Simmons v. Brotherhood Mutual Ins

── Simmons v. Brotherhood Mutual Ins ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: June 01, 2026 Category: Private Civil Diversity Case: 25-30463 Document: 65-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit ____________ FILED June 1, 2026 No. 25-30463 Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk Dawn Simmons; Ray Simmons; Bethany Darby, Individually & on Behalf of her Minor Child, M D; Bernard Darby, Jr., Individually & on Behalf of his minor child, M D, Plaintiffs—Appellants, versus Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, Defendant—Appellee, ______________________________ Bethany Darby, Individually & on Behalf of Her Minor Child, M D; Bernard Darby, Jr. Individually & on Behalf of His Minor Child, M D, Plaintiffs—Appellants, versus Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC Nos. 6:23-CV-58, 6:23-CV-60 ______________________________ Case: 25-30463 Document: 65-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 Before Elrod, Chief Judge, and Willett and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* At the heart of this insurance dispute lies a tragedy. Dawn Simmons, her three children, and a family friend were traveling home from Dawn’s high-school son’s basketball game when a drunk driver traveling on the wrong side of the highway crashed into the Simmonses’ car, killing all three Simmons children as well as the other driver. Dawn and the family friend, Marissa Darby, sustained injuries. The Simmonses and Marissa’s parents sued the children’s private school’s auto insurer, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. The district court granted summary judgment for Brotherhood, concluding that Brotherhood’s policy with the school did not cover the plaintiffs. Because the district court correctly concluded that the policy does not apply, we AFFIRM. I Christopher Simmons played basketball for his high school, Acadiana Christian School, in New Iberia, Louisiana. On December 17, 2021, the school basketball team was scheduled to play a game out of town in Monroe. On December 14, a few days before the game, the school sent the following e-mail to the parents of the students on the basketball team: Good afternoon Basketball parents, We are organizing rides to the basketball game in Monroe on Dec 17th. We will not be taking the bus to the game. Please let me know if your child will be riding with you or if they will need _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 25-30463 Document: 65-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 No. 25-30463 a ride. If you are planning on driving, please let me know if you could bring another basketball player. The JV game starts at 5:30 pm and we would like JV and Varsity to be there by 4:45 pm. We will be leaving around 12:30 pm. The address to the gym is [address]. If you can drive another student, you will need to bring a copy of your license and insurance and get pre-approved. Thanks, Admin. Christopher’s older sister, Lindy, d