holding that exclusion by State Board of Insurance of government-owned vehicles from definition of “uninsured automobile” was a rational exercise of Board’s delegated authority, consistent with purposes of statute
How later courts described this case
- holding that exclusion by State Board of Insurance of government-owned vehicles from definition of “uninsured automobile” was a rational exercise of Board’s delegated authority, consistent with purposes of statute
- holding sovereign immunity exclusion did not contravene public policy because government actor was not “financially irresponsible”
- “If the plaintiff could not recover for her injuries from the City of Grand Prairie, it would not 22 be because the City was ‘financially irresponsible’ in not insuring the fire truck. The reason would be because the . . . doctrine of sovereign immunity protected the city in the performance of the governmental function of providing fire protection.”
- “The purpose of the Act is to protect insureds against negligent, financially irresponsible motorists. It was not designed as a system for giving relief to people who cannot recover from a tortfea-sor because of sovereign immunity.”
Written by the judges who cited it.
Distinguished
Distinguished by State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. v. Greer, 1989 Okla. LEXIS 141 (1989)
The Francis case is distinguishable in that the decision of the court relied on the Texas Uninsured Motorist Act language that expressly authorizes the exclusion of vehicles whose operators are uninsured and the court’s finding that this exclusion was in furtherance of the purpose of the Act.
The opinion
DANIEL, Justice
(concurring).
I concur but respectfully suggest that this is a subject to which the Legislature and the Texas State Board of Insurance might give further study. It is apparent from cases cited by the Court that several states provide their citizens with the opportunity for greater insurance protection against owners and operators of uninsured motor vehicles by not excluding vehicles owned by political agencies and subdivisions.