Baldwin v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.

750 S.W.2d 919, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1205, 1988 WL 52146
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 26, 1988
Docket07-87-0027-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 750 S.W.2d 919 (Baldwin v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baldwin v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 750 S.W.2d 919, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1205, 1988 WL 52146 (Tex. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

COUNTISS, Justice.

This is a suit by an insured against his insurer to recover damages incurred when the insurer refused to defend a claim alleg *920 edly covered by the insurance policy. The insured, appellant Charles D. Baldwin, appealing from a summary judgment granted to the insurer, appellee Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, contends by three points of error argued collectively that (1) the claim was covered by the policy, (2) he was entitled to be reimbursed for paying the claim, and (3) his petition stated a cause of action. We affirm.

Baldwin owns a trucking company. Aet-na sold him an insurance policy in which it agreed as follows:

The Company will pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage to which this insurance applies, caused by an occurrence and arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use, including loading or unloading, of any automobile. (Emphasis added.).

The policy then defines an occurrence:

“Occurrence” means an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to conditions which results in bodily injury or property damage neither expected nor intended from the standpoint from the insured.

While the policy was in effect, Baldwin was advised that he was going to be sued by the State of Texas for causing damage to state highways by repeated and intentional violations of article 6701d-ll, the vehicle size and weight limitation statute. * Aetna refused to defend the claim on the ground that it was not covered by the policy, so Baldwin negotiated a settlement that, when fully paid, will cost him over $70,000.00.

After the settlement, Baldwin asked Aet-na to indemnify him. When the company refused, this suit was filed. After discovery, Aetna moved for summary judgment, contending that the State’s claim was based on willful misconduct, and that willful misconduct is not covered by the policy. Summary judgment was granted and this appeal followed. Because Baldwin’s points are argued collectively, we will dispose of them collectively.

Because this is an appeal from a summary judgment, the issues before us must be resolved within the framework of settled principles of summary judgment law. A movant earns a summary judgment by establishing (1) the absence of genuine issues of material fact and (2) the right to judgment under those undisputed material facts, as a matter of law, on grounds expressly stated in the motion. Tex.R.Civ. Pro. 166-A(c); Delgado v. Burns, 656 S.W.2d 428, 429 (Tex.1983); Whiddon v. Metni, 650 S.W.2d 904, 905 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1983, writ ref'd n.r.e.). The movant, against whom all doubts are resolved, has the burden of establishing both elements, City of Houston v. Clear Creek Basin Authority, 589 S.W.2d 671, 678 (Tex.1979), and, when the defendant is the movant, summary judgment is proper only if the plaintiff cannot, as a matter of law, succeed upon any theory plead. Peirce v. Sheldon Petroleum Co., 589 S.W.2d 849, 852 (Tex.Civ.App.—Amarillo 1979, no writ). Thus, the defendant can prevail by conclusively establishing against the plaintiff at least one factual element of each theory plead by the plaintiff, Gibbs v. General Motors Corp., 450 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex.1970), or by conclusively establishing every factual element of an affirmative defense. Smiley v. Hughes, 488 S.W.2d 64, 67 (Tex.1972). Conversely, the plaintiff can bar the defendant’s entitlement to a summary judgment by responding with evidence that creates a fact question on those elements of the plaintiff’s case under attack by the defendant or on at least one element of each affirmative defense advanced by the defendant. Torres v. Western Casualty & Surety Co., 457 S.W.2d 50, 52 (Tex.1970); see also Puga v. Donna Fruit Co., 634 *921 S.W.2d 677, 680-81 (Tex.1982). Accordingly, in this case, Aetna contends it conclusively negated one element of Baldwin’s suit by proving that the claim was not covered by the policy; therefore, it had the duty to defend Baldwin.

In deciding whether it has a duty to defend under a policy, the insurance company compares the allegations of the complaint with the policy provisions. Winn v. Continental Casualty Company, 494 S.W.2d 601, 603-05 (Tex.Civ.App.—Tyler 1975, no writ). If the complaint alleges a claim that is covered by the policy, the company must defend, regardless of the truth or falsity of the claim. Argonaut Southwest Insurance Company v. Maupin, 500 S.W.2d 633, 635 (Tex.1973). Our courts have often held, however, that an intentional or willful act is not an “occurrence” as that term is defined in the policy in question here. Argonaut Southwest Insurance Company, supra, 500 S.W.2d at 635; Winn, supra, 494 S.W.2d at 603-05; Southern Farm Bur. Cos. Ins. Co. v. Brock, 659 S.W.2d 165 (Tex.App.—Amarillo 1983, writ ref'd n.r.e.).

Our ultimate inquiry, then, is whether Aetna conclusively proved that the claim made by the State was not covered by the policy. To resolve that question, we examine the petition that would have been filed against Baldwin if he had not settled, because that petition is, for this case, the claim that was made. The first, and primary, allegation is that Baldwin placed his trucks on Texas highways “knowing” they were overweight in violation of article 6701d-ll. Damages were then alleged “as a direct result of this Defendant’s deliberate overloading said trucks.” The State then alleged that “Defendant’s repeated criminal law violations have created a nuisance per se and public nuisance,” that “Defendant is a flagrant law violator” and that the “conduct of said Defendant in knowingly and intentionally causing its overweight trucks to be driven on Texas highways entitles the State to exemplary damages”.

It is difficult to imagine more specific allegations of intentional wrongdoing. The entire case of the State is based on Baldwin’s alleged intentional acts in continually sending out overweight trucks. Thus, we are satisfied that Aetna conclusively proved that the State’s claim was based on intentional acts, that the policy does not cover intentional acts, and that Aetna successfully negated an element of plaintiff’s cause of action.

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Bluebook (online)
750 S.W.2d 919, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1205, 1988 WL 52146, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baldwin-v-aetna-casualty-surety-co-texapp-1988.