North Pacific Insurance v. Hamilton

The issue in this insurance coverage case is whether a provision in the exclusions section of a motor vehicle liability policy operates to reduce liability coverage for an injured insured below the limit provided on the declarations page of the policy. The trial court ruled that the insurance company was liable only for the reduced coverage limits, and the Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling. North Pacific Ins. Co. v. Hamilton, 153 Or App 332, 957 P2d 165 (1998). For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the provision at issue is ambiguous, that the ambiguity cannot be resolved and,…