National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. v. Olson

Full title: NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…

Court: United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Aug 8, 1988

857 F.2d 1478 (9th Cir. 1988)

Opinion

857 F.2d 1478 (9th Cir. 1988) NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Richard OLSON, Defendant-Appellee. No. 85-1943. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit August 8, 1988

Editorial Note:

This opinion appears in the Federal reporter in a table titled "Table of Decisions Without Reported Opinions". (See FI CTA9 Rule 36-3 regarding use of unpublished opinions)

Decided Sept. 2, 1988.

D. Hawaii

AFFIRMED.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Robert P. Aguilar, District Judge, Presiding.

Before WALLACE, TANG, and NELSON, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM

National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (insurance company) appeals from a summary judgment, entered in favor of Olson, which held that the insurance company's policy providing for uninsured motorist protection covers Olson. The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1) and we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm.

There is no conflict as to the material facts at issue. There is no dispute about what Olson did. The insurance company disputes whether flares are standard equipment in ambulances and whether it was part of his job to put out flares. These facts are not material to our decision.

The issue before us is a legal one: whether under Hawaiian law, the policy provides Olson coverage based on the material, undisputed facts. We certified the legal issues about which we were in doubt to the Supreme Court of Hawaii. The Supreme Court promptly responded, holding that the policy provides coverage for Olson for this accident. State law controls.

AFFIRMED.