The Real Issue In The Sex In A Car Case That Everyone Is Talking About

OMGosh. It has been non-stop chatter about last week’s Missouri Court of Appeals decision holding that GEICO could owe $5.2 million to a woman who contracted human papillomavirus from having unprotected sex in its insured’s 2014 Hyundai Genesis. The case has been covered by such major media as CNN, NBC, CBS, The Washington Post, and on and on and on. [In fact, seven CO readers sent me the opinion and suggested that I include it in the newsletter. I’m not sure if I should be flattered or concerned that people think of me when crazy cases come up.]

Of course, $5.2 million and sex in a car is an easy headline. But those media big boys don’t address the real issue at hand. For that, you need to go to tiny little, low budget, one man band, Coverage Opinions.

First, in the decision getting all the hoopla, the Missouri Court of Appeals, in M.O. v. GEICO General Ins. Co, No. WD84722 (Mo. Ct. App. June 7, 2022), rejected GEICO’s argument that it did not have a meaningful opportunity to defend its interests, when it intervened in an action where M.O., the victim, was seeking to confirm an arbitrator’s award, of $5.2 million, for the damages that she sustained on account of contracting the STD. Without getting into the details about GEICO’s initial involvement in the claim, and how it ended up in arbitration, the case is essentially procedural, addressing the rights of an intervenor under Missouri law and the ability to challenge an arbitration award.