Sentry Insurance v. Miller

914 F. Supp. 496, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 700
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedJanuary 24, 1996
DocketCiv. A. CV-95-A-264-N
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 914 F. Supp. 496 (Sentry Insurance v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sentry Insurance v. Miller, 914 F. Supp. 496, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 700 (M.D. Ala. 1996).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ALBRITTON, District Judge.

Before the court are cross motions for summary judgment in a declaratory judgment action filed by an insurance company seeking a determination of its rights and obligations under a homeowner’s insurance policy. The parties agree that resolution of the cross motions for summary judgment will finally determine this case. For the reasons stated below, the court finds that summary judgment for each party is to be granted in part and denied in part. A separate order will enter judgment consistent with this opinion.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On January 6, 1995, Sharon Colella, the mother and next friend of five-year-old Courtney Brownell, filed suit against Leonard Miller in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama. On April 10, 1995, an amendment was allowed to the complaint changing the designation of the Plaintiffs. 1 (Brownell’s lawsuit will be referred to as the “Liability Action.”) The original and first amended complaints claimed assault and battery, harassment, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and outrage. The Liability Action’s Second Amended Complaint (hereinafter “Complaint”) subsequently added a claim for negligence.

Miller filed an insurance claim with Sentry Insurance Company (“Sentry”) seeking personal liability coverage through his homeowner’s insurance policy. On February 24, 1995, Sentry filed with this court its Complaint for Declaratory Relief, naming as defendants Colella (individually and as mother and next friend of Brownell) and Miller. Sentry seeks a declaration that Miller’s homeowner’s policy does not provide either insurance coverage or a defense for Miller for any of the claims in the Liability Action.

On June 21, 1995, Sentry filed its Motion for Final Summary Judgment. Colella and Miller filed their own motions for summary *499 judgment on December 29, 1995, and January 2, 1996, respectively, seeking a declaration that Miller’s insurance policy covers the claims in the Liability Action and entitles him to a defense.

FACTS

In the claims for assault and battery, harassment, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and outrage, the Complaint alleges that at various times Miller wilfully exposed his penis to Brownell and caused her to touch and feel his penis for his own sexual gratification. Alternatively, in its negligence claim the Complaint alleges that “Defendant Miller recklessly, negligently and carelessly took action that resulted in [Brownell’s] hand being placed upon Defendant Miller’s penis_ This reckless, negligent and careless conduct of Defendant Miller resulted in the negligent touching and contact with [Brownell], ... and she will endure future and permanent mental pain, suffering and anguish as a result of, and proximately caused, by this negligent, careless and reckless conduct of Defendant Miller.”

Sentry’s homeowner’s insurance policy, which insured Miller during the alleged encounters with Brownell, promises, “to pay damages ... for bodily injury or property damage for which the law holds you responsible because of a personal accident covered by this insurance.... We’ll pay for the cost of investigating the personal accident and arranging for the settlement of any claim against you. We’ll also defend you, hire and pay a lawyer, and pay all defense costs if you are sued by someone for damages because of a personal accident — even if the accusations aren’t true.” (bold emphasis in original.) The policy defines “personal accident” as “an unexpected and unintended event that causes bodily injury or property damage during the policy period and arises out of your activi-ties_” (bold emphasis in original.) An exclusion in the policy states, ‘We don’t cover anyone for personal accidents ... arising out of ... [sjexual molestation, corporal punishment or physical or mental abuse, whether or not intentional....” (bold emphasis in original.)

STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The substantive law applicable to the ease determines which facts are material. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

DISCUSSION

Although the parties submit numerous affidavits, deposition excerpts and exhibits in support of their motions for summary judgment, the court finds that coverage turns solely upon application of the policy provisions to the Complaint’s allegations. Applying Alabama’s rules for interpreting an insurance policy, the court determines that the policy does not cover the assault and battery, harassment, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and outrage claims, and does not provide a defense for them because these claims do not allege “personal accidentas]” as defined by the policy. The negligence claim does, however, allege “personal aecident[s]” and therefore is covered, both for defense and indemnity, unless explicitly excluded elsewhere in the policy. Finding the exclusion proffered by Sentry inapplicable to the negligence claim on its face, the court holds that the policy provides a defense for this claim and would provide indemnity unless the proof at trial of the Liability Action establishes the policy’s exclusion.

I. The Material Facts

Initially, the court must consider the various materials filed in support of and in opposition to the motions for summary judgment to determine the material facts. As explained above, the substantive law applicable to the ease determines which facts are mate *500 rial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. All parties urge the court to apply Alabama law.

The court first looks to the Complaint to determine what claims are made against the insured. In Alabama, an insurance company’s duty to defend its insured in a lawsuit arises when the complaint against the insured alleges a state of facts within policy coverage. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co. v. Armstrong, 479 So.2d 1164, 1168 (Ala.1985). If the complaint against the insured implicates coverage, the insurer must defend its insured regardless of the insured’s ultimate liability. Id. If the complaint’s allegations on their face do not implicate policy coverage, then other facts outside the complaint may be taken into consideration in determining whether the complaint alleges a covered injury. Pacific Indemnity Co. v. Run-A-Ford Co., Inc., 276 Ala. 311, 161 So.2d 789 (1964).

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914 F. Supp. 496, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 700, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sentry-insurance-v-miller-almd-1996.