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Hartman v. United Heritage Property and Casualty Co.2/18/2005
2005 Opinion No. 23
The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing the claims asserted against an insurance company by judgment creditors of the insured. We affirm the judgment of the district court.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The Plaintiffs-Appellants, Harry and Pamela Hartman, (the Hartmans) were the parents of Ty Hartman, who died on November 8, 1998. During the evening of that day, Melissa Keane (Keane), two boys, and Ty, all of whom were minors at the time, were present at the home of one of the boys. According to what Keane and the two boys later told law enforcement, they and Ty were using illegal drugs, when they noticed that Ty was having trouble breathing. In an attempt to revive him, they poured water down his throat and performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. When that proved unsuccessful, they put Ty in a car to take him to the hospital, but decided not to do so because his mother worked there. When they later realized that Ty was dead, they disposed of his body by burning it.
On December 9, 1998, the Hartmans brought an action to recover damages arising from the death of their son. They named as defendants Keane, her mother, the two boys, and the boys' parents. The Hartmans alleged claims for battery, wrongful death, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
At the time of Ty's death, Keane's mother had a homeowner's insurance policy issued by the Idaho Mutual Insurance Company, now the Defendant-Respondent, United Heritage Property and Casualty Company (United Heritage), under which Keane was an additional insured. The policy provided $300,000 in coverage for personal injury , but excluded coverage for intentional acts and for claims arising out of the use of illegal drugs. Keane's mother made a claim under the policy, and United Heritage provided Keane and her mother with an attorney to defend the Hartmans' wrongful death action.
On February 22, 1999, United Heritage filed a declaratory judgment action against Keane and her mother seeking a determination that there was no coverage under the policy for the claims alleged in the Hartmans' wrongful death action and that United Heritage had no duty to continue providing a defense in that action. United Heritage did not join the Hartmans in the declaratory judgment action, nor did it notify them of that lawsuit.
Keane and her mother retained an attorney to defend the declaratory judgment action, but that attorney withdrew about a month before the hearing on United Heritage's motion for summary judgment. Prior to the hearing, Keane and her mother reached a settlement with United Heritage, which was memorialized in a written release agreement. In exchange for United Heritage paying them $15,000 and agreeing to continue providing a defense in the wrongful death action for a period of twenty additional days, Keane and her mother released United Heritage from any and all claims they may have against it, including any claims, liabilities, duties and obligations under the insurance policy. Pursuant to Idaho Code ยง 15-5-409a, the settlement of Keane's claim against United Heritage was approved on August 29, 2000, by the district judge presiding over the declaratory judgment action. That lawsuit was then dismissed with prejudice.
Some time later, Keane confessed to a judgment of $400,000 against herself in the Hartmans' wrongful death action. On November 19, 2001, she also assigned to them all claims she may have against United Heritage.
On January 31, 2003, the Hartmans filed this action against United Heritage. As the assignees of Keane, the Hartmans sought to recove
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