New Jersey Court Declares Minivan to be an Automobile

Earlier this month, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, upheld the decision of the trial court judge denying an insurance company’s motion to dismiss the claims against it for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits arising from an automobile accident. This decision means the case can proceed to trial, where the injured plaintiff will have the opportunity to obtain compensation for the injuries she sustained in the accident.

The accident occurred when the plaintiff, Angelita Taveras, was rear-ended while stopped at a red light. At the time, Taveras was driving a 2000 Chrysler Grand Voyager owned by her employer, School Tyme Transportation. School Tyme is a company which contracts with various school districts to transport special needs children to and from school. Taveras was allowed to keep a minivan at home overnight and use it to drive to and from work.

Taveras filed for PIP benefits based on an insurance policy issued by CURE Insurance covering a 1999 Dodge Caravan minivan which she personally owned. However, CURE denied the claim, asserting that the Grand Voyager was a “school bus” and not an “automobile” and therefore was not covered.

Taveras sued CURE in Superior Court, along with the owner and the operator of the car which struck her. CURE moved to dismiss the case against it, but the trial judge denied the motion, since at the time of the accident, Taveras was commuting from work and not transporting children, and therefore not using the vehicle as a school bus.

The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court in the case of Taveras v. Roman. Even though the Voyager was marked as a School Vehicle and displayed a school vehicle license plate issued by the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), the court looked at the definition of “automobile” in New Jersey’s No Fault Statute and found that the minivan met the statutory definition of automobile. According to the court, the state’s no fault law is meant to be broadly interpreted in favor of coverage. In looking to determine whether a vehicle meets the definition of an automobile, the law directs the court to look first at the type of vehicle and then at its use. The Chrysler Grand Voyager fit the first category as to type of vehicle, so it was irrelevant whether the minivan was being used as a “school bus” at the time of the accident or not.