Bailey v. Federated Mutual Insurance Co.

PAUL M. SPINDEN, Judge.

The primary issue in this case is whether or not 16-year-old Terry Ehler was a customer of Forrest Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Inc., in Columbia when in 1999 he crashed the dealership’s pickup into another automobile. If Ehler was Forrest Chevrolet-Oldsmobile’s customer, the dealership’s insurer, Federated Mutual Insurance Company, was not liable as insurer of the loss because its policy excluded coverage of customers. The circuit court concluded that Ehler was not a customer because he was not the pickup’s purchaser — his grandmother was. The circuit court erred in ruling…