National Indemnity Company v. Gutierrez
1:24-cv-00226
| D.N.M. | Jul 24, 2025Background
- National Indemnity Company issued a commercial auto insurance policy to ABQ Truck Driving School LLC.
- Jane Does 1-4 filed a state court action against Adrian Gutierrez and others, alleging Gutierrez, while overseeing truck driving tests, sexually assaulted them in various trucks, including one owned by ABQ Truck Driving School.
- ABQ Truck Driving School tendered the state lawsuit to National Indemnity, requesting defense and indemnity under the policy.
- National Indemnity filed a federal declaratory judgment action, seeking a ruling that it had no duty to defend or indemnify Gutierrez for the sexual assault claims.
- Gutierrez and Jane Doe 2 failed to respond to the federal court action, prompting National Indemnity to move for default and summary judgment.
- The court addresses whether the insurance policy covers the underlying intentional tort claims and whether National Indemnity has any duty to defend or indemnify Gutierrez, given specific policy exclusions and definitions.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage for sexual assault under liability policy | Not a covered "accident"; acts intentional, not accidental | No response (defaulted) | Not a covered "accident"; no duty to defend |
| Applicability of "expected/intended injury" exclusion | Assault was intentional, exclusion bars coverage | No response (defaulted) | Exclusion applies, coverage barred |
| Applicability of "abuse/molestation" exclusion | Alleged conduct falls squarely within the exclusion | No response (defaulted) | Exclusion applies, coverage barred |
| Entitlement to declaratory/default/summary judgment | Sufficient allegations and lack of response warrant summary/default j. | No response (defaulted) | Default & summary judgment granted for Plaintiff |
Key Cases Cited
- St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Runyon, 53 F.3d 1167 (10th Cir. 1995) (sets factors for discretionary exercise of federal declaratory judgment in insurance context)
- Middleton v. Stephenson, 749 F.3d 1197 (10th Cir. 2014) (diversity jurisdiction standards, including citizenship of parties)
- Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986) (summary judgment standard: movant entitled where no genuine disputes of fact exist)
- Miller v. Triad Adoption & Counseling Servs., Inc., 2003-NMCA-055 (N.M. Ct. App. 2003) (insurer’s duty to defend determined by alleged facts compared to policy terms)
- Bernalillo Cnty. Deputy Sheriffs Ass'n v. Cnty. of Bernalillo, 1992-NMSC-065 (N.M. 1992) (insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify if allegations fall outside policy coverage)