May5
Federal Judge Sides with Insurance Company; Finds It Properly Prohibited Stacking of UM Claims
Jonathan Yu successfully secured a declaratory judgment in favor of a national insurance company, finding it properly prohibited its insureds from stacking Underinsured Motorist (“UM”) coverage under an auto policy. Arizona law prescribes the method by which insurance companies may prohibit “stacking” of UM coverages within their policies by, among other things, informing their insureds of their right to select one policy or coverage to apply to a claim. The company had paid its insureds $250,000 in UM benefits for a fatal car accident involving their son. The insureds sought an additional $250,0000 under their policy arguing the insurance company’s written correspondence failed to properly advise them of their right to select one coverage to apply. The Court considered competing dispositive motions on the issue and determined the company had fully complied with Arizona’s law despite the Plaintiffs’ “pedantic” approach to anti-stacking. This unreported decision builds off the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision in Franklin V. CSAA Gen. Ins. Co., and suggests courts will apply a reasonable, common-sense approach to policy interpretation when it comes to stacking issues. The Court’s unreported decision can be found at 2026 WL 622098.