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Farmers & Mechs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Cook

Farmers & Mechs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Cook

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

November 7, 2001, Submitted ; December 10, 2001, Filed

No. 29841, No. 29842

Opinion

 [*396]   [**803]  Starcher, Justice:

In this case from the Circuit Court of Hardy County, we address a situation where a wife, in the defense of her husband, shot and killed a third-party aggressor. The wife has been acquitted of any criminal responsibility, but the alleged aggressor's widow has sued the couple for wrongful death.

The couple gave notice of the lawsuit to their homeowners' insurance company. The homeowners' insurance company has refused [***4]  to provide liability coverage or a legal defense to the homeowners, citing to an "intentional acts" exclusion in the policy. The insurance company does not contest that the homeowners acted together in self-defense, but does, nevertheless, contend that the shooting of the third party was intentional, and as such it could be expected that there would be bodily injury. The circuit court, in an order dated December 27, 2000, agreed with the insurance company and denied the homeowners a right to coverage and a right to a legal defense.

As set forth below, we reverse the circuit court. We conclude that when an individual acts in self defense or in defense of another, an insurance company may not rely upon an intentional acts exclusion to deny coverage or a legal defense.

 [**804]   [*397]  I.

Facts & Background

The instant case is a declaratory judgment action filed by an insurance company, appellee Farmers and Mechanics Mutual Insurance Company of West Virginia ("Farmers and Mechanics"), against the purchasers of a homeowners' liability insurance policy, appellants Gerald and Brenda Cook, and against appellant Leah Buckler, an individual who has sued the Cooks for the wrongful death of her husband,  [***5]  Homer Buckler.

The circumstances underlying the instant action were meticulously discussed by this Court in a previous criminal appeal involving Brenda Cook, styled State v. Cook, 204 W. Va. 591, 515 S.E.2d 127 (1999). Additional discovery was conducted in the instant declaratory judgment action to supplement the story. We draw our discussion of the facts from both of these sources.

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210 W. Va. 394 *; 557 S.E.2d 801 **; 2001 W. Va. LEXIS 193 ***

FARMERS AND MECHANICS MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF WEST VIRGINIA, Plaintiff below, Appellee, v. GERALD COOK and BRENDA COOK, Defendants below, Appellees, LEAH D. BUCKLER, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF HOMER G. BUCKLER, DECEASED, Defendant below, Appellant. and FARMERS AND MECHANICS MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF WEST VIRGINIA, Plaintiff below, Appellee, v. GERALD COOK and BRENDA COOK, Defendants below, Appellants, LEAH D. BUCKLER, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF HOMER G. BUCKLER, DECEASED, Defendant below, Appellee.

Prior History:  [***1]  Appeal from the Circuit Court of Hardy County. Civil Action 99-C-30. Honorable Andrew N. Frye, Jr., Judge.

Disposition: Reversed and remanded.

CORE TERMS

policyholder, intentional act, self-defense, insurance company, coverage, circuit court, insured, insurance policy, homeowners', intend, courts, shot, bodily injury, instant case, wrongful death action, wrongful intent, deny coverage, no duty, neighbor, shoot, declaratory judgment action, insurance coverage, intentionally, attacker, killed

Civil Procedure, Declaratory Judgments, State Declaratory Judgments, Appellate Review, Federal Declaratory Judgments, General Overview, Appeals, Standards of Review, De Novo Review, Clearly Erroneous Review, Judgments, Summary Judgment Review, Standards of Review, Contracts Law, Defenses, Ambiguities & Mistakes, Insurance Law, Claim, Contract & Practice Issues, Policy Interpretation, Exclusions, Property Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Ordinary & Usual Meanings, Plain Language, Liability & Performance Standards, Good Faith & Fair Dealing, Duty to Defend, Business Insurance, Commercial General Liability Insurance, Obligations of Parties, Exclusions, Coverage, Arson & Intentional Loss, Intentional Acts, Torts, Intentional Torts, Prima Facie Tort, Defense of Self & Others, Intent, Coverage, Summary Judgment, Entitlement as Matter of Law, Genuine Disputes