Use this button to switch between dark and light mode.

Experience a New Era in Legal Research with Free Access to Lexis+

Gonzalez v. Fire Ins. Exchange

Gonzalez v. Fire Ins. Exchange

Court of Appeal of California, Sixth Appellate District

February 5, 2015, Opinion Filed

H039368

Opinion

 [**398] PREMO, J.—Plaintiff Jessica Gonzalez alleged she was sexually assaulted in 2007 by Stephen Rebagliati and nine other members of the De Anza College baseball team. A year later, Gonzalez filed a civil lawsuit against her purported assailants. Rebagliati sought insurance coverage for his defense against Gonzalez's claims through his parents' homeowners and personal umbrella policies, issued by respondents Fire Insurance Exchange (Fire) and Truck Insurance Exchange (Truck). Both companies denied coverage. Eventually, Rebagliati settled with Gonzalez, assigning Gonzalez his rights against Fire and Truck. Gonzalez subsequently filed a complaint against the insurers for breach of the [***2]  duty of good faith and fair dealing and breach of contract. She also sought recovery of judgment pursuant to Insurance Code section 11580. Fire and Truck moved for summary judgment, arguing  [**399]  they had not owed Rebagliati a duty to defend. The trial court granted their motion for summary judgment.

 [*1225] 

CA(1)(1) On appeal, Gonzalez argues the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because there was a potential for coverage in her underlying action against Rebagliati due to her allegations of accidental bodily injury, false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, and slander. She also contends Truck's umbrella policy is broadly worded and does not require an “accident” for personal injury coverage. We conclude summary judgment was properly granted in favor of Fire, because none of Gonzalez's claims can be construed to allege an accidental occurrence triggering insurance coverage. However, we find the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Truck, as the insurer failed to conclusively demonstrate its policy exclusions eliminated all potential for coverage. We therefore reverse the order granting summary judgment and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.

Factual and Procedural Background

Read The Full CaseNot a Lexis Advance subscriber? Try it out for free.

Full case includes Shepard's, Headnotes, Legal Analytics from Lex Machina, and more.

234 Cal. App. 4th 1220 *; 184 Cal. Rptr. 3d 394 **; 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 202 ***

JESSICA GONZALEZ, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. FIRE INSURANCE EXCHANGE et al., Defendants and Respondents.

Subsequent History:  [***1] The Publication Status of this Document has been Changed by the Court from Unpublished to Published March 4, 2015.

Prior History: Superior Court of Santa Clara County, No. 1-11-CV215537, Mark H. Pierce, Judge.

Gonzalez v. Fire Ins. Exch., 2015 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 832 (Cal. App. 6th Dist., Feb. 5, 2015)

CORE TERMS

insured, coverage, damages, duty to defend, occurrence, cause of action, molestation, accidental, teacher, personal injury, bodily injury, trial court, allegations, sexual, summary judgment, false imprisonment, insurance company, sexual molestation, property damage, policy period, assault, sexual assault, slander, intentional act, sexual misconduct, policy exclusion, inseparably, grant summary judgment, invasion of privacy, give rise

Civil Procedure, Appeals, Standards of Review, De Novo Review, Summary Judgment Review, Standards of Review, Summary Judgment, Entitlement as Matter of Law, Genuine Disputes, Legal Entitlement, Pleadings, Complaints, General Overview, Insurance Law, Business Insurance, Commercial General Liability Insurance, Duty to Defend, Indemnification, Burdens of Proof, Movant Persuasion & Proof, Coverage, Amendment of Pleadings, Exclusions, Questions of Fact & Law, Contracts Law, Contract Interpretation, Claim, Contract & Practice Issues, Policy Interpretation, Accidental Injuries, Torts, Negligence, Evidence, Allocation, Burdens of Proof, Intentional Acts, Intentional Torts, False Imprisonment, Judgments, Declaratory Judgments