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Caroff v. Farmers Insurance Company of Washington12/20/1999
This appeal requires us to determine the effect of a severability clause on exclusions that preclude coverage for injury caused by intentional acts of "an insured" and for injury arising out of actual, alleged, or threatened child molestation by "any insured." The Caroffs argue that the severability clause, which says the policy applies to each insured separately, extends coverage to insureds who did not commit the excluded acts even though the exclusions apply to acts of "an insured" or "any insured." When the parties filed cross motions for summary judgment, the trial court granted Farmers' motion and denied the Caroffs'. We hold that the specific, all-inclusive exclusions bar coverage here and are neither negated nor rendered ambiguous by the general severability clause and affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Kris Trenouth, the teenage son of Roland and Bonnie Trenouth, sexually molested Arthur Caroff, the three-year-old son of Robert and Maria Caroff, and pled guilty to indecent liberties. The Caroffs then brought a negligence suit against the Trenouths. The Caroffs alleged that the Trenouths were negligent in supervising the interactions between Kris and Arthur and that this negligence was a proximate cause of the severe emotional distress they suffered as a result of Arthur's injury . The Trenouths tendered defense of the suit to Farmers Insurance Company of Washington and Farmers Insurance Exchange ("Farmers"), with which they held a homeowners and an umbrella policy respectively. Roland, Bonnie, and Kris Trenouth are "insureds" under both policies. Farmers refused the tender, relying on the exclusions for intentional acts and child molestation by "an insured" and "any insured."
The parties settled the suit by entering into a consent judgment against the Trenouths for $1.3 million. Despite Farmers' earlier denial of coverage, the judgment was enforceable only against the Trenouths' insurance policies with Farmers. They assigned their rights under the Farmers policies to the Caroffs, and the Caroffs brought suit against Farmers to recover on the judgment. The Caroffs then moved for summary judgment, contending that the severability clause in the Farmers policies extends coverage to the Trenouths despite the policies' exclusions for child molestation by "any insured" and intentional acts by "an insured." In its cross motion for summary judgment, Farmers argued that the intentional acts and child molestation exclusions bar coverage for the Trenouths because the severability clause neither negates these exclusions nor renders them ambiguous.
DISCUSSION
When reviewing an order granting summary judgment, this court engages in the same inquiry as the trial court. The parties submitted an agreed statement of facts to the trial court, and the only issue before it was the proper interpretation of the Farmers policies. Interpretation of an insurance contract is a matter of law which we review de novo.
The Caroffs first assert that Farmers has a duty to cover their claim based on the coverage language of the policies. But each of the policies also contains exclusions for intentional acts and child molestation which clearly bar coverage because Kris Trenouth, who the parties agree is an insured under both policies, engaged in the very behavior, intentional acts and child molestation, which is excluded. The homeowners policy's child molestation exclusion reads:
We do not cover actual or alleged injury or medical expenses caused by or arising out of the actual, alleged, or threatened molestation of a child by:
1. any insured; or
2. any employee of the insured; or
3. any volunteer
Page 1 2 3 4 Washington Personal Injury Attorneys
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