Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. v. Duffy

618 N.W.2d 613, 2000 Minn. App. LEXIS 1115, 2000 WL 1664897
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedNovember 7, 2000
DocketC4-00-782
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 618 N.W.2d 613 (Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. v. Duffy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. v. Duffy, 618 N.W.2d 613, 2000 Minn. App. LEXIS 1115, 2000 WL 1664897 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

TOUSSAINT, Chief Judge

The district court, in a declaratory judgment action, determined that a homeowner’s insurance policy provided coverage for injuries and death resulting from a motor vehicle accident that occurred after the insureds supplied alcohol to the minor driver. The insurer appeals, contending that the insureds’ act of providing alcohol to minors did not constitute an “occurrence” within the meaning of the insurance policy and the motor vehicle and intentional act exclusions apply. We reverse, concluding that the act of supplying alcohol to minors is not a covered occurrence under the homeowner’s policy and that the motor vehicle exclusion of that same policy applies.

FACTS

The basic facts are undisputed. Michael Duffy (1) allowed his underage daughter to hold a New Year’s Eve party at their house and (2) purchased alcohol to be served at the party, as did his 21-year-old son, Jason Duffy. Two teenagers who attended the party, Kevin Brockway and Mark Adams, left together. Brockway, the intoxicated driver, lost control of his vehicle, hit a tree and was killed. Adams, who was a passenger in the Brockway vehicle, was injured. Michael Duffy pleaded guilty to six gross misdemeanors, and Jason Duffy pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for furnishing alcohol to minors.

The injured passenger and the trustee for the deceased driver sued the Duffys, who tendered defense of the lawsuit to Illinois Farmers Insurance Company, their homeowner’s liability insurer. The insurer brought a declaratory judgment action, contending it was not obligated to defend or indemnify the Duffys. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of respondents, finding coverage, and the insurer appeals.

ISSUES

I. Was the act of providing alcohol to minors an “occurrence” within the meaning of the homeowner’s policy?

*615 II. Does the motor vehicle exclusion in the homeowner’s policy preclude coverage?

ANALYSIS

On review of a summary judgment, an appellate court will assess whether there are genuine issues of material fact and whether the district court erred as a matter of law. State by Cooper v. French, 460 N.W.2d 2, 4 (Minn.1990). The interpretation of insurance language is a question of law, which we review de novo. Meister v. Western Nat’l Mut. Ins. Co., 479 N.W.2d 372, 376 (Minn.1992). “General principles of contract interpretation apply to insurance policies.” Lobeck v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 582 N.W.2d 246, 249 (Minn.1998). If the language is clear and unambiguous, it “must be given its usual and accepted meaning.” Id. (quotation omitted). An appellate court will construe exclusions from coverage narrowly. State Farm Ins. Cos. v. Seefeld, 481 N.W.2d 62, 64 (Minn.1992). The burden of proving that the policy exclusion bars coverage rests on the insurance company. Id.

I.

The homeowner’s policy defines occurrence as

an accident including exposure to conditions which results during the policy period in bodily injury or property damage. Repeated or continuous exposure to the same general conditions is considered to be one occurrence.

(Emphasis omitted) An “accident” includes “all negligently caused injury, provided such injury was not intentional.” Milbank Ins. Co. v. B.L.G., 484 N.W.2d 52, 58 (Minn.App.1992) (citations omitted), review denied (Minn. July 16, 1992). Respondents contend that because the Duffys did not intend to cause the harm that resulted, their actions were covered under the policy. While it is undisputed that the Duffys did not intend to cause harm, the inquiry does not end there. Instead, we must examine the nature of the acts that respondents contend are covered.

This court has discussed the meaning of “occurrence” and “accident” when the insured intended the wrongful act, but did not intend to cause the harm that resulted. Gilman v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 526 N.W.2d 378, 382 (Minn.App.1995) (addressing situation in which insured tackled another, causing the other to suffer a broken ankle). In addressing whether the act of tackling was an occurrence under the policy, this court concluded that

the proper analysis requires the fact-finder to determine whether the wrongful or tortious event was an accident. * * * [I]n this case, the wrongdoing was the tackle, which the jury found was not “unexpected, unforeseen, or unde-signed,” and was not negligent.
We hold that in cases such as this, where there is an allegedly tortious and nonconsensual act, the jury should properly be instructed that an “accident” is an “unexpected, unforeseen, or unde-signed” happening, and that it includes negligently caused injury that was not intentional. The “happening” is the wrongful or tortious act or event.

Id. at 383.

In this case, the wrongful or tor-tious events for which the insureds sought coverage were their actions of supplying alcohol to minors. It is undisputed that giving alcohol to minors was wrongful; the Duffys later pleaded guilty to criminal charges for their conduct. Because the wrongful or tortious acts were not accidental, they do not constitute an occurrence within the meaning of the policy. Consequently, the unintended harm that resulted is not covered under the policy.

II.

We also address whether the motor vehicle exclusion applies. The homeowner’s policy excludes coverage for injuries arising out of the use of a motor *616 vehicle. 1 A plaintiff nonetheless may recover on the tortfeasor’s homeowner’s policy for injuries sustained through the use of a motor vehicle where “two independent acts, one vehicle-related and one nonvehi-cle-related, were involved.” Waseca Mut Ins. Co. v. Noska, 331 N.W.2d 917, 921 (Minn.1983) (footnote omitted). The determinative question “is whether the two causes could have operated independent of a motor vehicle to cause the loss.” Seefeld, 481 N.W.2d at 65. But if there is only a “remote possibility” that injury could have occurred from the concurrent cause without a motor vehicle, the doctrine will not be applied. Id.

In Seefeld, the injury arose when the insured was negligently driving an all-terrain vehicle and pulling a negligently designed and constructed trailer. Id. at 64.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
618 N.W.2d 613, 2000 Minn. App. LEXIS 1115, 2000 WL 1664897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/illinois-farmers-insurance-co-v-duffy-minnctapp-2000.