South Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Insurance

This is a declaratory judgment action in which two insurance carriers seek to determine which company has the primary responsibility for payment of underinsured motorist coverage to Ronald Canty. The trial court held Farm Bureau was primarily responsible for the coverage. Farm Bureau appeals. We reverse.

The facts are not in dispute. Ronald Canty is the caretaker of Scottswood Plantation, a hunting and fishing retreat in Williamsburg County. On Christmas Day, 1989, Canty was injured in a car wreck while driving a vehicle owned by Scottswood Plantation. Although he was working at the time,…