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Westfield National Insurance Co. v. Continental Community Bank and Trust Co.12/23/2003
ge or consent of an insured."
Each policy defined "occurrence" as follows:
"9. 'occurrence' means an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same harmful conditions, which results, during the period, in:
a. bodily injury ; or
b. property damage." (Emphasis added.)
The policies define the term "bodily injury " as "bodily harm, sickness or disease, including required care, loss of services and death resulting therefrom." With respect to the term "Insured," the policies stated that it "means, unless otherwise defined, you and any 'family member.' " The policies define occurrence as an "accident." Although the use of the word "occurrence" in insurance policies broadens coverage and eliminates the need to find an exact cause of damages, as long as they are neither intended nor expected by the insured, the "occurrence" must still be "accidental." State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Tillerson, 334 Ill. App. 3d 404, 408 (2002). Illinois courts have defined "accident" as an unforeseen occurrence, usually of an untoward or disastrous character or an undesigned, sudden, or unexpected event of an inflictive or unfortunate character. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Freyer, 89 Ill. App. 3d 617, 619 (1980). The natural and ordinary consequences of an act do not constitute an accident. See Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co. v. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 315 Ill. App. 3d 552, 561 (2000). Therefore, under the terms of the policies, if the aunt "expected or intended" to cause bodily injury to the minors, her actions are not an "accident" and are not covered under the "occurrence" provision, which triggers coverage. See State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Watters, 268 Ill. App. 3d 501, 506 (1994). Moreover, if the aunt "expected or intended" to cause bodily injury to the minors, her actions are not covered and are excluded under the "intended-acts" provision. See Watters, 268 Ill. App. 3d at 506.
As an initial matter, we believe it would be helpful to summarize our state's case law pertaining to homeowner's insurance coverage for sexual abuse. Reviewing courts have previously considered whether the sexual molestation of minor children by an insured fell within an exclusionary clause of a homeowner's policy and ruled that, when the injuries were expected or intended by the insured, coverage was excluded. See Scudder v. Hanover Insurance Co., 201 Ill. App. 3d 921 (1990). In Scudder, this court affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer, where the insured had allegedly sexually abused four minor boys. We concluded that the insured's intent to cause injury could be inferred as a matter of law because of "the inevitability of injury in sexual abuse cases, especially when the victims are minors." Scudder, 201 Ill. App. 3d at 928.
Since Scudder was decided, Illinois courts have adopted an "inferred-intent" rule in sexual abuse cases where the victims are minors. Watters, 268 Ill. App. 3d at 507; see also Hartford Insurance Co. of Illinois v. Kelly, 309 Ill. App. 3d 800, 804-07 (1999). Under this rule, if a person sexually abuses a minor, the court will find as a matter of law that the abuser intended to injure his or her victims. Watters, 268 Ill. App. 3d at 507.
In Watters, the defendant sexually molested three minor children; the defendant was mildly retarded. The parents filed suit against the defendant and his mother, alleging that the defendant's conduct injured the children and the mother was negligent in allowing the sexual molestations to occur in her home. In an amended complaint, the parents also sought damages for the negligent infliction
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