Background
Fourteen-year-old Landen Klockziem drove his family’s tractor about 15 miles to a Merrill High School “Bring Your Tractor to School Day” event. While repositioning it in the school parking lot, he ran over Brayden Woller’s foot.
The Wollers sued Landen and his parents, among others. Scottsdale, which issued the Klockziems a dwelling policy, sought summary judgment on coverage. The policy excluded motor-vehicle liability but restored coverage for a vehicle “used solely to service a residence.” The circuit court found that exception ambiguous and denied Scottsdale’s motion.
The Court’s Holding
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals reversed. It held that the exception was unambiguous and did not restore coverage because, at the time of the accident, Landen was not using the tractor solely to service a residence.
Giving the policy terms their ordinary meanings, the court concluded that “used solely to service a residence” means used exclusively to perform services for a building used as a home. Driving the tractor to school for display at a school event did not service the Klockziems’ home. Family pride and educating other students were not services to the residence itself.
Key Takeaways
- A dwelling-policy exception for a vehicle “used solely to service a residence” is limited to use exclusively serving the home.
- A tractor’s prior use for driveway grading or plowing does not establish coverage when the accident occurs during an unrelated school-event use.
- The court reversed the denial of Scottsdale’s summary-judgment motion and remanded for further proceedings.
Why It Matters
The decision draws a firm distinction between services to a residence and benefits to its residents. Insureds cannot invoke this type of motor-vehicle exception merely because a vehicle may have been used for household work at other times.
For coverage disputes, the ruling underscores that the vehicle’s use in the circumstances of the occurrence—not its general household history—controls whether this exception reinstates coverage.