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Pettit v. Erie Insurance Exchange9/5/1997
ratory Relief, claiming it owed Kowalski neither coverage nor a defense. By stipulation, the underlying negligence tort action was stayed pending resolution of Erie's Bill for Declaratory Relief. Subsequently, the parties filed cross-claims for summary judgment. Following a hearing, Erie's motion for summary judgment was granted on the grounds that, as a matter of law, the policies provided no coverage, and thus, Erie had no duty to provide Kowalski with coverage or a defense. Of course, Kowalski's motion for summary judgment was denied. This appeal followed.
Standard of Review
"The standard for appellate review of a trial court's grant of a motion for summary judgment is simply whether the trial court was legally correct." Beatty v. Trailmaster Prods., Inc., 330 Md. 726, 737, 625 A.2d 1005 (1993). Maryland Rule 2-501(e) provides:
The court shall enter judgment in favor of or against the moving party if the motion and response show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the party in whose favor judgment is entered is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
"In opposing a motion for summary judgment, a party is entitled not only to have the facts viewed in the light most favorable to it but also to all reasonable inferences which may be drawn from these facts." Clea v. City of Baltimore, 312 Md. 662, 678, 541 A.2d 1303 (1988) (quoting Tyler v. Vickery, 517 F.2d 1089, 1094 (5th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 426 U.S. 940, 96 S. Ct. 2660, 49 L. Ed. 2d 393 (1976)).
I agree with Ms. Pettit that, as she had charged Kowalski with having negligently injured her children and Erie's policies covered such claims, Erie was obligated to provide Kowalski with both coverage and a defense. Moreover, I agree with Ms. Pettit that in making such a determination the trial court should have considered the terms of the insurance policies, the claims in the underlying tort action, and any extrinsic evidence provided by the insured. It is, of course, this last element that Ms. Pettit claims the trial court should have, but failed to consider before granting Erie's motion for summary judgment.
To the contrary, Erie does not believe that the charges in Ms. Pettit's underlying negligence tort action support a claim of negligence, asserting that, although citing no authority, Kowalski's acts were, as a matter of law, intended to injure the Pettit children. Consequently, as the policies exclude coverage for "bodily injury expected or intended by anyone we protect," Erie believes potential coverage does not exist. I do not agree.
An insurer's obligation to defend its insured ". . . is determined by the allegations in the tort action . . . Even if a tort plaintiff does not allege facts that clearly bring the claim within or without the policy coverage, the insurer still must defend if there is a potentiality that the claim could be covered by the policy." Brohawn v. Transamerica Ins. Co., 276 Md. 396, 347 A.2d 842 (1975) In St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Pryseski, 292 Md. 187, 438 A.2d 282 (1981), the Court of Appeals established a two-step approach for determining whether a potentiality of coverage exists:
In determining whether a liability insurer has a duty to provide its insured with a defense in a tort suit, two types of questions ordinarily must be answered: (1) what is the coverage and what are the defenses under the terms and requirements of the insurance policy? (2) do the allegations in the tort action potentially bring the tort claim within the coverage? The first question focuses upon the language and requirements of the policy, and the second question focuses upon the allegations of the tort suit.
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