Maryland Cas. Co. v. New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co

In Maryland Cas. Co. v. New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co., 48 N.J. Super. 314, 137 A.2d 577 (App.Div.), aff'd, 28 N.J. 17, 145 A.2d 15 (1958), the Court concluded that an accident must be covered by the "loading and unloading" clause of an auto insurance policy when the injury "occurred during the process of loading or unloading the vehicle and was causally connected with that act." Id. at 320, 137 A.2d 577. Maryland Cas. involved a driver of a truck who was injured while on Camden Marine Terminal's premises to pick up rolls of paper. One of Camden Marine's employees was using a forklift to take the rolls of paper from a barge and load them onto the driver's truck when he negligently struck the driver with the roll of paper. Id. at 317-18, 137 A.2d 577. The insurance company for the trucking company which was being sued for a declaratory judgment for indemnification argued that use of the forklift was not considered use of the truck for purposes of loading/unloading coverage. The Court disagreed and held that the actions of defendant's employee were clearly "part of the complete operation of loading." Id. at 321, 137 A.2d 577.