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Cincinnati Indemnity Co. v. Martin6/16/1999
[Cite as Cincinnati Indemn. Co. v. Martin (1999), ___ Ohio St.3d ___.]
Insurance - Insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a homeowner/policyholder in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by a noninsured based on the death of an insured, when.
An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify its insured in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by a noninsured based on the death of an insured where the policy excludes liability coverage for claims based on bodily injury to an insured.
Submitted March 31, 1999
This lawsuit stems from the tragic shooting death on November 22, 1995, of six-year-old Michael Martin. Michael and his eight-year-old brother, Ricky, were playing when Ricky shot Michael with a rifle. The incident occurred at their home, where they resided with their mother, defendant, Stephanie Martin. Due to divorce, their father, David Martin, defendant-appellant, lived at a separate residence. At the time, Stephanie Martin had a homeowner's policy with plaintiff-appellee, Cincinnati Indemnity Company ("CIC").
As administrator of Michael's estate, appellant filed a wrongful death action against Stephanie, alleging that her negligence in failing to supervise the children and in failing to safely store the rifle caused Michael's death. After being notified of the wrongful death lawsuit, CIC commenced the instant declaratory judgment action, seeking a determination as to whether it was required to defend and indemnify Stephanie against the wrongful death claim. The parties stipulated that under the terms of the homeowner's policy, Michael and Ricky were insureds (since they were relatives residing with Stephanie, the named insured), but that appellant was not an insured.
David Martin and CIC filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court granted summary judgment in CIC's favor on the ground that appellant's claim was excluded from coverage. It found that the plain language of the policy excludes liability coverage for bodily injury to an insured, including the wrongful death claim brought by David Martin. Therefore, the trial court declared that CIC has no duty to defend or indemnify Stephanie Martin against the wrongful death claim brought by David Martin.
The court of appeals affirmed and certified its judgment as being in conflict with the judgment of the Stark County Court of Appeals in Allstate Ins. Co. v. Thompson (Aug. 27, 1990), Stark App. No. CA-8112, unreported, 1990 WL 125481. The cause is now before the court upon our determination that a conflict exists (case No. 98-1492) and upon the allowance of a discretionary appeal (case No. 98-1384).
The issue certified for our review is "whether an insurer has a duty to indemnify and/or defend a homeowner/policyholder against a wrongful death claim by a non-household member wrongful death beneficiary who is not an `insured' under the policy when the death involved is that of an `insured' under the policy." For the reasons that follow, we answer the certified issue in the negative and affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.
It is axiomatic that an insurer may maintain a declaratory judgment action to determine its rights and obligations under a contract of insurance. Preferred Risk Ins. Co. v. Gill (1987), 30 Ohio St.3d 108, 30 OBR 424, 507 N.E.2d 1118, paragraph one of the syllabus. A liability insurer's obligation to its insured arises only if the claim falls within the scope of coverage. The insurer need not provide a defense if there is no set of facts alleged in the complaint which, if proven true, would invoke coverage. Id. at 114, 30 OBR at 429, 507 N.E.2d at 1124. Thus, if it is established that the claim falls within an e
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