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Westfield National Insurance Co. v. Continental Community Bank and Trust Co.12/23/2003
an insurer has a duty to defend, the use of extrinsic evidence is inappropriate); see also Bituminous Casualty Corp. v. Fulkerson, 212 Ill. App. 3d 556, 562 (1991).
Liability insurance is intended to protect insureds from losses and to provide a source of funds to compensate victims. The liability portion of a typical homeowner's insurance policy generally provides liability coverage for many claims against insureds sounding in negligence but excludes coverage for claims of liability arising from intentional acts of insureds. See State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Leverton, 314 Ill. App. 3d 1080, 1084 (2000). Here, the intended-acts exclusion of the policy at issue excluded from coverage bodily injury or property damage "which is expected or intended by the Insured."
In construing a policy exclusion for bodily injury "which is expected or intended by the insured," courts have explained that coverage is precluded if the insured's acts were intentional and the insured had the specific intent to injure. See Scudder, 201 Ill. App. 3d at 927. Our supreme court stated that these clauses require a specific intent or expectation that the bodily injury will occur. Bay State Insurance Co. v. Wilson, 96 Ill. 2d 487, 492-94 (1983). Therefore, an intentional act causing an unexpected or unintended result may be covered. Wilson, 96 Ill. 2d at 493. However, the Wilson court further stated that whether an injury was "expected" is a subjective question, but it can be inferred from objective evidence that the injury was the natural and probable result of the act. Wilson, 96 Ill. 2d at 493-94. The terms "intended" and "expected" are not synonymous, and a greater degree of proof is required to establish "intent" than to establish "expectation." Wilson, 96 Ill. 2d at 494, citing Farmers Automobile Insurance Ass'n v. Medina, 29 Ill. App. 3d 224, 228-29 (1975) (Moran, J., specially concurring). Injury is "expected" where the damages are not accomplished by design or plan, i.e., not "intended," but are "of such a nature that they should have been reasonably anticipated (expected) by the insured." Freyer, 89 Ill. App. 3d at 620. Accordingly, injuries that should have been reasonably anticipated by the insured will be found to have been subjectively "expected" within the meaning of an insurance policy. Wilson, 96 Ill. 2d at 494, citing Freyer, 89 Ill. App. 3d at 620.
In the present case, the allegations of the underlying complaint, taken as true, reflect that the aunt invited and encouraged the minors to visit at her home while Valdez was present; directed the minors to sit on her husband's lap while he was "partially clad"; and promoted "a collective viewing of movies which involved naked actors and actresses." In addition to encouraging comments on "the naked bodies of actresses applicable to the pubescent and pre-pubescent Minors," the aunt also encouraged the minors to wear "minimal and provocative clothing when interacting with * Valdez." The aunt did nothing when Valdez left the marital bedroom to visit the minors in their bedrooms. Even when one of the minors locked herself in the bathroom crying, the aunt did nothing. The allegations reflect the aunt's awareness of her husband's prior criminal involvement with minors in Florida and of her husband's inappropriate physical encounters with the minors; however, despite this awareness, the aunt did nothing to advise or report these circumstances to the minors' parents.
We believe that each of these allegations establishes that the aunt should have been cognizant of her own conduct toward the minors and vis-a-vis her husband, Valdez. We further believe that the aunt reasonably should have anticipated or "expected" the injuries, which were a
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