A woman who came away from a backseat tryst with an STD will now collect millions from her then-boyfriend’s car insurance.
The Missouri woman, identified simply as “M.O.” in court documents, sued Geico after she was diagnosed with HPV that she contracted during a sexual encounter in her boyfriend’s car and was awarded $5.2 million by a state appellate court.
The woman’s filing says she “engaged in unprotected sexual activities in Insured's vehicle” in November and December of 2017 and alleges her they-boyfriend “negligently caused or contributed to” her contraction of the virus.
When her claim was initially turned down by Geico, she brought it to an arbitrator who decided she was owed $5.2 million. The insurance company then appealed on the grounds that they were not given the opportunity to contest the claim.
“But GEICO did have the opportunity to participate and defend its interests — including the ability to challenge liability and damages — by entering a defense of Insured,” read the appeals court opinion, which was responsible for the bold italics on the word “did.”
The court ruled that Geico has “no right to relitigate those issues” through the appeals process.
“M.O.’s alleged damages have no nexus to the ownership, maintenance, or covered use of the 2014 Hyundai Genesis,” the company claimed last year in a federal court filing. “In other words, the vehicle’s covered use did not cause M.O.’s alleged injuries; instead, her injuries arose from an intervening cause — namely, her failure to prevent transmission of STDs by having unprotected sex.”
So far though, it appears that Geico’s defense is falling on deaf ears.
Related
