Royal Paper Stock Co. v. Meridian Insurance

640 N.E.2d 886, 94 Ohio App. 3d 327, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 1553
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 12, 1994
DocketNo. 93APE09-1345.
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 640 N.E.2d 886 (Royal Paper Stock Co. v. Meridian Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Royal Paper Stock Co. v. Meridian Insurance, 640 N.E.2d 886, 94 Ohio App. 3d 327, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 1553 (Ohio Ct. App. 1994).

Opinions

Close, Judge.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment granted in favor of defendantappellee, Meridian Insurance Company. This case arose out of a contract for insurance. Plaintiff-appellant, Royal Paper Stock Company, Inc.-, initiated this action seeking declaratory relief. In its complaint, appellant sought declaration that certain claims made by its employees were covered under the insurance policy provided by appellee, and that appellee had a duty to defend and/or reimburse appellant for costs of defense.

The contract for insurance provided by appellee included an Employer’s Liability Endorsement that covered bodily injury to employees arising out of and in the course of employment with appellant. Specifically excluded from coverage was “[b]odily injury intentionally caused or aggravated by you, or bodily injury resulting from an act which is determined to have been committed by you with the belief that an injury is substantially certain to occur[.]” Based on this exclusion, appellee refused to insure or defend appellant when an employee sued appellant, alleging a claim for intentional tort.

The underlying lawsuit was filed by appellant’s employee, Glen O’Bryan, as a result of injuries arising out of and in the course of his employment. Named as defendants were appellant, two John Doe manufacturing companies and one John Doe maintenance company. Although the employee’s complaint alleged claims *329 for intentional tort, strict liability and negligence, only the claim for intentional tort was alleged against appellant. After substantial discovery, appellant settled with O’Bryan for $130,000. Appellee refused to reimburse appellant.

In its declaratory judgment action, appellant alleged that appellee had a duty to reimburse appellant both for the costs of defending against O’Bryan’s action and for the $130,000 settlement. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court granted appellee’s motion for summary judgment and denied appellant’s motion. Appellant appeals this judgment and raises the following assignments of error:

“I. The trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of defendant insurer when the insurer failed to present any evidence in support of its motion.

“II. The trial court erred in failing to grant plaintiffs motion for summary judgment.

“III. The trial court erred in finding that the defendant was entitled to summary judgment where the policy provided no coverage for any injury or disease.”

In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, the trial and appellate courts are held to the same standard. That standard is governed by Civ.R. 56(C), which provides in part:

“ ‘ * * * A summary judgment shall not be rendered unless it appears from such evidence or stipulation and only therefrom, that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion and that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, such party being entitled to have the evidence or stipulation construed most strongly in his favor. * * * ’ ” Lytle v. Columbus (1990), 70 Ohio App.3d 99, 103, 590 N.E.2d 421, 424.

A court may not grant summary judgment unless the movant establishes that there are no issues as to any material fact, in other words, complete absence of a triable fact, and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. White v. Aladdin Temple Shrine Circus (Mar. 3, 1994), Franklin App. No. 93AP-1516, unreported, 1994 WL 67732. The non-moving party, however, must do more than simply resist the allegations in the motion. Rather, that party must affirmatively set forth the facts which entitle him to relief. Baughn v. Reynoldsburg (1992), 78 Ohio App.3d 561, 563, 605 N.E.2d 478, 480, construing Wing v. Anchor Media, Ltd. of Texas (1991), 59 Ohio St.3d 108, 570 N.E.2d 1095.

The first and second assignments of error are related and will be treated together. According to appellant, the exclusion becomes operative only after appellee has proven that appellant acted intentionally in causing O’Bryan’s injuries. Without such proof, appellant claims appellee cannot avoid its duty to

*330 defend or its obligation to provide coverage. It is further argued that appellee cannot rely solely on the endorsement and underlying complaint to establish its rights under the exclusion. Appellee has presented no evidence demonstrating that appellant intentionally caused O’Bryan’s injuries; therefore, appellant claims it is entitled to summary judgment.

In support of its argument, appellant alleges that, pursuant to two Ohio Supreme Court cases and the language of the exclusion itself, appellee must demonstrate factually that the claim is outside the scope of coverage.

The relevant exclusion states:

“Bodily injury intentionally caused or aggravated by you, or bodily injury resulting from an act which is determined to have been committed by you with the belief that an injury is substantially certain to occur[.]” (Emphasis added.)

This exclusion, appellant alleges, does not preclude coverage unless and until it is “determined” that the injury was intentionally caused, or that appellant believed injury was substantially certain to occur. As further support, appellant cites Preferred Risk Ins. Co. v. Gill (1987), 30 Ohio St.3d 108, 507 N.E.2d 1118, and Physicians Ins. Co. of Ohio v. Swanson (1991), 58 Ohio St.3d 189, 569 N.E.2d 906, for the proposition that an insurer, in a declaratory judgment action, may not rest upon the pleadings of the underlying complaint for which coverage is sought, but must demonstrate factually that the injury was expected or otherwise intentionally caused. Consequently, appellant claims the endorsement and underlying complaint were insufficient to support appellee’s motion for summary judgment or withstand appellant’s motion for summary judgment.

In line with this reasoning, appellant alleges that appellee must prove there is “no possibility” of coverage before it can avoid its obligation to provide a defense. Appellant respectfully suggested that the test this court applied in Monsler v. Cincinnati Cas. Co. (1991), 74 Ohio App.3d 321, 598 N.E.2d 1203, is incorrect. In Monsler, we applied the “scope of the allegations” test where the relevant inquiry is “whether the allegations of the underlying complaint [against the insured] state a ‘claim’ which is ‘potentially or arguably’ within the coverage at issue.” Id. at 326, 598 N.E.2d at 1206. Appellant claims this test is insufficient to establish factually that O’Bryan was injured as a result of intentional misconduct.

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Bluebook (online)
640 N.E.2d 886, 94 Ohio App. 3d 327, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 1553, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/royal-paper-stock-co-v-meridian-insurance-ohioctapp-1994.