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No Coverage Under a False Name

Cheryl Tisdale was injured in an automobile collision while she was driving her own vehicle containing passengers while logged into the Uber Technologies (“Uber”) application as a paid driver. Tisdale served Farmers Insurance Exchange with the complaint, seeking underinsured motorist (“UM”) coverage pursuant to an insurance policy Farmers issued to Raiser, LLC, a subsidiary of Uber.

In Tisdale v. Farmers Insurance Exchange, No. A23A0616, Court of Appeals of Georgia (June 27, 2023) Farmers moved for summary judgment, arguing that Tisdale did not qualify as an insured under the Uber policy, or, in the alternative, that she was barred from seeking coverage because she intentionally concealed or misrepresented material facts and committed fraud by using a false identity in her Uber driver application and while using the app. The trial court granted summary judgment to Farmers. Tisdale appealed.

FACTS

Tisdale was an Uber driver from 2015 to 2017. According to her deposition, at some point Uber “stopped [her] from driving because they did a background check [,] and something popped up on there . . . they didn’t agree with.” In 2019, because she did not believe that Uber would hire her under real name, Tisdale applied to work for Uber using the name “Annie Mollie.” Uber approved “Mollie’s” application, and Tisdale began driving for Uber as Annie Mollie.

In April 2020, Tisdale was involved in an automobile accident with Graves while driving her own car, which was registered under her legal name, and while logged into the driver version of the Uber app as Annie Mollie. Tisdale gave a recorded statement to Farmers as “Annie Mollie.”

In May 2020, Tisdale sued Graves for damages arising out of the accident, alleging that he rear-ended her, pushing her vehicle into the path of another vehicle, which struck her, and that she incurred in excess of $184,000 in medical expenses.

At the time of the accident, Tisdale had not entered into a contract to use the Uber app in her own name/capacity, and Uber had not authorized her to drive as an Uber driver; instead, Tisdale operated her vehicle while logged into the Uber app using a false identity. Under these circumstances, Tisdale did not qualify as an insured under the policy Farmer’s issued to Uber.

ANALYSIS

The hallmark of contract construction is to ascertain the intention of the parties, as set out in the language of the contract. As a result, when the language of an insurance policy defining the extent of an insurer’s liability is unambiguous and capable of but one reasonable construction, the courts must enforce the contract as written and agreed to by the parties.

Tisdale served her own UM carrier – State Farm Fire and Casualty Company – and Farmers with a copy of the complaint and discovery requests. Farmers, in response, alleged that coverage for Tisdale under Uber’s UM policy was void.

Farmers moved for summary judgment claiming Tisdale intentionally concealed or misrepresented material facts and committed fraud by using a false identity in her Uber application and while using the app, she did not qualify as an insured under the Uber policy, and she was barred from seeking coverage based on the fraud condition in the policy. The trial court granted summary judgment to Farmers.

Tisdale concedes that she intentionally misrepresented her identity and presented Uber with a false driver’s license and a false insurance registration card in order to become a driver. This misrepresentation and fraud provided her coverage under the Farmer’s policy, which clearly bars the payment of damages to a driver who commits fraud or intentionally misrepresents or conceals a material fact relating to coverage. Therefore, the trial court properly granted summary judgment to Farmers.

ZALMA OPINION

It takes a great deal of chutzpah (unmitigated gall) to be fired by Uber for cause, rejoining Uber under a false name, and then claim a right to benefits from the Uber policy. Tisdale was punished by her lies and was not allowed to profit from her fraud.

(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.

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