I recently wrote about the MCS-90 Endorsement which provides a type of bond/insurance coverage to protect the injured motorist in an 18-wheeler/commercial motor vehicle accident. In Hawthorne v. Lincoln General Insurance Company (E. D. Mich.) demonstrates how the MCS-90 Endorsement works. In the Hawthorne case, an individual injured in an accident with a commercial motor vehicle obtained a default judgment in a negligence tort action against the motor carrier. The injured party then sought to enforce the judgment against the insurance company utilizing the MCS-90 Endorsement attached to the motor carrier’s vehicle insurance policy. The insurance company denied liability and refused to pay.
The court ruled that the insurance company was obligated to satisfy the judgment rendered against the motor carrier. Under the MCS-90 Endorsement, the insurance company agrees to pay, within the limits of liability contained in its policy, any final judgment recovered against the motor carrier for public liability resulting from negligence and the operation, maintenance, or use of an insured motor vehicle. The insurance company was obligated to satisfy the judgment under the MCS-90 Endorsement and was not permitted to re-litigate the question of negligence or invoke an exclusion in the policy.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
