Gordon M. Jenish

The plaintiff, Herbert Alexander, sought unidentified motorist coverage from his insurer, State Farm, following a multi-vehicle collision.

Alexander alleged he was rear-ended by an unidentified vehicle, which propelled his vehicle into the O'Sullivan vehicle.

State Farm moved for summary judgment, contending there was no genuine issue requiring a trial regarding the involvement of an unidentified driver, citing a lack of physical evidence and inconsistencies in the plaintiff's account.

The court, exercising its enhanced fact-finding powers under Rule 20.04(2.1), found the plaintiff's uncorroborated evidence unconvincing and determined that expert reports did not support the claim of a rear-end impact without observable damage.

Summary judgment was granted, dismissing the action against State Farm.

The applicant was involved in a single motor vehicle rollover accident.

The insurer denied her claim for income replacement and housekeeping benefits, alleging she made a material misrepresentation by claiming she was the driver when her husband was actually driving.

The insurer relied on an anonymous tip and an accident reconstruction report.

The arbitrator weighed conflicting expert evidence on occupancy dynamics and injury biomechanics.

The arbitrator preferred the applicant's expert, finding his explanation of the applicant's head injury more cogent, and concluded on a balance of probabilities that the applicant was driving the vehicle.