Norwood v. Van Veckhoven

792 So. 2d 836, 2001 WL 699055
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 22, 2001
Docket34,891-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 792 So. 2d 836 (Norwood v. Van Veckhoven) 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
Norwood v. Van Veckhoven, 792 So. 2d 836, 2001 WL 699055 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

792 So.2d 836 (2001)

Bruce NORWOOD and Madeline Norwood, Individually and on Behalf of Their Minor Child, Jamarius Norwood, Plaintiffs,
v.
Donna VAN VECKHOVEN, et al, Defendants.

No. 34,891-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 22, 2001.

*837 Cotton, Bolton, Hoychick & Doughty, L.L.P., by Terry A. Doughty, Rayville, Counsel for Defendants-Appellants, Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty and Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company.

Hudson, Potts & Bernstein, L.L.P., by Robert M. Baldwin, Monroe, Counsel for Defendant-Appellee Donna Van Veckhoven.

Before STEWART, GASKINS and DREW, JJ.

GASKINS, J.

The trial court granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of Donna Van Veckhoven against her insurer, Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company. The court found that there was no genuine issue of material fact and that Mrs. Van Veckhoven's alleged tortious conduct toward Jamarius Norwood was covered by the insurance policy. The insurance company appeals, arguing that Mrs. Van Veckhoven's actions fall under the intentional conduct exclusion of the policy. For the following reasons, we reverse the trial court judgment and remand for further proceedings.

FACTS

On the afternoon of February 21, 1998, Jamarius Norwood was playing in a championship little league basketball game in Monroe, Louisiana. On the opposing team was Truman Van Veckhoven, son of Donna Van Veckhoven. In the first half of the game, Jamarius and Truman got into a struggle over a tie ball. There are allegations that Jamarius struck Truman. The two were separated. After the shedding of some tears, they were made to shake hands and the game proceeded. In the third quarter of the game, Truman fouled out. The game ended and Truman's team won by one point.

After the conclusion of the game, Donna Van Veckhoven left the stands and went over to Jamarius. She allegedly grabbed him by the arm, shook him, "repeatedly pointed her right index finger into his little chest," and said, "Don't you ever do that to my son again." Jamarius burst into tears. Jamarius' coach saw the incident and instructed Mrs. Van Veckhoven not to talk to her players. As Jamarius' mother and aunt hurried over, the defendant's husband directed Mrs. Van Veckhoven into the men's bathroom. Because of the disturbance, the trophy presentation following the game was cancelled.

On July 30, 1998, Jamarius' parents, Bruce and Madeline Norwood, filed suit against Mrs. Van Veckhoven and her insurers.[1]*838 The Norwoods claim that Jamarius had a nightmare about the incident, has headaches and is unable to sleep peacefully. There are no allegations that the child was physically injured; the damage complained of is in the nature of mental anguish. The plaintiffs sought to recover damages for mental anguish and distress, humiliation, embarrassment, medical expenses, loss of consortium, loss of enjoyment of life, and inconvenience.

Casualty and Mutual answered and asserted that any actions by Mrs. Van Veckhoven were intentional and excluded under the terms of the policies issued by the companies.

On May 17, 2000, Mrs. Van Veckhoven filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that Casualty issued a policy of insurance to her. She requested that the court render judgment that the Casualty insurance policy provided coverage in this matter.[2] The policy excludes coverage for injury, sickness, disease, death or destruction which is either expected or intended from the standpoint of the insured.

Mrs. Van Veckhoven filed a copy of the policy, Jamarius' deposition, and her deposition to support her assertions that there are no disputed issues of material fact that she did not intend or could not have reasonably expected the injury to occur. Mrs. Van Veckhoven asserted that the policy language is ambiguous and should be given a reasonable interpretation favoring coverage.

In opposition to the motion for summary judgment, Casualty filed numerous depositions by other witnesses in support of its argument that the alleged damages sustained by the plaintiffs were the result of an intentional act by Mrs. Van Veckhoven, precluding policy coverage. Under the terms of the policy, Casualty argues that there are serious factual disputes as to what occurred in this case and the matter was not appropriate for summary judgment.

On October 5, 2000, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Mrs. Van Veckhoven, ordering that Casualty provide insurance coverage to her in this matter. The court certified the grant of summary judgment as an appealable final judgment, as required by La. C.C.P. art. 1915(B).

On October 19, 2000, this court denied a writ application on behalf of Casualty. The company appealed devolutively, arguing that there are material issues as to whether the injuries allegedly received by Jamarius were expected or intended from the standpoint of Mrs. Van Veckhoven.

LEGAL PRINCIPLES

Summary Judgment

Summary judgment procedure is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action, except those disallowed by law; the procedure is favored and must be construed to accomplish those ends. La. C.C.P. art. 966 A(2); Crocker v. Roach, 33,507 (La. App.2d Cir. 8/23/00), 766 So.2d 672, writ denied, 2000-2684 (La.11/17/00), 774 So.2d 983. After adequate discovery or after a case is set for trial, a motion which shows that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, shall be granted. La. C.C.P. art. 966C(1); Crocker *839 v. Roach, supra. The burden of proof is still with the mover. La. C.C.P. art. 966C(2).

Appellate review of summary judgment is de novo, utilizing the same criteria that guide the trial court's grant of the judgment. Magnon v. Collins, 98-2822 (La.7/7/99), 739 So.2d 191.

Insurance

An insurance policy is an agreement between the insured and the insurer and should be interpreted by using ordinary contract principles. The parties' intent, as reflected by the words of the policy, determines the extent of coverage. Words and phrases used in a policy are to be construed using their plain, ordinary and generally prevailing meaning, unless the words have acquired a technical meaning. La. C.C. art.2047; Crocker v. Roach, supra. Insurance companies have the right to limit coverage in any manner they desire, so long as the limitations do not conflict with statutory provisions or public policy. Reynolds v. Select Properties, Ltd., 93-1480 (La.4/11/94), 634 So.2d 1180.

Exclusionary provisions in insurance contracts are strictly construed against the insurer, and any ambiguity is construed in favor of the insured. The insurer has the burden of proving that a loss comes within a policy exclusion. Great American Insurance Company v. Gaspard, 608 So.2d 981 (La.1992); Crocker v. Roach, supra.

Intentional Injury Exclusion

The policy provision at issue here provides as follows:

This policy does not apply:
(c) under Coverages A, B, and C, to injury, sickness, disease, death or destruction which is either expected or intended from the standpoint of insured.

In Breland v. Schilling, 550 So.2d 609 (La.1989), the court rejected the reasoning that "intentional" as used in an insurance policy has the same meaning as "intentional" in tort law, workers' compensation or criminal law.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
792 So. 2d 836, 2001 WL 699055, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/norwood-v-van-veckhoven-lactapp-2001.