American Family Mutual Insuran v. David Williams

832 F.3d 645, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14539, 2016 WL 4177216
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 8, 2016
Docket15-3400
StatusPublished
Cited by47 cases

This text of 832 F.3d 645 (American Family Mutual Insuran v. David Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Family Mutual Insuran v. David Williams, 832 F.3d 645, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14539, 2016 WL 4177216 (7th Cir. 2016).

Opinions

WOOD, Chief Judge.

They say every dog has its day. This case is about a dog — specifically, Emma, a black Labrador. Emma lived in Indiana with Anthony and Jeanette Van de Venter, friends of David Williams. When Williams, then visiting the Van de Venters, took Emma outside so that she could relieve herself, she raced off toward an enticing sound and Williams was injured. Before us is the question whether American Family Mutual Insurance (AmFam), the Van de Venter’s home insurer, must cover Williams’s medical expenses. AmFam said no and brought this suit for a declaratory judgment to confirm its reading of the policy. The district court, however, found in favor of the Van de Venters and Williams. We affirm.

I

The relevant facts are undisputed. In October 2012, Williams, a college friend of Anthony Van de Venter, visited the Van de Venters at their home in Monroe County, Indiana. On Tuesday, October 23, 2012, the Van de Venters went to work, leaving Williams at home for the day. Williams was sharing the house with Emma. Before they left, the Van de Venters told Williams that Emma would be fine inside while they were away. If she wanted to go outside, they instructed him, she would ring a bell by the front door, and he should let her out. They said nothing about walking her.

At approximately 10:40 a.m., Williams was watching . television when Emma scratched on his bedroom door. He followed her downstairs, clipped a leash to her collar, and accompanied' her outside. They returned without incident. Roughly an hour later, Williams heard the bell at the front door ring. He went downstairs again to find Emma by the door, whining. He again affixed the leash to her collar and walked with her into the backyard, away from the road.

As Williams held Emma’s leash, a “woof’ rang out, shattering the early-afternoon air. That neighborhood dog’s bark proved to be, quite literally, worse than its bite: Emma lurched toward the sound, pulling Williams to the ground and seriously injuring his shoulder. Williams sued the Van de Venters, alleging that they were negligent in, among other things, failing to exercise reasonable care for his safety while he was a guest in their home.

At the time of Williams’s injury, the Van de Venters’ home was insured by a home-insurance policy with AmFam. The policy included personal liability coverage indemnifying the Van de Venters for compensatory damages for bodily injury and guaranteeing a defense against suits for such damages. The policy also contained a provision stating: “Intra-Insured Suits. We will not cover bodily injury to any insured.” In relevant part, the policy defined an “insured” as “any person ... legally responsible for a[n] ... animal owned by [a named insured or resident relative of a named insured] to which [the policy’s personal-liability coverages] apply.”

AmFam took the position that these provisions relieved it of the duty to defend or [648]*648indemnify the Van de Venters. As we noted, the district court rejected its position, and AmFam now appeals.

II

We review the district court’s decision- to grant summary judgment de novo. Steimel v. Wemert, 823 F.3d 902, 910 (7th Cir. 2016). When reviewing cross-motions for summary judgment, we take the motions one at a time and for each one we construe all facts and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Id. Summary judgment is appropriate only “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.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).

AmFam argues that Williams was legally responsible for Emma at the time he was hurt, and for that reason he was an insured under the policy. As an insured, it concludes, he cannot turn to the policy for coverage of his claim.

In diversity cases where neither party raises a conflict of law issue, federal courts apply the law of the state in which they sit. Ball v. Kotter, 723 F.3d 813, 821 (7th Cir. 2013). This is such a case. Indiana uses the law of the principal location of the insured risk. Dunn v. Meridian Mut. Ins. Co., 836 N.E.2d 249, 251 (Ind. 2005) (citing Restatement (Seoond) of Conflict of Laws § 193 (1971)). The Van de Venters’ house is located in Indiana, and so we rely on Indiana law.

If not specifically defined in the policy, clear and unambiguous language is given its ordinary meaning. See Holiday Hosp. Franchising, Inc. v. AMCO Ins. Co., 983 N.E.2d 574, 577 (Ind. 2013). The policy does not define the term “legally responsible,” nor does it otherwise indicate that the term has a specific meaning. We therefore turn, as Indiana courts would, to the dictionary. Id. at 579. Black’s Law Dictionary defines “responsibility” as the “quality, state, or condition of being answerable or accountable; Liability.” Black's Law Dictionary 1506 (10th ed. 2014). “Liability,” in turn, means “legal responsibility to another or to society, enforceable by civil remedy or criminal punishment.” Id. at 1053. To the same effect, Merriam-Webster defines “responsible” as “liable or subject to legal review or in case of fault to penalties.” MeRriam-Webster’s Third New Int’l Dio-tionary 1935 (1986). When used in the legal sense, “responsible” means roughly “subject to some kind of liability.”

Indiana law makes two kinds of people legally responsible for animals: owners and keepers. Ross v. Lowe, 619 N.E.2d 911, 914 (Ind. 1993) (“An owner or keeper who fails to exercise ... reasonable care may be liable in negligence for the manner of keeping and controlling the dog.”). Indiana Code § 15-20-1-2 defines an “owner” as “a person who possesses, keeps, or harbors a dog.” A “keeper, for purposes of imposition of liability, is one who exercises control over an animal on his premises with knowledge of its presence, whether he be an owner, or bailee.” Williams v. Pohlman, 146 Ind.App. 523, 257 N.E.2d 329, 331 (1970). In Vetor by Weesner v. Vetor, 634 N.E.2d 513, 515 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994), the court held that a jury could find that the victim’s grandparents were a dog’s keeper where they had “not simply acquiesced but were intentionally causing the dog to come to their home.” Id. (noting that they permitted the dog to “roam their farm,” fed and watered it, and gave it affection). In order to qualify as a keeper, a person must “undertake! ] to manage, control, or care for the animal as [an] owner, in general, is accustomed to do.” 3B C.J.S. Animals § 75. The definition therefore “implies ... a substantial number of incidents” and that the person “supplies the dog] with the necessities of life.” Id. A person “harbors” a dog when [649]*649she “affords [it] lodging, shelters, or gives refuge ... for a limited purpose or time.” Id. § 374.

Whatever the limits of these definitions, they are not met here. Because Emma was not on Williams’s property, he did not harbor her.

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832 F.3d 645, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14539, 2016 WL 4177216, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-family-mutual-insuran-v-david-williams-ca7-2016.