Atlantic Mutual Insurance v. Pope, No. Cv99-0497354s (Jun. 28, 2001)

2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 8812-b
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedJune 28, 2001
DocketNo. CV99-0497354S
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 8812-b (Atlantic Mutual Insurance v. Pope, No. Cv99-0497354s (Jun. 28, 2001)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Atlantic Mutual Insurance v. Pope, No. Cv99-0497354s (Jun. 28, 2001), 2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 8812-b (Colo. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This case is unpublished as indicated by the issuing court.]

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
This action comes before the court on a motion for summary judgment filed by the plaintiff. The plaintiff, Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company (Atlantic), brought a declaratory judgment suit against the defendants, the Reverend Arthur Pope (Pope) and the First Church of Christ (church), in order to determine whether it owes a duty to defend and a duty to indemnify the defendant Pope, a pastor at the church, in the action, Doev. First Church of Christ, Superior Court, judicial district of New London, Docket No. 97-0543659 S.1 Atlantic is potentially obligated to the defendant Pope under the terms of Insurance Policies for Churches, which Atlantic issued to the defendant church, effective during the period at issue.2 The plaintiff moves for summary judgment on the ground that the conduct of the defendant Pope, as alleged in the underlying civil suit, is excluded by both the coverage terms of the general liability policy form and the exclusions of the pastoral professional liability form due to the defendant's alleged actions of introducing sexual acts and beatings into pastoral counseling sessions he had with the minor parishioner Doe.

On January 3, 2000, the plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment (#106) on its amended complaint. The plaintiff also filed a supporting memorandum of law, copies of the relevant insurance policies and the underlying complaint.3 The defendant filed an opposing memorandum of law with documentary evidence4 on May 3, 2000.5 The court heard oral argument at short calendar on May 22, 2000, and now issues this memorandum of decision.

DISCUSSION
"Practice Book § 384 [now § 17-49] provides that summary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, affidavits and any CT Page 8812-c other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. . . . In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the trial court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. . . . The party seeking summary judgment has the burden of showing the absence of any genuine issue of material facts which, under applicable principles of substantive law, entitle him to a judgment as a matter of law . . . and the party opposing such a motion must provide an evidentiary foundation to demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)Rivera v. Double A Transportation, Inc., 248 Conn. 21, 24, 727 A.2d 204 (1999).

"The court may address the merits of a declaratory judgment action upon a motion for summary judgment." American Home Assurance Co. v. StamfordPropane, Inc., Superior Court, judicial district of Stamford-Norwalk at Stamford, Docket No. 149399 (March 7, 1997, D'Andrea, J.). "An action for declaratory judgment is a special proceeding." Wilson v. Kelley,224 Conn. 110, 121, 617 A.2d 433 (1992). "The purpose of a declaratory judgment action is to secure an adjudication of rights where there is a substantial question in dispute or a substantial uncertainty of legal relations between the parties." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) St.Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co. v. Shernow, 22 Conn. App. 377, 380-81,577 A.2d 1093 (1990), aff'd, 222 Conn. 823, 610 A.2d 1281 (1992). "There is no question that a declaratory judgment is a suitable vehicle to test the rights and liabilities under an insurance policy." Id., 380. Declaratory judgment actions have been used to determine whether an insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify its insured. See Holy TrinityChurch of God in Christ v. Aetna Casualty Surety Co., 214 Conn. 216,571 A.2d 107 (1990).

FACTS
The following facts are undisputed. From January 1, 1988 until January 1, 1993,6 the plaintiff insured First Church of Christ pursuant to the terms of the general liability coverage and pastoral professional liability form contained therein.7 In September 1997, the minor plaintiff, known only as James Doe, filed a civil action in the judicial district of New London against the First Church of Christ and Pope8 alleging negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, respectively.9 Doe claims that in early 1988, when he was fifteen years of age, he began religious counseling with the defendant, a minister employed by the First Church of Christ and assigned to the First Church in Groton, Connecticut. Doe alleges that beginning in late CT Page 8812-d February of 1998, and continuing until August of 1990. the defendant introduced sexual acts10 into their pastoral counseling sessions, which were represented to be religious communion with Jesus Christ. Doe also alleges that the defendant often beat and whipped his naked buttocks and back during these sessions and that the sessions were usually held at the church parsonage, the office of the church and less frequently at other locations.

I
DUTY TO DEFEND
A. General Liability Coverage Policy

The plaintiff moves for summary judgment on the ground that it does not have a duty to defend the defendant in the underlying civil action under the terms of the general liability policy.11

"[I]t is well settled that an insurer s duty to defend, being much broader in scope and application than its duty to indemnify, is determined by reference to the allegations contained in the underlying complaint. . . . The obligation of the insurer to defend does not depend on whether the injured party will successfully maintain a cause of action against the insured but on whether he has, in his complaint, stated facts which bring the injury within the coverage. If the latter situation prevails, the policy requires the insurer to defend, irrespective of the insured's ultimate liability." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Springdale Donuts, Inc. v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co.of Illinois, 247 Conn. 801, 807,

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Bluebook (online)
2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 8812-b, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atlantic-mutual-insurance-v-pope-no-cv99-0497354s-jun-28-2001-connsuperct-2001.