Beckwith v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.
Beckwith v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.
Concurring Opinion
concurring:
I concur with the majority because under the circumstances presented here, the insured’s intoxication was voluntary. I do not believe that one who voluntarily intoxicates or drugs oneself and then relinquishes all responsibility for one’s acts, claiming them to be negligent or accidental, ought to obtain the protection from personal liability that a policy of insurance affords. I believe, however, that if one’s intoxication or dragged state is imposed upon him or her, the coverage result would be far different. In that case, I would agree with the dissent that public policy considerations ought to favor coverage.
Dissenting Opinion
agrees, dissenting:
I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that an insured’s intoxication should not be considered in determining whether he acted intentionally. Additionally, I do not believe that this court’s holding in Mallin v. Farmers Insurance Exchange
Several courts have held that intoxication may negate an insured’s intent.
*29 With respect to voluntary intoxication, the public policy considerations applicable to a criminal prosecution are not decisive as to liability insurance coverage. In criminal matters there is reason to deal cautiously with a plea of intoxication, and this [sic] to protect the innocent from attack by drunken men. . . .
But other values are involved in the insurance controversy. The exclusion of intentional injury from coverage stems from a fear that an individual might be encouraged to inflict injury intentionally if he was assured against the dollar consequences. Pulling the other way is the public interest that the victim be compensated, and the victim’s rights being derivative from the insured’s, the victim is aided by the narrowest view of the policy exclusion consistent with the purpose of not encouraging an intentional attack. And the insured, in his own right, is also entitled to the maximum protection consistent with the public purpose the exclusion is intended to serve.4
I agree with the policy behind allowing an insured to argue that intoxication vitiated his intent. Based on the facts presented in this case, the question of whether Beckwith’s intoxication vitiated his intent should be a factor for the trier of fact to consider when determining whether State Farm has a duty to defend and indemnify Beckwith.
108 Nev. 788, 839 P.2d 105 (1992).
See, e.g., Republic Ins. Co. v. Feidler, 875 P.2d 187, 192 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1993) (observing that a voluntarily intoxicated insured may lack the mental capacity to form the intent required to invoke a policy exclusion for intentional acts of the insured); State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Morgan, 364 S.E.2d 62, 64 (Ga. Ct. App. 1987) (same); Allstate Ins. Co. v. Carioto, 551 N.E.2d 382, 389 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990) (same); Hanover Ins. Co. v. Talhouni, 604 N.E.2d
Burd v. Sussex Mutual Insurance Company, 267 A.2d 7, 15 (N.J. 1970) (citations omitted).
See McGrath, 817 P.2d at 864 (concluding that whether an insured may be so intoxicated as to be unable to form an intent to commit an act is a question for the trier of fact).
Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
In this appeal, we consider whether the intentional misconduct of an intoxicated insured is covered under a homeowner’s personal third-party liability policy. We conclude that, regardless of the insured’s intoxicated state, the act of striking another is intentional, that such an act is not a covered occurrence under the policy in question here, and that such incidents are subject to a properly drafted “intentional acts” exclusion clause. Consequently, we hold that the liability insurer in this instance is under no duty to defend or indemnify its insured in connection with an action seeking damages stemming from the insured’s intentional infliction of bodily injury, even when the insured was intoxicated or believed he acted in self-defense.
FACTS
On July 7, 2000, appellant Joshua L. Beckwith ingested alcohol, LSD, and marijuana during a party at a friend’s residence. While walking home, he experienced hallucinations, disrobed, and entered a trailer park near the Truckee River in downtown Reno. Shortly thereafter, appellant William Martin Reccelle confronted Beckwith because children were playing in the area. In response, Beckwith began screaming and writhing on the ground, asking Reccelle if he was God. Apparently, Beckwith also believed that he was a dog and Reccelle was his “evil master.” Although Reccelle attempted to reassure Beckwith, Beckwith struck Reccelle in the face, rupturing Reccelle’s eye.
Beckwith pleaded nolo contendere to criminal charges stemming from the assault. Subsequently, Reccelle filed a civil complaint against Beckwith, alleging assault and battery, and negligence. Beckwith requested that respondent State Farm Fire and Casualty Company defend and indemnify him with respect to the civil action, pursuant to his homeowner’s insurance policy. State Farm initially agreed, but then filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a judicial declaration of non-coverage in connection with the incident.
State Farm ultimately moved for summary judgment on the coverage issues, arguing that the incident was not a covered “occurrence” as defined in the policy, and that the policy’s intentional-acts exclusionary clause precluded coverage. Beckwith and Reccelle filed separate cross-motions for summary judgment, argu
The district court granted State Farm’s motion for summary judgment, concluding that the insurance policy did not cover Beckwith’s intentional act of striking Reccelle. Beckwith and Reccelle appeal jointly.
DISCUSSION
We review orders granting summary judgment de novo.
The insurance agreement in this case obligates State Farm to defend and indemnify Beckwith in connection with actions brought against him for damages caused by an “occurrence.” The policy defines the term “occurrence” as an accident resulting in bodily injury. Although the policy does not define the term “accident,” a common definition of the term is “a happening that is not expected, foreseen, or intended.’
This court dealt with a similarly worded insurance policy in Mallin v. Farmers Insurance Exchange.
We take this opportunity to extend our holding in Mallín and reject appellants’ argument that Beckwith was unable to act intentionally as a result of his voluntary intoxication.
Applying this court’s holding in Mallín, we conclude that Beckwith’s' act of striking Reccelle was intentional; and thus, the act was not an occurrence under the insurance policy. Likewise, notwithstanding Beckwith’s claim that he was too intoxicated to intend the acts and resulting injuries to Reccelle, the intentional-act exclusionary clause applies to negate coverage.
We therefore affirm the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of State Farm.
. Tore, Ltd. v. Church, 105 Nev. 183, 185, 772 P.2d 1281, 1282 (1989).
Butler v. Bogdanovich, 101 Nev. 449, 451, 705 P.2d 662, 663 (1985).
Webster’s New World Dictionary 8 (3d ed. 1988).
108 Nev. 788, 790, 839 P2d 105, 106 (1992) (reviewing an insurance policy providing coverage for damages from an accident and exempting damages resulting from intentional acts of the insured).
See, e.g., Wessinger v. Fire Ins. Exchange, 949 S.W.2d 834, 840 (Tex. App. 1997) (concluding that “voluntary intoxication cannot be used to defeat the intent requirement in an insurance policy”).
See Hooper v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 782 So. 2d 1029, 1033 (La. Ct. App. 2001) (observing that summary judgment was properly granted in favor of the insurance company because an insured acts intentionally when he strikes another in the face with a closed fist, despite a claim that the act was not intentional); Royal Indem. Co. v. Love, 630 N.Y.S.2d 652, 654 (Sup. Ct. 1995) (concluding that intentional assault is an intentional act, and thus, cannot constitute an accident); Wessinger, 949 S.W.2d at 841 (concluding that the act of striking another is not an occurrence because such an act is voluntary and intentional, not accidental).
See Ohio Cas. Ins. Co. v. Henderson, 939 P.2d 1337, 1343 (Ariz. 1997) (concluding that an intentional-acts exclusionary clause applies when the nature and circumstances of the insured’s acts are such that harm is substantially certain to result); Hanover Ins. Co. v. Newcomer, 585 S.W.2d 285, 289 (Mo. Ct. App. 1979) (concluding that the act of swinging a machete is an intentional act from which an injury could be expected, hence, evidence that the insured was under the influence is of no consequence in determining whether coverage is precluded by the intentional-acts exclusionary clause); Ludwig v. Dulian, 579 N.W.2d 795, 799 (Wis. Ct. App. 1998) (concluding that an intentional-acts exclusionary clause precludes insurance coverage where a purposeful act is substantially certain to produce injury, despite an insured’s claim that he did not intend any harm).
See supra note 10.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOSHUA L. BECKWITH AND WILLIAM MARTIN RECCELLE, Appellants, v. STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, Respondent
- Cited By
- 16 cases
- Status
- Published