State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. DeCoster

67 A.3d 40, 2013 Pa. Super. 121, 2013 WL 2145657, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 733
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 17, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 67 A.3d 40 (State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. DeCoster) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. DeCoster, 67 A.3d 40, 2013 Pa. Super. 121, 2013 WL 2145657, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 733 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION BY

SHOGAN, J.:

In this declaratory judgment action, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (“State Farm”) appeals from the trial court’s April 9, 2012 order denying State Farm’s motion for summary judgment and granting Appellees’, James DeCoster (“DeCoster”) and Beverly Diane Rydman’s (“Rydman”), motions for summary judgment with respect to State Farm’s duty to defend and indemnify DeCoster in a third-party action initiated by Rydman. On appeal, we are asked to decide, inter alia, whether the intentional injury exclusion of a liability policy applies when an intoxicated homeowner intentionally injures a guest who he mistakes as an intruder. We hold that the application of the intentional injury exclusion of a liability policy, such as the one at issue here, depends on whether the insured’s conduct was intentionally wrongful under tort law. Under the specific facts of this case, we conclude that State Farm currently has a duty to defend but that genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether the insured homeowner’s conduct was intentionally wrongful under applicable tort law. Thus, the court’s decision as to indemnification is premature at this juncture. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

The trial court set forth the relevant factual and procedural history as follows:

The facts were stipulated by the parties and are set forth at length in the Stipulation of Facts, filed of record on August 25, 2011. Those material to the question presented in the instant Motions are in substance as follows:
On August 14, 2008, Defendant Diane Rydman and Defendant James DeCoster had been together at a bar known as Fast Eddie’s on High Street in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Rydman and DeCoster had lived within blocks of the bar where they had met each other, and had slept together once before. After leaving the bar, the two went to DeCoster’s home at 161 West Louther Street and continued to drink alcohol. In the early morning hours, and while DeCoster was going to the bathroom, Rydman went outside De-Coster’s home to smoke a cigarette. After approximately ten minutes, Rydman came back into the home and, upon her re-entry, DeCoster mistakenly believed that an intruder had broken into his home. DeCoster grabbed a handgun, and, when he saw Rydman, he mistook her for a small male intruder. At the time, DeCoster was not wearing his eyeglasses, and he began to chase after Rydman believing he was chasing an intruder. DeCoster pointed a handgun and shot Rydman in the abdomen. Of DeCoster’s intent as he shot Rydman, the Stipulation of Facts provides as follows: “Despite being intoxicated, De-Coster intended to shoot who he believed to be a small male intruder. Mr. DeCoster pulled the trigger on purpose intending to shoot who he believed to be [43]*43a small male intruder. In fact, the victim was Diane Rydman.” (Stipulation of Facts, ¶ (i)). DeCoster called the police, and over the telephone he stated, “You are damn right I shot him. Hurry up and get over here.” (Stipulation of Facts, ¶ (n)). Upon their arrival, De-Coster stated to the police, “Over here, I shot him. He is in here.” (Stipulation of Facts, ¶ (o)). DeCoster was intoxicated and had a blood alcohol of 0.187 as tested by the police shortly after the shooting.
DeCoster was charged and found guilty of the offense of aggravated assault by intentionally or knowingly causing to attempt [sic] injury to another with a deadly weapon. The conviction was overturned on appeal, and he subsequently accepted a plea in lieu of retrial. DeCoster pled guilty to aggravated assault, and was sentenced to time served.
At the time of the shooting, DeCoster was insured under a homeowners insurance policy issued by Plaintiff State Farm. The insurance policy provided, in pertinent part, as follows:
If a claim is made or a suit is brought against an insured for damages because of bodily injury or property damage to which this coverage applies, caused by an occurrence, we will
1. pay up to our limit of liability for the damages for which the insured is legally liable; and
2. provide a defense at our expense by counsel of our choice. We may make any investigation and settle any claim or suit that we decide is appropriate. Our obligation to defend any claim or suit ends when the amount we pay for damages, to effect settlement or satisfy a judgment resulting from the occurrence, equals our limit of liability.
(Complaint, Ex. A, Homeowners Insurance Policy) (emphasis original).
Furthermore, the policy of insurance defined the term “occurrence” as follows:
when used in Section II of this policy, means an accident, including exposure to conditions, which results in:
a. bodily injury; or
b. property damage;
during the policy period. Repeated or continuous exposure to the same general conditions is considered to be one occurrence.
(Complaint, Ex. A, Homeowners Insurance Policy) (emphasis original).
The policy also contained the following relevant exclusionary language:
Coverage L and Coverage M do not apply to:
a. bodily injury or property damage:
(1) which is either expected or intended by the insured; or
(2) which is the result of willful and malicious acts of the insured.
(Complaint, Ex. A, Homeowners Insurance Policy) (emphasis original).
Rydman filed an action against De-Coster in the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County at Docket Number 2010-4862 seeking damages for the harm caused as a result of the shooting. The complaint does not set forth any specific counts; instead, Rydman’s complaint describes the incident and contains substantially the same facts as the above-described Stipulation of Facts. The allegations relevant to the instant Motions are, in pertinent part, as follows:
19. Defendant, who was carrying a handgun, rounded the foot of the stairs and ran from the hallway and [44]*44then through the living room toward the dining room, where he encountered Plaintiff, whom he mistook for an intruder.
20. Alarmed, [Plaintiff] instinctively ran the in [sic] other direction, and Defendant chased her in a circuit through the hallway, the living room and the dining room, until Plaintiff took a wrong turn and Defendant cornered her in the hallway.
22. Plaintiff also noticed, as Defendant approached her, that his eyes were extremely wide open, as if in fear or excitement.
23. Defendant then pointed the handgun at Plaintiff and shot her in the abdomen.
26. After the police responded to the call, Defendant, still unaware that he had shot Plaintiff, insisted to the police that he had shot a male intruder.
27.

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Bluebook (online)
67 A.3d 40, 2013 Pa. Super. 121, 2013 WL 2145657, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 733, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-farm-fire-casualty-co-v-decoster-pasuperct-2013.