Acts Held to Constitute Intentional Intimidation and Harassment in an Underlying Action do not Constitute an “Occurrence” Under Insured’s Homeowner’s Policy
Allstate Ins. Co. v. Van Scyoc, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177366 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 19, 2014)
In Van Scyoc, the Central District of California held that the insureds’ intentional attempts to prevent their neighbors from accessing or leaving their home through an easement on the insureds’ property did not constitute “occurrences,” and that the neighbors’ claim based on those actions therefore was not covered by the insured’s homeowner policy.
The underlying action arose out of a dispute between two couples. The claimants accessed their property through an easement over the insureds’ property, and over the years the insureds allegedly grew hostile to the use of this easement. The insureds allegedly verbally intimidated the claimants in an effort to keep them from accessing the easement and erected speed bumps on their property in an attempt to physically prevent the claimants, one of whom was confined to a wheelchair, from using the easement. The claimants filed suit against the insureds, and the insureds tendered the action to their homeowner’s insurer. The policy at issue provided coverage only for “occurrences” – a term defined to include accidents. The insurer defended the underlying action but filed a coverage action seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend because the conduct at issue in the underlying action was intentional and therefore did not constitute an “occurrence.” The carrier also sought reimbursement of the fees and costs incurred in defending the insured against the underlying action.
The insurer filed a motion for summary judgment, and the district court granted the motion. The court found that the conduct at issue in the underlying action was clearly intentional and not accidental in nature. As a result, the court found that the insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify the insureds in the underlying action and ordered the insureds to reimburse the insurer for all fees and costs incurred in their defense of that action.
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