The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that two major insurance companies have equal payment priority in covering a fatal tractor-trailer collision, resolving a coverage dispute that arose from the wrongful death of Patrick J. Brennan.
In *Great West Casualty Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Co.* (7th Cir. 2026), the appeals court upheld the Northern District of Illinois ruling that Great West Casualty Company and Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company share equal responsibility for primary coverage of the deadly crash.
The case stems from a June 2, 2021 collision near Sycamore, Illinois, where a tractor-trailer driven by Robert D. Fisher struck an SUV driven by Patrick J. Brennan in a fatal side-impact collision. Fisher was operating as an agent of Deerpass Farms Trucking, LLC-II, an interstate motor carrier that provides transportation services.
The complex insurance arrangement at the heart of the dispute involved multiple entities and leasing agreements. Deerpass Trucking, while serving as the motor carrier, owned neither the 2014 Kenworth tractor nor the 1989 Sunshine tanker trailer involved in the collision. Instead, the company leased the tractor from Deerpass Farms Services, LLC under an Independent Contractor Equipment Lease Agreement.
Following Brennan's death, his estate, administered by Timothy A. Brennan, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in state court against various entities connected to the collision. Both Great West and Nationwide acknowledged that their respective policies provided coverage for the incident, but disagreed over which insurer should bear primary responsibility for payment.
Rather than wait for the state court proceedings to conclude, the insurers filed a federal declaratory judgment action to resolve the coverage priority dispute. The case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, before Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.
The district court concluded that both insurance companies have equal payment priority, meaning neither policy takes precedence over the other in covering claims arising from the fatal collision. This ruling effectively requires both insurers to share the financial responsibility for any judgments or settlements in the underlying wrongful death case.
Both parties appealed the district court's decision to the Seventh Circuit. Great West served as both appellee and cross-appellant, while Nationwide and Conserv FS, Inc. appeared as appellants and cross-appellees in the consolidated appeals numbered 24-1258 and 24-1259.
The case was argued before a three-judge panel consisting of Circuit Judges Frank H. Easterbrook, Amy J. St. Eve, and Circuit Judge Pryor on September 26, 2024. Circuit Judge Pryor authored the unanimous opinion issued February 11, 2026.
The court's affirmation of equal payment priority has important implications for commercial trucking insurance disputes, particularly in cases involving complex leasing arrangements and multiple insurance policies. The ruling clarifies that when two insurers provide coverage for the same incident, courts may determine that both policies share equal responsibility rather than establishing a primary-secondary hierarchy.
The decision reflects the growing complexity of commercial trucking operations, where motor carriers frequently lease equipment from separate entities, creating intricate webs of insurance coverage that can lead to disputes over payment responsibility when accidents occur.
Insurance coverage disputes in trucking cases often involve significant sums given the catastrophic nature of many commercial vehicle accidents. The federal Motor Carrier Act requires commercial trucking companies to maintain substantial insurance coverage, but determining which of multiple policies pays first can become contentious when claims arise.
The Seventh Circuit's ruling provides guidance for similar disputes in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, the states within the circuit's jurisdiction. The decision may influence how other federal appeals courts approach insurance priority questions in commercial trucking cases involving multiple insurers and complex leasing arrangements.
The underlying state court wrongful death case against the various defendants continues separately from this federal insurance coverage determination. The estate's recovery will now be supported by both insurance policies on an equal basis, as established by the federal court's declaratory judgment.
This case demonstrates how modern commercial trucking operations, with their complex web of independent contractors, equipment leasing, and multiple insurance policies, can create challenging legal questions that require federal court intervention to resolve coverage disputes efficiently.
The affirmation of equal coverage priority ensures that accident victims and their families can access the full extent of available insurance coverage without lengthy delays while insurers dispute payment responsibility among themselves.