.”
The court entered summary judgment on the complaint in favor of UEI and against all defendants.
The policy provision at issue in this case is exclusion (h) of the policy’s liability coverage. It provides that the policy does not apply to provide liability coverage to “any person operating the owned automobile or a non-owned automobile without a reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to do so.”
DISCUSSION
Irrespective of whether a person owns the vehicle, or is a permissive user, without a valid license, a person cannot have a reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to drive in Illinois. Robinson-Dock argued, first, that summary judgment in favor of UEI should be reversed because “driving outside the parameters of a graduated driver’s license is not the equivalent of driving with no driver’s license.”
The graduated licensing statute provides conditions for the operation of a motor vehicle by a graduated license holder. The provisions in the graduated licensing statute are mandatory. The Court of Appeal concluded that the graduated licensing statute is a limited license that gives graduated license holders the right to drive, but only under the conditions outlined in the statute.
Since Robinson-Dock did not provide any factual support from which it could be determined that it would have been reasonable for Baker to believe that he could operate the vehicle at the time of the accident. Although Baker had a graduated license when Baker drove in violation of the conditions of his graduated driver’s license, he could not have had a reasonable belief that he was entitled to operate the vehicle.
The public policy at issue is explicitly set out by the Illinois legislature in the Graduated Licensing statute. Specifically, that “[t]he purpose of the Graduated Licensing Program is to develop safe and mature driving habits in young, inexperienced drivers and reduce or prevent motor vehicle accidents, fatalities, and injuries…” The graduated licensing program is intended to prevent young, graduated license holders from operating motor vehicles under conditions that increase the risk of accidents, like the one that occurred here. Had sixteen-year-old Baker complied with the statute the injuries would not have happened and, at best only he and one other would have been in the car when it hit a pole, proving the wisdom of the graduated license statute.
In sum, Baker held a graduated driver’s license, which provides conditions for the operation of a motor vehicle by a graduated license holder and he was operating the vehicle in violation of those conditions. Summary judgment was properly granted, and the policy’s reasonable belief exclusion barred coverage.
ZALMA OPINION
Illinois allowed Baker to have a limited license to operate an automobile in the graduated license statute. He knew, or should have known, that the license limited the right to drive an automobile. Since he was only entitled to move one passenger, not five, he could not reasonably believe he had a right to drive with five passengers. Six teenagers in a large vehicle are a priori unsafe as the public policy of the state. UEI did not agree to take such a major risk and that is why it wrote the exclusion into its policy.
(c) 2022 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He also serves as an arbitrator or mediator for insurance related disputes. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business. He is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected].
Over the last 54 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created a library of books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and their claims staff to become insurance claims professionals.
Subscribe to Zalma on Insurance at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.local.com/subscribe. Subscribe to Excellence in Claims Handling at https://barryzalma.substack.com/welcome. Write to Mr. Zalma at [email protected]; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; I publish daily articles at https://zalma.substack.com.
Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://anchor.fm/barry-zalma; Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library/ Read posts from Barry Zalma at Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library/
Convicted Criminal Seeks to Compel Receiver to Protect his Assets
Post number 5291
See the video at and at and at https://www.zalma.com/blog plus more than 5250 posts.
The Work of a Court Appointed Receiver is Constitutionally Protected
In Simon Semaan et al. v. Robert P. Mosier et al., G064385, California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Third Division (February 6, 2026) the Court of Appeals applied the California anti-SLAPP statute which protects defendants from meritless lawsuits arising from constitutionally protected activities, including those performed in official capacities. The court also considered the doctrine of quasi-judicial immunity, which shields court-appointed receivers from liability for discretionary acts performed within their official duties.
Facts
In September 2021, the State of California filed felony charges against Simon Semaan, alleging violations of Insurance Code section 11760(a) for making...
When There are Two Different Other Insurance Clauses They Eliminate Each Other and Both Insurers Owe Indemnity Equally
Post number 5289
In Great West Casualty Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Co., and Conserv FS, Inc., and Timothy A. Brennan, as Administrator of the Estate of Pat- rick J. Brennan, deceased, Nos. 24-1258, 24-1259, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (February 11, 2026) the USCA was required to resolve a dispute that arose when a tractor-trailer operated by Robert D. Fisher (agent of Deerpass Farms Trucking, LLC-II) was involved in a side-impact collision with an SUV driven by Patrick J. Brennan, resulting in Brennan’s death.
Facts
Deerpass Trucking, an interstate motor carrier, leased the tractor from Deerpass Farms Services, LLC, and hauled cargo for Conserv FS, Inc. under a trailer interchange agreement. The tractor was insured by Great West Casualty Company with a $1 million policy limit, while the trailer was insured by Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company with a $2 million ...
Opiod Producer Seeks Indemnity from CGL Insurers
Post number 5288
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/guNhStN2, see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gYqkk-n3 and at https://lnkd.in/g8U3ehuc, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5250 posts.
Insurers Exclude Damages Due to Insured’s Products
In Matthew Dundon, As The Trustee Of The Endo General Unsecured Creditors’ Trust v. ACE Property And Casualty Insurance Company, et al., Civil Action No. 24-4221, United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania (February 10, 2026) Matthew Dundon, trustee of the Endo General Unsecured Creditors’ Trust, sued multiple commercial general liability (CGL) insurers for coverage of opioid-related litigation involving Endo International PLC a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
KEY FACTS
Beginning as early as 2014, thousands of opioid suits were filed by governments, third parties, and individuals alleging harms tied to opioid manufacturing and marketing.
Bankruptcy & Settlements
Endo filed Chapter 11 in August 2022; before bankruptcy it ...
Passover for Americans
Posted on February 19, 2026 by Barry Zalma
“The Passover Seder For Americans”
For more than 3,000 years Jewish fathers have told the story of the Exodus of the enslaved Jews from Egypt. Telling the story has been required of all Jewish fathers. Americans, who have lived in North America for more than 300 years have become Americans and many have lost the ability to read, write and understand the Hebrew language in which the story of Passover was first told in the Torah. Passover is one of the many holidays Jewish People celebrate to help them remember the importance of G_d in their lives. We see the animals, the oceans, the rivers, the mountains, the rain, sun, the planets, the stars, and the people and wonder how did all these wonderful things come into being. Jews believe the force we call G_d created the entire universe and everything in it. Jews feel G_d is all seeing and knowing and although we can’t see Him, He is everywhere and in everyone.We understand...
Passover for Americans
Posted on February 19, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/passover-americans-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-5vgkc.
“The Passover Seder For Americans”
For more than 3,000 years Jewish fathers have told the story of the Exodus of the enslaved Jews from Egypt. Telling the story has been required of all Jewish fathers. Americans, who have lived in North America for more than 300 years have become Americans and many have lostthe ability to read, write and understand the Hebrew language in which the story of Passover was first told in the Torah.
Passover is one of the many holidays Jewish People celebrate to help them remember the importance of G_d in their lives. We see the animals, the oceans, the rivers, the mountains, the rain, sun, the planets, the stars, and the people and ...
You Get What You Pay For – Less Coverage Means Lower Premium
Post number 5275
Posted on January 30, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the video at and at
When Experts for Both Sides Agree That Two Causes Concur to Cause a Wall to Collapse Exclusion Applies
In Lido Hospitality, Inc. v. AIX Specialty Insurance Company, No. 1-24-1465, 2026 IL App (1st) 241465-U, Court of Appeals of Illinois (January 27, 2026) resolved the effect of an anti-concurrent cause exclusion to a loss with more than one cause.
Facts and Background
Lido Hospitality, Inc. operates the Lido Motel in Franklin Park, Illinois. In November 2020, a windstorm caused one of the motel’s brick veneer walls to collapse. At the time, Lido was insured under a policy issued by AIX Specialty Insurance Company which provided coverage for windstorm damage. However, the policy contained an exclusion for any loss or damage directly or indirectly resulting from ...
