Hawthorn v. City of Bossier City

697 So. 2d 680, 1997 WL 335058
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 18, 1997
Docket29621-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 697 So. 2d 680 (Hawthorn v. City of Bossier City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hawthorn v. City of Bossier City, 697 So. 2d 680, 1997 WL 335058 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

697 So.2d 680 (1997)

Nathaniel HAWTHORN and Carolyn Hill Hawthorn, Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
CITY OF BOSSIER CITY, Louisiana, et al., Defendant,
Hubert Ferguson, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 29621-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 18, 1997.

*681 Walker, Tooke, Lyons & Jones, L.L.P. by Anita McKeithen, Shreveport, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.

Abrams and Lafargue, L.L.C. by Julie M. Lafargue, Shreveport, for Defendant Coregis Insurance Co.

Andrew Texada, Alexandria, for Defendants Robert Evans, Ted Cook and The Bossier Company, Inc.

Kenneth Mascagni, Shreveport, for Defendant City of Bossier City.

Ronald Raney, Shreveport, for Defendants The Bossier Company, Inc. and Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.

Peatross, Greer & Frazier by Kenneth Craig Smith, Jr., Shreveport, for Defendant-Appellant Hubert Ferguson.

Before HIGHTOWER, BROWN and CARAWAY, JJ.

CARAWAY, Judge.

Hubert Ferguson, defendant in a personal injury lawsuit, filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that the insurance policy issued to his employer required the insurer, Coregis Insurance Company ("Coregis"), to provide him a defense. Coregis responded by filing a cross-motion for summary judgment denying coverage for Ferguson's actions. The trial court granted Coregis' summary judgment and denied Ferguson's motion. Ferguson appeals the rulings and we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Factual and Procedural History

Nathaniel Hawthorn sued Hubert Ferguson, a Bossier City employee, for battery. Hawthorn's original petition asserts that Ferguson was within the course and scope of *682 his employment when he "dragged plaintiff out of his truck ... [and] hit plaintiff in the head, choked him, spit on him, tore his shirt, and hit him in the jaw."

Hawthorn's original petition merely alleged that he suffered both physical and emotional damages. The petition contained no further description of Hawthorn's injuries and it is impossible to discern their magnitude. Moreover, Hawthorn did not specify the existence of any special damages as required by La. C.C.P. art. 861.

Plaintiff's petition finally states in paragraph fourteen:

The acts of all defendants constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and gross negligence and intentional torts under the laws of the State of Louisiana and constitute the denial of liberty without due process of law, invasion of privacy, denial of humane treatment, torture and cruel, excessive punishment in violation of Article I of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana.

Ferguson filed a general denial to Hawthorn's petition and a third party petition asserting that Coregis Insurance Company insured Bossier City and its employees under a general liability policy which contained a duty to defend provision. Coregis filed a general denial to the third party demand and asserted that the policy specifically excluded coverage for the battery allegedly committed by Ferguson.

The policy provides coverage for an accident, a happening, or an event that "unexpectedly or unintentionally leads to personal injury or property damage."

The policy also contains the following provision:

We must defend any suit against the Insured that seeks damages for personal injuries or property damage this insurance covers, even if the allegations are groundless, false, or fraudulent.

Ferguson moved for a motion for summary judgment on the issue of Coregis' duty to defend. Ferguson argued that the duty to defend was distinct from the issue of coverage and that Coregis owed him a duty to defend even if it was eventually determined that the insurance policy did not provide coverage for his actions. Relying on Yount v. Maisano, 627 So.2d 148 (La. 1993), Ferguson asserted that the plaintiff's petition did not unambiguously exclude coverage; therefore, Coregis had a duty to defend him.

On the morning of the hearing on Ferguson's summary judgment, Coregis filed its own motion for summary judgment on the issue of coverage. In support of the motion, Coregis filed Ferguson's deposition in which he described the skirmish with plaintiff. The deposition, as alleged in the plaintiff's petition, showed that Ferguson acted intentionally which, according to Coregis, excluded coverage under the policy.[1]

The trial court accepted Coregis' argument, denied Ferguson's motion, and immediately granted Coregis' motion for summary judgment dismissing Ferguson's third party demands. Ferguson appeals seeking a reversal of the trial court's ruling denying coverage under the policy and further seeking reversal of the trail court's denial of his motion for summary judgment on the issue of the duty to defend.

Discussion

A motion for summary judgment is proper when the pleadings, depositions, answers and omissions on file, together with the affidavits submitted, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact, so that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. When reasonable minds must inevitably conclude that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the facts before the court, summary judgment is warranted. See La.C.C.P. art. 966(B); Bijou v. Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation, 95-3074 (La.9/5/96), 679 So.2d 893. A motion for *683 summary judgment should only be granted when there are no genuine issues of material fact. Louisiana Associated General Contractors, Inc. v. State through Div. of Admin., Office of State Purchasing, 95-2105 (La.3/8/96), 669 So.2d 1185. Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo, using the same criteria applied by the trial court in determining whether summary judgment is proper. Tugwell v. State Farm Ins. Co., 609 So.2d 195 (La.1992); Jones v. Airport Systems Intern., 28,278 (La.App.2d Cir. 4/3/96), 671 So.2d 1176.

The policy language at issue defines an occurrence as:

an accident; a happening; an event; or continuous or repeated exposure to conditions. These must unexpectedly or unintentionally lead to personal injury or property damage during any year of this insurance.

Coregis asserts that a battery is not an unexpected or unintentional event; therefore there is no coverage under the policy.

The thrust of both parties' arguments to the trial court centered around the nature of the claim as presented by the injured plaintiff's petition with Ferguson arguing that the claim was alleged by Hawthorn both as an intentional tort and as negligence. The trial court correctly viewed the petition as factually alleging only an intentional tort or battery ignoring the language quoted above asserting the legal conclusion of negligence. Ignoring the interpretation given to similar policy language by our state supreme court, the litigants misdirected the trial court's focus toward the issue of intentional tort as the decisive issue.

In Breland v. Schilling, 550 So.2d 609 (La.1989), the defendant, a player in a baseball game, punched another participant once in the jaw resulting in unusually severe fractures. Interpreting an intentional injury provision[2] of an insurance policy that excluded "bodily injury or property damage which is either expected or intended from the standpoint of the insured", the Louisiana Supreme Court found that coverage did exist, explaining:

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Bluebook (online)
697 So. 2d 680, 1997 WL 335058, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hawthorn-v-city-of-bossier-city-lactapp-1997.