The court reversed the trial court, finding there was an occurrence when injury occurred from a gun wound resulting from a fight. Erie Ins. Exh. v. Moore, 2017 Pa. Super. LEXIS 957 (Pa. Super. Ct. Nov. 22, 2017).
Harold McCutcheon went to the home of his former wife, Terry McCutcheon, killed her, and committed suicide. Before her death, Terry called her boyfriend, Richard Carly. As they were talking the line went dead. Carly was concerned and drove to Terry's house. There, he was confronted by McCutcheon, who pulled him into the house and started fighting with him. Carly was seriously injured by shots fired from McCutcheon's gun.
Carley sued McCutcheon's Estate. McCutcheon was insured by a homeowner's policy issued by Erie. The policy promised to pay for damages because of bodily injury caused by an occurrence. The policy excluded, however, bodily injury that was expected or intended. Erie filed this action for a declaratory judgment to determine whether it was obligated to provide coverage for the claims made against the McCutcheon Estate.
Cross motions for summary judgment were filed. The trial court granted Erie's motion and denied Carley's motion. The court found that the deliberate conduct of McCutcheon did not constitute an occurrence that would trigger coverage. Further, the exclusions barred coverage.
On appeal, the court noted that gunshot wounds commonly were inflicted deliberately, and the shooter generally expected and intended that the gunshot would inflict harm. But not all injuries from gun violence were intentional. Coverage was not excluded because the insured's actions were intentional unless he also intended the resultant damage.
From the complaint, the court noted that the gunshots hit "various parts of the interior of the residence," and one of the shots hit Carly in the face, causing his injuries. Carly alleged that his injuries were caused by the negligence, carelessness, and recklessness of McCutcheon.
These allegations set forth a claim that McCutcheon accidentally shot Carly while he waived his gun during the struggle. They alleged a chaotic brawl in which McCutcheon fired his gun wildly while trying to fight Carly off. These allegations fit the definition of a coverage "occurrence," rather than conduct deliberately intended to inflict harm.
Accordingly, the judgment declaring that Erie had a duty neither to defend nor indemnify the defendants was vacated.
