Westfield Nat'l Ins. Co. v. Safe Auto Ins. Co.

Westfield Nat'l Ins. Co. v. Safe Auto Ins. Co.

Opinion

(REGULAR CALENDAR)

BROWN, J.

 [*P1]  This is an appeal by defendant-appellant, third-party plaintiff, Richard Cly, from a judgment of the Franklin County Municipal Court, granting summary judgment in favor of third-party defendant-appellee, Safe Auto Insurance Company ("Safe Auto").

 [*P2]  In December 2003, Safe Auto issued an auto insurance policy to appellant. On February 6, 2004, appellant was involved in a collision with an automobile driven by Marcia Smith. Smith's vehicle was insured by Westfield National Insurance Company ("Westfield"). It is undisputed that appellant did not have a valid driver's license at the time of the accident.

 [*P3]  On October 15, 2004, Westfield, as the subrogee of Smith, filed a complaint against appellant, alleging he had negligently operated his vehicle, causing damage to Westfield's insured's motor vehicle. On November 7, 2005, appellant  [**2]  filed a third-party complaint against Safe Auto. On December 20, 2005, appellant filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against Safe Auto, alleging that Safe Auto had a duty to defend "regardless of the liability of the insurer to the insured under the terms of the policy."

 [*P4]  On February 10, 2006, Safe Auto filed a motion for leave to file a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Attached to Safe Auto's motion for summary judgment was a certified copy of appellant's driving record as maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. On February 27, 2006, appellant filed a motion in opposition to Safe Auto's motion for summary judgment.

 [*P5]  On May 11, 2006, Westfield filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of its complaint, having reached a settlement with appellant. By entry filed June 16, 2006, the trial court granted Safe Auto's motion for summary judgment against appellant.

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