An insurance company and an Illinois man’s dispute over how an insured “uses” a vehicle will return to the lower court and could be a case of first impression, the state’s appellate court said this week.
On Tuesday, the Illinois First District Appellate Court unanimously remanded a dispute between Stonegate Insurance Co. and its insured, Michael Ahlgren, to the Cook County Circuit Court, finding that the trial court did not establish an accurate account of a road rage incident between Ahlgren and an uninsured motorist, Saul Garcia. The May 2021 altercation ended in a parking lot, and Ahlgren claimed to get out of his vehicle to take down Garcia’s license plate information. Fearing harm, Garcia allegedly struck Ahlgren—a pedestrian—with his car. Ahlgren sought a declaration that Stonegate was required to provide automobile coverage for the incident, but the insurance company denied the claim.