17
motorist coverage. Because it appears that State Farm offered excess
uninsured motorist coverage, to the extent that allegation encompasses
Menage’s failure to advise Popham concerning uninsured motorist coverage,
including telling him that he could obtain an equal amount of uninsured
motorist coverage as liability coverage, a trier of fact could conclude that
Menage failed to exercise the requisite skill and care of an insurance agent
in that regard. And, since Menage is a captive agent for State Farm, see Art.
48A, §166; American Casualty Company of Reading, Pa. v. Ricas, 179 Md.
627, 631 (1941) (distinguishing insurance broker or solicitor from insurance
agent); see also Art. 48A, § 166, he could bind State Farm, and, so, his
negligence is attributed to State Farm. Moreover, “‘the general rule is that
the corporate officers or agents are personally liable for those torts which
they personally commit, or which they inspire or participate in, even though
performed in the name of an artificial body.’” Consequently, the complaint
sets forth a cause of action in negligence against both Menage and State
Farm.
Id. at 156-57 (footnotes and some citations omitted) (emphasis in original).
Based on these cases, Beahm asserts that, in order to establish the existence of a
duty on the part of Erie, he had to “put forth evidence that a false statement was negligently
made by Eichhorn, an Erie agent, in the context of a business or professional relationship,
wherein he had a right to rely upon her for information.” He claims he did that.
Specifically, Beahm points to his testimony that: he had a long-standing relationship with
Eichhorn and the Eichhorn Insurance Agency; his belief that Eichhorn represented Erie;
the sign outside Eichhorn’s office; and various self-identifications by Eichhorn and the
Eichhorn Insurance Agency that they were agents, as sufficient evidence to establish a duty
“to speak with reasonable care[.]” Beahm maintains that by imputing Eichhorn’s
statements to Erie, he provided sufficient evidence that Erie made a negligent
misrepresentation to him about the UM coverage offered under the commercial automobile
insurance policy. We are not persuaded.