Farrer v. US Fidelity & Guar. Co.

809 So. 2d 85
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedFebruary 27, 2002
Docket4D01-228, 4D01-397
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 809 So. 2d 85 (Farrer v. US Fidelity & Guar. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farrer v. US Fidelity & Guar. Co., 809 So. 2d 85 (Fla. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

809 So.2d 85 (2002)

Courtney FARRER, as assignee of Gulf Coast Transportation, and Cooperative Leasing, Inc., Appellants,
v.
UNITED STATES FIDELITY & GUARANTY COMPANY, a corporation, Brown & Brown, Inc., and Barry Brannen, Appellees.

Nos. 4D01-228, 4D01-397.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

February 27, 2002.

*87 Justin C. Johnson and David A. Paul of Justin C. Johnson & Associates, P.A., and Michael J. Keane and Brandon S. Vesely of Keane, Reese, & Vesely, P.A., St. Petersburg, for appellants.

Judith W. Simmons and Amy M. Tamargo of Simmons & Dunlap, Tampa, for appellee United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company.

Neil Rose and Steven J. Chackman of Bernstein & Chackman, P.A., Hollywood, for appellees Brown & Brown, Inc. and Barry Brannen.

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

WARNER, J.

We deny the motion for rehearing, withdraw our previously issued opinion, and substitute the following in its place.

Appellant, Courtney Farrer, appeals and United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company ("USF & G") cross-appeals from a final summary judgment entered partly in favor of USF & G and partly in favor of Farrer in this insurance dispute.[1] The trial court found that USF & G had a duty to defend but not to indemnify as to two of Farrer's counts. It also found no duty to either defend or indemnify as to a third count. We disagree and conclude that, at a minimum, material issues of fact remain that should have precluded the entry of summary judgment in this matter.

In 1993, Farrer was a passenger in a taxi cab owned by Gulf Coast Transportation, Inc. and Cooperative Leasing, Inc. ("the insureds"). At some point during the ride, the driver of the cab drove Farrer to a remote location and sexually assaulted her. Farrer sued the insureds for negligent hiring, negligent retention, and breach of contract for safe transportation. She did not sue the driver. During the underlying tort action, it was revealed that, prior to the attack on Farrer, the cab driver had been arrested for indecent exposure (to which he entered a nolo contendere plea) and loitering for prostitution, both of which occurred in June of 1987. Also, the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission issued two warnings to the driver, one for a dress code violation and the second for being discourteous to a passenger by asking sexual questions. That passenger filed an incident report in May of 1992 in which she stated that the driver had made advances towards her and touched her leg.

The underlying tort action against the insureds settled, and a stipulated final judgment in the amount of $700,000 was entered against them. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the insureds agreed to assign to Farrer any and all rights under their commercial general liability policy issued by USF & G. That included the right to be substituted in the insureds' declaratory action concerning USF & G's duty to defend and cover any losses under the policy. Subsequently, Farrer exercised that right by joining the declaratory *88 action and amending the complaint, as to USF & G, to allege a claim for breach of contract and for other declaratory relief. USF & G disputed coverage and any duty to defend. The trial court entered summary judgment on cross motions, finding no coverage under the policy on any of the counts against USF & G and no duty to defend on two of the three counts. The court did not set forth a specific reason supporting its ruling.

Under Section I of the policy, "Coverage A." provides for bodily injury and property damage liability. Within "Coverage A.," section 1.b states:

This insurance applies to "bodily injury" and "property damage" only if:
(1) The bodily injury or property damage is caused by an "occurrence" that takes place in the "coverage territory."

"Occurrence" is defined as "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions." "Coverage A." also contained certain exclusions, which included the following:

This insurance does not apply to
a. "Bodily injury" or "property damage" expected or intended from the standpoint of the insured.
. . . .
g. "Bodily injury" or "property damage" arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use or entrustment to others of any ... "auto" ... owned or operated by or rented or loaned to any insured.

Of the six issues raised on appeal, we address those relating to "Coverage A.," which include: (1) whether Farrer's claim was an "occurrence" under the commercial general liability policy; (2) whether coverage was excluded by the "expected or intended" exclusion of the policy; and (3) whether coverage was excluded by the "arising out of exclusion of the policy. Farrer contends that these issues should be resolved in favor of a finding that USF & G had a duty to defend and indemnify. USF & G cross-appeals that the court erred in finding a duty to defend on two of the three counts. We conclude that USF & G had a duty to defend, but issues of fact remain concerning whether it had a duty to indemnify. We affirm as to the issues regarding "Coverage B.," insurance for personal injuries.

An insurer's duty to defend is broader than the insurer's duty to indemnify. See McCreary v. Fla. Residential Prop. & Cas. Joint Underwriting Ass'n, 758 So.2d 692, 695 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). The duty to defend is determined solely by the allegations in the complaint, which must set forth facts that bring the case within the coverage of the policy. See id. Meanwhile, the duty to indemnify is determined by the facts adduced at trial or during discovery. See Sunshine Birds & Supplies, Inc. v. United States Fid. & Guar. Co., 696 So.2d 907, 912 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997).

I. An "occurrence" under the policy.

The policy provides coverage for bodily injury that "is caused by an `occurrence' that takes place in the `coverage territory.'" The policy defines an "occurrence" as "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions." (Emphasis added). On this issue, we are guided by the principle that "coverage clauses are construed in the broadest possible manner to affect the greatest extent of coverage." McCreary, 758 So.2d at 695.

USF & G contends that the coverage incident in this case was not an accident, but was an intentional act not covered by the policy. It relies on State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Compupay, Inc., 654 *89 So.2d 944 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)("Compupay"), to support this argument. In Compupay, a former employee sued Compupay and Compupay's manager for damages stemming from the manager's sexual harassment and sexual discrimination of the employee. The employee also alleged a failure to investigate and negligent retention of the manager. Compupay's insurer denied coverage and refused to provide Compupay with a defense. After the claim was settled, Compupay sued its insurer for its failure to defend. The trial court granted summary judgment in Compupay's favor. On appeal, the third district determined that the manager's acts were intentional and, based on the allegations in the employee's complaint, there was no duty to defend. See id. at 947. Importantly, the complaint alleged that Compupay was aware of the manager's past practices.

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Bluebook (online)
809 So. 2d 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farrer-v-us-fidelity-guar-co-fladistctapp-2002.