NEW YORK -- A U.S. Appeals Court last month upheld an earlier court decision for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, ruling that the widow of an Enterprise employee killed on the job was not entitled to claims against the company's under-insured motorist (UIM) coverage.

The case stems from a traffic accident that killed Enterprise employee Corey Pecor, who was driving an Enterprise vehicle while on duty in Vermont. An intoxicated driver, Mary O’Connell, caused the fatal accident when her car drove into oncoming traffic. Pecor's estate, administered by his widow, Moira Pecor, collected on O'Connell's $100,000 liability policy with Safety Insurance Co.

Pecor also sought further recovery from Enterprise as well as from her husband's personal liability insurer, Peerless Insurance Co. Her attorneys argued that Enterprise assumed certain UIM obligations as a self-insurer in Vermont.

But the U.S. Appeals Court upheld a Vermont District Court decision in August 2003, which found that Enterprise intended to extend only the minimum UIM coverage legally required, $50,000, to Corey Pecor. As a result, UIM coverage and Vermont state law did not define O'Connell as an under-insured motorist.