D.W.J. v. Wausau Business Insurance Co.
D.W.J. v. Wausau Business Insurance Co.
Opinion of the Court
ORDER RE MOTION TO DISMISS
Before the Court is Defendant Wausau Business Insurance Company’s Motion to Dismiss at Docket 7. Plaintiff D.W.J. opposed at Docket 12, and Defendant replied at Docket 18. Oral argument was not requested and was not necessary to the Court’s determination of the motion. For the reasons set forth below, the motion will be granted.
FACTS & PROCEEDINGS
This is an insurance. coverage dispute arising out of a sexual assault that occurred at the Super 8 Motel in Ketchikan in May 2011. The vietim of the assault, D.W.J., brings this action as the assignee of the hotel employee who committed the assault, Robert Callanan. The defendant, Wausau Business Insurance ■ Company, provides specified liability insurance to the hotel and, by extension, its employees. Plaintiff D.W.J. alleges that Wausau should have defended and indemnified Mr. Callanan for his sexual assault. The parties do not dispute the majority of the facts.
On May 26, 2011, D.W.J. checked into the Super 8 Motel in Ketchikan. Robert Callanan was the only employee on the premises that day, and registered D.W.J. into the hotel. Mr. Callanan assigned D.W.J. to a room on the first floor, near the hotel’s front desk. Within ten to fifteen minutes after D.W.J. had checked into her room, Mr. Callanan used his key to open
On May 14, 2012, Mr. Callanan was convicted by a jury of First Degree Sexual Assault as a result of this incident.
The day following his conviction, May 15, 2012, D.W.J. filed a civil action against Mr. Callanan and the Peninsula Group— the entity that owned the Super 8 Motel.
In the prior case, D.W.J., settled her claims against the Peninsula Group before trial. Mr. Callanan did not enter an appearance, nor did he tender the civil complaint to Wausau; however, Wausau still sent Mr. Callanan a letter dated October 11, 2012 denying coverage. Wausau explained that it would not provide a defense to Mr. Callanan because “[a] sexual assault obviously is not part of your duties and was not within the scope of your employment by Peninsula.”
At issue in this case is whether the Wausau policy provides coverage to Mr. Callanan for his conduct towards D.W.J.' Wausau asserts that the Court should dismiss the action because: (1) Mr. Callanan was not acting within the scope of his. employment when he assaulted D.W.J., and, therefore, the Wausau policy provides him no coverage; and (2) Mr. Callanan’s intentional sexual assault of D.W.J. does not qualify as an “occurrence” under the policy.
DISCUSSION ’
I. Jurisdiction
The Court has subject-matter jurisdiction- over this action pursuant to 28 UJ3.C. § 1332(a). Because the Court is sitting in diversity,- it applies the substantive law of the forum state, Alaska, including the collateral estoppel rules of that state.
II. Conversion to Summary Judgment
Defendant Wausau styles its briefing as. a motion to dismiss D.W.J.’s Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), In • ruling on a motion to dismiss, a court “consider[s] only allegations contained in the pleadings, exhibits attached to the complaint, and matters properly subject to judicial notice.”
The Court finds that consideration of the additional materials submitted -without objection in this case will facilitate the disposition of the action, because the materials provide a comprehensive view of the dispute and the legal issues before the Court. Therefore, the Court will not exclude the additional materials and will convert Wausau’s motion to dismiss into ■ a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56.
.Rule 56(a) directs a court to “grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” When considering a motion for summary judgment, a court must draw “all justifiable inferences” in the non-moving party’s favor.
III. Scope of Employment
The Wausau insurance policy provides coverage for employees, “but only for acts within the scope of their employment by [Peninsula Group] or while' performing duties related to the conduct of [Peninsula Group’s] business.”
Wausau asserts that under no set of facts can sexual activity, whether consensual or nonconsensual, be within Mr. Calla-nan’s scope of employment as a front desk clerk. Wausau argues that under Alaska law an act must be motivated at least in part by a desire to serve the employer, and a sexual assault cannot have such a motivation. Wausau also asserts that no in
D.W.J. responds that she has also asserted a “negligent billeting” theory, under which Mr. Callanan’s action of assigning her a room on the first floor of the hotel made her less safe. Because checking a guest into the hotel is motivated at least in part by a desire to serve the employer, she asserts coverage would apply. And D.W.J. relies heavily on a case where the Alaska Supreme Court held that a counselor’s sexual relations with a patient were related to his employment.
In determining whether an employee has acted within his scope of employment, Alaska courts apply a flexible multi-fac-tored test.
(1) Conduct of a servant is within the scope of employment if, but only if:
(a) it is of the kind he is employed to perform;
(b) it occurs substantially within the authorized time and space limits;
(c) it is actuated, at least in part, by a purpose to serve the master; and
(d) if force is intentionally used by the servant against another, the use of force is hot unexpected by the ■master.
(2) Conduct of a servant is not within the scope of employment if it is different in kind from that authorized, far beyond the authorized time or space limits, or too little actuated by a purpose to serve ■ the master.35
Not all four of the Restatement factors are required—rather, together they are relevant considerations.
The case that D.W.J. relies on most heavily is Doe v. Samaritan Counseling Center.
Nine years later, in VECO, Inc. v. Rose-brock, the Alaska Supreme Court retreated from its holding in Noe.
Thus, after Rosebrock, although Alaska has not strictly required that each of the four factors of the Restatement of Agency be present, the Alaska Supreme Court has stated that an “employee is not acting within the scope of employment unless his actions are ‘actuated, at least in part, by a purpose to serve the master.’”
D.W.J. also asserts that Mr. Calla-nan should be an insured because he was performing business-related tasks under the second portion of the policy language: “while performing duties related to the conduct of [Peninsula Group’s] business.”
Finally, D.W.J. asserts a “negligent billeting” theory based on Mr. Callanan’s action of placing D.W.J. on the ground floor of the hotel. The First Amended Complaint in the prior action did not specifically state a “negligent billeting” theory; rather, it expressly stated that Mf. Callanan engaged in “deception, fraud, and false pretenses” by assigning D.W.J. to a ground-floor room.
Because Mr. Callanaris séxual assault was not performed within the scope of his employment or while performing business-related tasks, he is not an insured under the Peninsula Group’s insurance policy with respect to D.WJ.’s particular injury.
IY. Occurrence as Defined by the Policy
Because the Court has held' that Mr. Callanan was not an additional insured for his sexual assault, it need not consider whether the assault could have been an “occurrence” covered under the' policy. Nonetheless, the Court will- also' ¡address this issue. -
The Wausau policy covers only “bodily injury” that is caused by an “occurrence.”
Wausau asserts that D.W.J. cannot allege any facts that would show the sexual assault was an accident as that term is
In Kim v. National Indemnity Co., the Alaska Supreme Court held that a eáb driver could not be insured for sexually assaulting his minor passenger because the cab driver’s abuse of the minor was intentional, not accidental.
Here, Mr. Callanan was convicted of sexual assault in the first degree, in violation of AS 11.41.410(a). Under that statute, an offender is guilty if the offender “engages in sexual penetration with another person without consent of that person.”
Like in Kim, the Court finds that Mr. Callanan can offer no facts showing that his' sexual assault of D.W.J was an accident. The criminal conviction establishes that the conduct was performed knowingly and that Mr. Callanan did not have consent for the sexual encounter.
V. Duty to Defend
’ [8] D.W.J. asserts that even if Mr. Cal-lanan was not covered for his sexual assault under the Peninsula Group’s policy, Wausau still had, a duty to defend him because it was unclear whether this was a case of mistaken consent. Moreover, D.W.J. represents that Wausau later learned that (1) Peninsula’s manager had asserted that the conduct was consensual, and (2) D.W.J. had offered to release Mr. Callanan for additional money.
Mr. Callanan was convicted of first-degree sexual assault on May 14, 2012. Thus, as of May 14, 2012, it was established that Mr. Callanan lacked consent for his actions. On May 15, 2012, D.W.J. filed her civil suit against Mr. Callanan—the suit for which D.W.J. asserts Wausau should have provided a defense. Wausau sent Mr. Callanan a refusal-to-defend letter in October 2012, to which there is no indication Mr. Callanan ever responded.
While an insurer’s duty to defend is broader than its duty to indemnify, if the insurer can show a “complete and absolute absence of’ coverage, then the insurer does not have a duty to defend.
This case bears similarities to M.C. v. Northern Insurance Co. of New York, a case involving an insurance coverage dispute for the sexual assault of a minor.
Here, at the time the underlying civil suit commenced, it had been established that Mr. Callanan had knowingly acted without D.W.J.’s consent; thus, Mr. Calla-nan could not conceivably have been covered by the policy, and Wausau could fairly conclude that the suit against Mr.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that Wausau’s Motion to Dismiss at Docket 7, treated as a motion for summary judgment, is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is directed to enter a final judgment accordingly.
DATED this 28th day of June, 2016.
. The operative complaint in this case, at Docket 1-2, alleges only the date of the incident and Mr. Callanan’s employment at the time of the assault. Docket 1-2 (Complaint)'at ¶¶ 5, 9. As discussed further herein, the Court has considered this motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment, and relies primarily on the factual allegations set for in the First Amended Complaint filed by D.W.J. in July 2012 against the owner of the hotel—the Peninsula Group—and Mr. Callanan. See infra, pages 1017-18.
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at ¶ 11.
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at ¶ 16.
. Docket 7-1 (Judgment) at 1; see Case History, Case No. 1KE-11-00523CR, available at http ://www. courtrecords. alaska. gov/ ■ ■ eservices/?x=fUeG4NJ5w38ezsjqxenun7nqt UMww*TK0mVivCFEJCuDa6ZHn9yMnb07 jqV-KBCdzmNvpyStWhqgcmZYt37xiA (date of conviction).
. Docket 7-1 (Judgment) at 2.
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at ¶¶ 21, 22; see Case Record in case 1KE-12-224CI, available at http://www.courtrecords.alaska.gov/ eservices/?x=Jqs6ku2R7181ccY*qJLp3o FTPULDKEDQOHAXpiGGMbt4u-fMX50Bld4 FOtrPKV*PWeqlYRe52sh984c93fELA (date of filing).
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at ¶ 20; Docket 7-1 (Judgment) at 1.
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at ¶¶ 24-41.
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at ¶ 26.
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at ¶¶ 27-28, , 32.
. Docket 7-3 (Letter) at 1-2.
. Docket 7-3 (Letter) at 2.
. Docket 13 (Opp’n) at 3; Docket 7 (Mot.) at 4.
. Docket 7-4 (Default Judgment).
. Docket 7-5 (Mem. in Support of Default Judgment) at 2.
. See Docket 7-5 (Mem.); Docket 7-4 (Default Judgment); Case Record in case 1KE-12-224CI, available at http://www.courtrecords. alaska.gov/eservices/?x=Jqs6ku2R7181ccY*q JLp3oFTPULDKEDQOHAXpiGGMbt4u-fMX 50Bld4FOtrPKV*PWeqlYRe52sh984c93fELA.
. Docket 1 (Removal). •
. Docket 1-2 (Complaint) at ¶¶ 35-42.
. See Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938); Jacobs v. CBS Broad., Inc., 291 F.3d 1173, 1177 (9th Cir. 2002); Pardo v. Olson & Sons, Inc., 40 F.3d 1063, 1066 (9th Cir. 1994) ("Because this is a diversity case, we apply the collateral estoppel rules of the forum state .... ”).
. Akhtar v. Mesa, 698 F.3d 1202, 1212 (9th Cir. 2012) (quoting Swartz v. KPMG LLP, 476 F.3d 756, 763 (9th Cir. 2007)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
. See Docket 12 (Opp’n) at 2. D.W.J.’s Complaint is the challenged pleading. See generally Fed, R. Civ. P. 7(a) (Pleadings Allowed).
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d).
. Conversion of a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion Into a Summary Judgment Motion, 5C Fed, Prac. & Proc. Civ, § 1366 (3d ed, 2016).
. Id.
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S, 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citing Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 158-59, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970)).
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); In re Oracle Corp. Sec. Litig., 627 F.3d 376, 387 (9th Cir. 2010).
. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Oracle, 627 F.3d at 387.
. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Id. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct, 2505 (citing Dombrowski v. Eastland, 387 U.S. 82, 84-85, 87 S.Ct. 1425, 18 L.Ed.2d 577 (1967); First Nat’l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 290, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)).
. Docket 7-6 (Policy) at 13.
. Docket 7 (Mot.) at 4-15.
. Docket 13 (Opp’n) at 10 (quoting Doe v. Samaritan Counseling Ctr., 791 P.2d 344 (Alaska 1990)).
. Docket 13 (Opp'n) at 4-23.
. Doe, 791 P,2d at 347; Rosenbaum v. Burgess, No. 3:06-00144, 2007 WL 623795, at *4 (D.AIaska Feb. 23, 2007).
. Restatement (Second) of Agency § 228.
. Doe, 791 P,2d at 347.
. VECO, Inc. v. Rosebrock, 970 P.2d 906, 924 n. 36 (Alaska 1999).
. 791 P.2d 344 (Alaska 1990).
. Doe, 791 P.2d at 345-47.
. Id. at 348.
. 970 P.2d 906 (Alaska 1999).
. Rosebrock, 970 P.2d at 924 (quoting Restatement (Second) of Agency § 228(l)(c)).
. Id. at 924 n. 36.
. Id. (citing Restatement (Second) of Agency § 219(2)(d) (Aided in Agency Section)).
. Id.
. Id. at 924 (quoting Restatement (Second) of Agency § 228(l)(c)).
. Restatement (Second) of Agency § 228(l)(a).
. Id. at (l)(c).
. See Id. at (l)(b).
. Id. at (2).
. Docket 7-6 (Policy) at 13.
. Although neither party cites to Laidlaw Transit, Inc. v. Crouse, 53 P.3d 1093 (Alaska 2002), the Court will briefly discuss it as it ties in closely with D.W.J.’s argument that the assault should be covered.because it occurred while Mr. Callanan was on duty at the hotel and allegedly entering .D.W.J.’s room to fix the television. See Docket 13 (Opp’n) at 6-9. In Laidlaw, a student’s mother brought an action for negligence against a transit company after a school bus driver caused an accident while driving under the influence of marijuana. The jury returned a verdict against Laidlaw Transit. On appeal, Laidlaw Transit argued that the driver’s conduct was not in the scope of her employment because she had not ingested the marijuana oút of a purpose to serve the employer. But the Alaska Supreme Court disagreed and held that the driver had "specifically been employed to drive a school bus” and had been performing that task at the time of the accident. The court held that "the conduct at issue—driving while impaired by marijuana—both arose out of and was incidental to [the driver’s] legitimate work activities because it carried out the very function that [she] was hired to perform— driving a school bus.” Id. at 1096-99. The facts presented in the instant case differ greatly from Laidlaw. Here, Mr. Callanan was not engaged in any activity he was hired to perform while he assaulted D.W.J., even if the Court assumes that he entered the room initially intending to fix the television.
. See Selective Ins. Co. v. Oglebay, No. Civ. AMD 05-951, 2005 WL 3027460, at *1 (D.Md. 2005), aff'd, 242 Fed.Appx. 104 (4th Cir. 2007) (holding that assault performed in driving school car during work hours was not "while performing duties related to the conduct” of the driving school’s business); Baek v. Cont'l Cas. Co., 178 Cal.Rptr.3d 622, 633 (Cal.App. 2014) ("Although the alleged sexual assault of Jaime W. occurred during a massage, the particular acts on which liability is premised—i.e., 'touchfing], fondlfing], rubb[ing], grabbing] and squeezing] Plaintiff's breasts', buttocks, inner thighs and genitals’ ... indisputably were not ‘duties related to the conduct of [HMWC’s] business' or acts of the ’ kind Baek had been hired to perform.”).
. See-infra, pages 1023-24. And even if the sexual acts had been consensual, they still would not have been a business-related activity.
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at ¶ 37.
. Docket 7-2 (Prior Complaint) at 4.
; See United Servs. Auto Ass’n v. Neary, 307 P.3d 907, 913 (Alaska 2013) (holding that unforeseen event of child shooting another child constitutes the act for which there is coverage, not the parents’ negligent acts in failing to secure firearm),
. Neary, 307 P.3d at 913, . ,
. The duty to defend arises out of the facts of the case, not the label placed on the facts by the attorneys. See State, Dep’t of Transp. & Pub. Facil. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 23 Kan.App.2d 221, 929 P.2d 788, 792 (Alaska 1997); see also Gonzalez v. Fire Ins. Exch., 234 Cal.App.4th 1220, 184 Cal.Rptr.3d 394, 407 (Cal.App. 2015) ("A general boilerplate pleading of ‘negligence’ adds nothing, to a complaint otherwise devoid of facts giving rise to a potential for covered liability.”). Moreover, even if D.W.J. amended her complaint, she cannot cure the fact that the underlying action against Mr. Callanan was an intentional tort claim for sexual assault. Ebner v. Fresh, Inc., 818 F.3d 799, 808 (9th Cir. 2016) (“Although, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2), leave tó amend should be ‘freely’ given, that liberality does not apply when amendment would be futile.”).
. Docket'7-6 (Policy) at 2.
. Docket 7-6 (Policy) at 21.
. Neary, 307 P.3d at 913 (quoting Fejes v. Alaska Ins. Co., 984 P.2d 519, 523 (Alaska 1999)).
. Shaw v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Cos., 19 P.3d 588, 590-91 (Alaska 2001).
. Kim v. Nat'l Indem. Co., 6 P.3d 264, 267 (Alaska 2000).
. Docket 7 (Mot.) at 15-20.
. D.W.J. also returns to the negligent billeting theory, asserting that this was an occurrence that caused harm under the terms of the policy, but, as explained above, the Court finds that the relevant claim is the sexual assault, not any negligence that preceded it. See supra, pages 1021-22.
. 6 P.3d 264, 267 (Alaska 2000).
. Kim, 6 P.3d at 267,
. AS 11.41.410(a)(1).
. Sergie v. State, 105 P.3d 1150, 1153 (Alaska App. 2005).
. A federal court sitting in diversity applies the collateral estoppel rules of the forum state. Jacobs v. CBS Broad., Inc., 291 F.3d 1173, 1177 (9th Cir. 2002); Pardo v. Olson & Sons, Inc., 40 F.3d 1063, 1066 (9th Cir. 1994) ("Because this is a diversity ‘case, we apply the collateral estoppel rules of the forum state .... ”). Under Alaska state law, "a conviction ... will collaterally estop the criminal defendant from denying any element in a subsequent civil action against him that was necessarily established by the conviction, as long as the prior conviction was for a serious criminal offense and the defendant in fact had the opportunity for a full and fair hearing.” Lamb v. Anderson, 147 P.3d 736, 742 (Alaska 2006); see also Scott v. Robertson, 583 P.2d 188, 191-92 (Alaska 1978) (adopting rule). The Court finds that Mr. Callanan’s conviction was for a serious criminal offense and he had a full opportunity for a fair hearing. Therefore, collateral estoppel applies as to D.W.J.’s lack of consent. And the fact that Mr. Callanan died while the case was on appeal does not alter the result. Wyatt v. Wyatt, 65 P.3d 825, 831 (Alaska 2003) (“We have repeatedly held that the pendency of an appeal is irrelevant for the purposes of res judicata and collateral estop-pel”).
. Docket 1-2 (Complaint) at ¶¶ 27, 30.
. Docket 13 (Opp’n) at 20.
. Docket 7 (Mot.) at 4-15.
. Docket 13 (Opp'n) at 21; Docket 7-3 (Letter).
. Christianson v. Conrad-Houston Ins., 318 P.3d 390, 402 (Alaska 2014); Pension Trust Fund v. Federal Ins. Co., 307 F.3d 944, 955 (9th Cir. 2002).
. 1 P.3d 673 (Alaska 2000).
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