Opinion
This case involves an insurance policy that covers injury resulting from “an accident.” After an assault and battery by the insured, the injured party sued the insured, alleging that the insured had acted under the unreasonable belief of having to defend himself, an act that according to the injured party fell within the policy’s coverage of “an accident.” Does the insurance company have a duty to defend that action? The answer is “no.” We therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had reversed the trial court.
Interinsurance Exchangе of the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC) issued to Craig Reid a homeowners insurance policy providing liability coverage for up to $100,000. On November 7, 2003, while the policy was in effect, insured Reid hit and kicked 17-year-old Jonathan Delgado.
In March 2004, Delgado sued Reid. The complaint alleged two causes of action. The first alleged an intentional tort in that Reid “in an unprovoked fashion and without any justification physically struck, battered and kicked” Delgado. The second cause of action alleged that Reid “negligently and unreasonably believed” he was engaging in self-defense “and unreasonably acted in self defense when [Reid] negligently and unreasonably physically and violently struck and kicked minor Jonathan Delgado repeatedly causing serious and permanent injuries.”
Reid tendered to ACSC the defense of Delgado’s lawsuit. ACSC denied coverage and refused to provide Reid a defense. ACSC asserted that the assault was not covered because it was not an “occurrence,” which was defined in the policy as an “accident,” and that the complaint’s allegations arose out of Reid’s intentional acts, which came within the policy’s intentional acts exclusion.
In January 2005, the trial court, at Delgado’s request, dismissed the intentional tort claim. Delgado and Reid then settled the action by stipulating that Reid’s use of force occurred because he negligently believed he was acting in self-defense, and by stipulating to entry of a $150,000- judgment against Reid. Later, Reid agreed to pay Delgado $25,000 and he assigned to Delgado Reid’s claims against his insurer, ACSC; Delgado in turn agreed to give Reid a partial satisfaction of judgment and a covenant not to execute on the remainder of the judgment.
Delgado then brought this action against ACSC. The trial court sustained ACSC’s demurrer on the ground that no facts were pled to establish coverage under the policy, but the court allowed Delgado leave to amend the complaint. Delgado then filed a first amended complaint alleging, on information and belief, that at the time of the incident the insured, Reid, acted “without intent to injure” Delgado “but with intent to defend himself and his family .. . from what [Reid] perceived was an imminent threat of harm . . . .” It further alleged that Reid’s “reaction to what he perceived was an imminent
The first amended complaint alleged two causes of action seeking declarations from the trial court that ACSC had a duty to defend and indemnify its insured, Reid, in the underlying lawsuit brought by Delgado; one cause of action brought under Insurance Code section 11580, subdivision (b)(2), in which Delgado sought to recover from ACSC as a judgment creditor of ACSC’s insured, Reid; and three causes of action alleging bad faith — one for failure to defend, one for refusal to indemnify, and one for failure to pay medical benefits.
ACSC demurred to the first amended complaint. At the hearing on the demurrer, the trial court asked Delgado’s counsel what facts were alleged regarding the events that led insured Reid to think he was acting in self-defense. Counsel responded: “We can’t allege facts leading up to what happened when my client was ultimately struck. We can’t allege those facts.”
The trial court sustained ACSC’s demurrer without leave to amend, finding that the settlement and stiрulated judgment between Reid and Delgado were “contrived” to expose ACSC to liability, that it was “disingenuous at best” to characterize insured Reid’s assault and battery as an “accident,” and that there were no facts alleged to support Delgado’s claim that Reid believed he was acting in self-defense.
The Court of Appeal reversed. After stating that allegations of harmful acts done with an unreasonable belief in self-defense describe conduct that is “properly characterized as nonintentional tortious conduct,” the Court of Appeal concluded that Delgado’s first amended complaint alleged acts by insured Reid that potentially were an “accident” covered by the policy.
We granted ACSC’s petition for review.
n
As mentioned earlier, in this case the trial court sustained ACSC’s demurrer to Delgado’s complaint without leave to amend. In reviewing the ensuing judgment of dismissal, “we treat the demurrer as admitting all material facts properly pleaded, but do not assume the truth of contentions, deductions or
At issue here is whether the insurer had a duty to defend its insured in an action brought by a third party.
ACSC’s policy provides liability coverage for bodily injury caused by an “occurrence,” which the policy defines as “an accident . . . which, during the policy period, results in bodily injury . . . .” In thе context of liability insurance, an accident is “ ‘an unexpected, unforeseen, or undesigned happening or consequence from either a known or an unknown cause.’ ” (Geddes & Smith, Inc. v. St. Paul Mercury Indemnity Co. (1959)
Here, injured party Delgado contends that because insured Reid’s assault and battery was motivated by an unreasonable belief in the need for self-defense, the act fell within the policy’s definition of “an accident,” beсause from the perspective of the injured party the assault was “unex
In support of his contention, Delgado points to certain language by this court in Geddes, supra,
Similarly misplaced is Delgado’s reliance on this court’s later decision in Hogan v. Midland National Ins. Co., supra,
Delgado’s contention does find support in some language from Maxon v. Security Ins. Co. (1963)
Were we to accept Delgado’s argument that any interpretation of the policy term “accident” should be based solely on whether the injury-causing event was expected, foreseen, or designed by the injured party, then intentional acts that by no stretch could be considered accidental nevertheless would fall within the policy’s coverage of an “accident.” Under Delgado’s reasoning, even child molestation could be considered an “accident” within the policy’s coverage, because presumably the child neither expected nor intended the molestation to occur. (See J. C. Penney Casualty Ins. Co. v. M. K. (1991)
Delgado contends that ACSC could have included in the policy’s coverage of an “accident” the phrase “from the standpoint of the insured,” if the insurer’s intent was to have the word “accident” defined from the perspective of the insured as opposed to thаt of the injured party. In support, he points out that earlier standard comprehensive general liability policies defined the word “occurrence” as “ ‘an accident. . . which results in bodily injury or property damage neither expected nor intended from the standpoint of the insured.’ ” (2 Croskey et al., Cal. Practice Guide: Insurance Litigation (The Rutter Group 2008) ¶ 7:42.1, p. 7A-13 (rev. # 1, 2008).)
We are not persuaded that because the coverage clause of ACSC’s policy does not use the words “neither expected nor intended from the standpoint of
Under California law, the word “accident” in the coverage clause of a liability policy refers to the conduct of the insured for which liability is sought to be imposed on the insured. (Quan v. Truck Ins. Exchange (1998)
Delgado insists that an insured’s unreasonable, subjective belief in the need for self-defense converts into “an accident” an act that is purposeful and intended to inflict injury. We disagree.
We begin by noting that an injury-producing evеnt is not an “accident” within the policy’s coverage language when all of the acts, the manner
We also note that in a number of contexts other than those involving claims pertaining to assault and battery, which is the conduct at issue here, courts have in insurance cases rejected the notion that an insured’s mistake of fact or law transforms a knowingly and purposefully inflicted harm into an accidental injury. (E.g., Merced Mutual Ins. Co. v. Mendez, supra,
Here, injured party Delgado advances two different arguments to support his claim that, unlike the abovе cited decisions pertaining to oral copulation, conversion, rape, wrongful eviction, and child molestation, an actor’s unreasonable belief in the need for self-defense converts an assault and battery into an unintentional act and therefore is “an accident” within the policy’s coverage. We reject these contentions.
Delgado’s first argument relies on a statement by this court in Gray v. Zurich Insurance Co. (1966)
That reliance is misplaced. Gray and the cases that have cited it pertained to the question of unreasonable use of force or unreasonable self-defense in the context of an insurance policy’s exclusionary clauses, not as here in the context of a policy’s coverage clause. (Gray, supra,
Moreover, Gray did not say that an unrеasonable belief in self-defense will convert into unintentional acts any purposeful acts that were done with intent to harm. The insurance company in Gray contended that it was not obligated to defend its insured against a claim of assault because the policy excluded coverage for “ ‘bodily injury or property damages caused intentionally by or at the direction of the insured.’ ” (Gray, supra,
Gray, supra,
Delgado’s second argument — that an insured’s mistaken and unreasonable belief in the need for self-defense converts the assault into an accidental act — is based on the notion that a provocative act by the injured party turns the insured’s physical response into an accidental act. Under this view, the injured party’s provocative acts are unforeseen and unexpected from the perspective of the insured, making the insured’s responsive acts unplanned and therefore accidental, triggering the policy’s coverage for “an accident.”
Delgado overlooks the context in which the Court of Appeal in Merced Mutual Ins. Co. v. Mendez, supra,
Here, Delgado’s complaint alleges acts of wrongdoing by the insured against him. Those are the acts that must be considered the starting point of the causal series of events, not the injured party’s acts that purportedly provoked the insured into committing assault and battery on Delgado. The term “accident” in the policy’s coverage clause refers to the injury-producing acts of the insured, not those of the injured party. (Quan v. Truck Ins. Exchange, supra,
“Any given event, including an injury, is always the result of many causes.” (1 Dobbs, The Law of Torts (2001) § 171, p. 414.) For that reason, the law looks for purposes of causation analysis “to those causes which are so closely connected with the result and of such significance that the law is justified in imposing liability.” (Prosser & Keeton on Torts (5th ed. 1984) § 41, p. 264.) In a case of assault and battery, it is the use of force on another that is closely connected to the resulting injury. To look to acts within the causal chain that are antecedent to and more remote from the assaultive
Delgado’s argument that the insured’s assault was an accidental act because a provocative act by the injured party was unforeseen and unexpected would also be inconsistent with California case law. In Quan v. Truck Ins. Exchange, supra, 67 Cal.App.4th 583, the insured was sued for assault and battery based upon the insured’s act of forcibly raping the victim. (Id. at pp. 587, 588, fn. 5.) In his action against his insurance compаny for breach of the duty to defend, the insured argued that there was a potential for coverage under a policy insuring against bodily injury caused by an accident (id. at p. 592) because he could simply be found negligent or “found to have mistakenly believed the claimant had ‘consented’ ” (id. at p. 596). Quan rejected the argument that the victim’s antecedent act that induced the insured’s mistaken belief in consent converted the forcible rape into an “accident.” Quan first observed that to determine whether an injury resulted from an accident, and thus fell within the policy’s сoverage, one needs to consider the nature of the insured’s act. Quan then concluded that the insured’s conduct could not have been accidental because it was intentional, and that an unreasonable belief in the victim’s consent could not alter the nature of the act of forcible rape itself. (Id. at pp. 596-598.) Other courts have come to similar conclusions. (E.g., Lyons v. Fire Ins. Exchange, supra,
The judgment of the Court of Appeal is reversed.
George, C. J., Baxter, J., Werdegar, J., Chin, J., Moreno, J., and Corrigan, J., concurred.
Appellant’s petition for a rehearing was denied September 30, 2009.
Notes
Because the duty to 'defend is broader than the duty to indemnify (Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Superior Court (1993)
Delgado’s amicus curiae Steven W. Murray cites this court’s decision in Lowell v. Maryland Casualty Co. (1966)