UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 06-1991
ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
J.A.D. COAL COMPANY, INCORPORATED; THE NEW
COAL COMPANY, INCORPORATED,
Defendants - Appellants,
and
FEDERAL INSURANCE COMPANY; LIBERTY MUTUAL
INSURANCE COMPANY; ACCEPTANCE INDEMNITY
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendants.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Big Stone Gap. James C. Turk, Senior
District Judge. (2:05-cv-00029-JCT)
Argued: May 22, 2007 Decided: June 20, 2007
Before MOTZ and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit
Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Roy Mark Jessee, MULLINS, HARRIS & JESSEE, Norton, Virginia, for
Appellants. William Morris Moffet, PENN, STUART & ESKRIDGE,
Abingdon, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate) issued a business
automobile insurance policy (the Policy) to J.A.D. Coal Company,
Inc. (J.A.D. Coal) in which Allstate agreed to pay all sums J.A.D.
Coal was legally required to pay as damages because of bodily
injury or property damage caused by an accident and resulting from
the ownership, maintenance, or use of a “covered auto.” (J.A. 39).
Under the Policy, a “covered auto” included “autos” J.A.D. Coal did
not “own, lease, hire or borrow,” provided such autos were “used in
connection with [J.A.D.’s] business.” (J.A. 20).
On June 30, 2005, Allstate brought this declaratory judgment
action in the United States District Court for the Western District
of Virginia seeking a declaration that it had, under the Policy,
neither the duty to defend nor the duty to indemnify J.A.D. Coal
and/or The New Coal Company, Inc. (New Coal), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of J.A.D. Coal, with regard to a tort suit pending in
Kentucky state court.1 According to the tort suit, New Coal sold
coal to J. Hall, Inc. (J. Hall), which hired Walker Trucking, a
company unrelated to both J.A.D. Coal and New Coal, to haul the
coal from New Coal’s coal loading facility in Kentucky to a
location in Ohio designated by J. Hall. The coal was loaded by
1
Both J.A.D. Coal and New Coal are Virginia corporations.
Because the Policy was delivered in Virginia, we apply Virginia law
to determine the issue presented in this case. Res. Bankshares
Corp. v. St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co., 407 F.3d 631, 636 (4th Cir.),
cert. denied, 126 S. Ct. 568 (2005).
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employees of J.A.D. Coal and/or New Coal onto a truck owned by
Walker Trucking. Approximately five hours after leaving New Coal’s
facility, the truck was involved in a traffic accident in Kentucky
with a vehicle operated by Glenn Stanfill and occupied by Joshua
Stanfill. As a result of the accident, Glenn Stanfill died, and
Joshua Stanfill was injured. According to the complaint filed in
Kentucky state court, Raymond Walker, the individual operating the
Walker Trucking truck at the time of the accident, was driving the
truck at an excessive rate of speed; alternatively, the complaint
alleges that the truck was negligently loaded with coal by
employees of J.A.D. Coal and/or New Coal.2
On August 17, 2006, the district court entered an order
granting Allstate summary judgment, holding that the truck driven
by Raymond Walker was not a “covered auto” under the Policy because
the truck was not being used in connection with J.A.D.’s business
at the time of the accident. Accordingly, the court concluded
that, under the Policy, Allstate had neither the duty to defend nor
the duty to indemnify J.A.D. Coal and/or New Coal. J.A.D. Coal and
New Coal appeal.
Having thoroughly reviewed the district court’s opinion and
the parties’ briefs and submissions on appeal, and having heard
oral argument in this case, we conclude that the court did not err
in granting summary judgment in favor of Allstate. Therefore, we
2
Raymond Walker is an employee of Walker Trucking.
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affirm on the reasoning of the district court. See Allstate v.
J.A.D. Coal Co., Inc., Civil Action No.: 2:05-cv-00029-JCT (W.D.
Va. August 17, 2006).
AFFIRMED
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