State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Burdge

16 Pa. D. & C.4th 206, 1992 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 180
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Juniata County
DecidedJuly 22, 1992
Docketno. 139
StatusPublished

This text of 16 Pa. D. & C.4th 206 (State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Burdge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Juniata County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Burdge, 16 Pa. D. & C.4th 206, 1992 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 180 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992).

Opinion

QUIGLEY, P.J.,

This case is before the court on plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on an action for declaratory judgment. Plaintiff asserts that it is not responsible for defending or otherwise indemnifying defendant Maxwell Burdge. This court, after a thorough analysis of all pleadings, hereby grants plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.

The procedural history of this case dates back to August 9, 1988, at which time defendant Burdge was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of the instrument of a crime. On or about August 24, 1990, State Farm Mutual Auto. Insurance Co. initiated this action for declaratory judgment. On July 11,1991, plaintiff served defendants with interrogatories for answer which, to this date, have not been answered. A request for admissions was served on all defendants on May 7, 1992, with only Powley and Mefferd answering. Defendant Burdge has not answered any of the discovery requests since the initiation of this action.

This case arose out of a domestic dispute which occurred on March 10, 1988, between defendant Burdge and his girlfriend, defendant Kimbra Powley. Burdge discharged a 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun into a motor vehicle occupied by Powley, her two-year-old brother, Joshua Mefferd, and her five-year-old daughter, Cassandra Paden. As a result of the shooting, Paden died; Powley lost the [208]*208sight in her right eye; and, Mefferd received injuries to his hand and forearm. A jury convicted Burdge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Paden, aggravated assault of Powley, reckless endangerment of Powley and Mefferd and possession of the instrument of a crime.

The standard for determination of a declaratory judgment action is much akin to that of an equity action. Shaffer v. Flick, 360 Pa. Super. 192, 520 A.2d 50, 51 (1987). The test is whether the trial court’s conclusion can reasonably be drawn from the evidence presented. State Farm Mutual Insurance Co. v. Judge, 405 Pa. Super. 376, 592 A.2d 712, 713 (1991), citing Estate of Tippins, 487 Pa. 107, 408 A.2d 1377, 1380, n.2 (1979); See also Lombardo v. DeMarco, 350 Pa. Super. 490, 504 A.2d 1256, 1258 (1985).

In setting forth the principals of law governing the granting of a motion for summary judgment, the Superior Court has said:

“Summary judgment should only be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions, together with affidavits, show that there exists no issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Pa.R.C.P. 1035; Williams v. Pilgrim Life Insurance Co., 306 Pa. Super. 170, 452 A.2d 269 (1982). The moving party has the burden of proving that there is no material issue of fact and the court must accept as true all well pleaded facts in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Nash v. Chemetron Corp., 246 Pa. Super. 595, 371 A.2d 992 (1977)” State Auto. Insurance v. Kuhfahl, 364 Pa. Super. 230, 527 A.2d 1039, 1040 (1987).

[209]*209The plaintiff first asks us to decide, as a matter of law, whether they have a duty to defendant Burdge in relation to the intentional ramming of a 1956 Chevrolet into a 1977 Dodge. Though the court notes defendants failure to answer requests for discovery pertaining to damages and injuries caused by the impact of the two vehicles, we nonetheless Find this question of liability without merit based on defendant Burdge’s testimony at his criminal trial.

In Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Hassinger, et al., 325 Pa. Super. 484, 473 A.2d 171 (1984), this court found that intentional acts of the insured fell outside of the insurance coverage. In Hassinger, the insured struck and killed the decedent after intentionally swerving off the road, over a curb and into a parking lot. After a trial on the issue of intent, a jury found that the insured did act intentionally and therefore Nationwide was not responsible in any way. The Superior Court laid out the test in D’Auria v. Zurich Insurance Co., 352 Pa. Super. 231, 507 A.2d 857 (1986), as to whether an insurer has a duty to defend its insured:

“Even though the insurance policy states that the insurer must defend against allegations which are groundless, false or fraudulent, this does not mean that the insurer has a duty to defend any suit filed against the insured. The duty to defend is limited only to those claims covered by the policy. Thus, the insurer owes a duty to defend if the complaint against the insured alleges facts which would bring the claim within the policy coverage if they were true. It does not matter if in reality the facts are completely groundless, false or fraudulent. It is the face [210]*210of the complaint and not the truth of the facts alleged therein which determines whether there is a duty to defend.” D’Auria, 507 A.2d at 859. (emphasis and citations omitted)

The present case does not fall within the ambit of defendant Burdge’s auto policy. Defendant Burdge testified at his trial that he intentionally rammed his vehicle into the car. The following notes of testimony clearly portray his intent:

By the court—
Q. “Where did you go?”
A. “To my mother’s.”
Q. “When you got to your mother’s where did you pull in?”
A. “In behind the car.”
Q. “Did the cars meet at all, or what?”
A. “Yes, I rammed the truck into the back end of the car.”
Q. “Was that an accident or on purpose?”
A. “I did it on purpose.” Commonwealth v. Burdge, 42 of 1988 (Juniata C.P.) (N.T. 26).

This statement, made under oath, in the context of a criminal trial, illustrates the fact that defendant Burdge intentionally struck the car. This court, based on the fact that defendant Burdge was facing criminal prosecution and possible imprisonment in a correctional institution, finds these statements to be dispositive of the issue in question.

[211]*211In addressing the second issue presented by plaintiff, this court will first look at the threshold issue of whether these injuries arose out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle. In Ohio Casualty Group of Insurance Cos. v. Bakaric, 355 Pa. Super.

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Related

Shaffer v. Flick
520 A.2d 50 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1987)
Williams v. Pilgrim Life Insurance
452 A.2d 269 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)
State Automobile Insurance v. Kuhfahl
527 A.2d 1039 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1987)
Ohio Casualty Group of Insurance v. Bakaric
513 A.2d 462 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)
State Farm Mutual Insurance v. Judge
592 A.2d 712 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Day v. State Farm Mutual Insurance
396 A.2d 3 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
In Re Estate of Tippins
408 A.2d 1377 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Erie Insurance Exchange v. Eisenhuth
451 A.2d 1024 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)
Nash v. Chemetron Corporation
371 A.2d 992 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1977)
Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Hassinger
473 A.2d 171 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1984)
Lombardo v. DeMarco
504 A.2d 1256 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1985)
D'Auria v. Zurich Insurance
507 A.2d 857 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)

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Bluebook (online)
16 Pa. D. & C.4th 206, 1992 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 180, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-v-burdge-pactcompljuniat-1992.