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Westfield Insurance v. Barnett11/17/2003
. This timely appeal comes for consideration upon the record in the trial court, the parties' briefs, and their oral arguments before this court. Defendants-Appellants, Rondus and Donna Barnett, appeal the decision of the Noble County Court of Common Pleas which granted summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff-Appellee, Westfield Insurance Company. The issues before this court are whether the trial court correctly concluded that Westfield has no duty to defend the Barnetts against a lawsuit claiming they intentionally assaulted someone and whether the trial court should have dismissed the Barnetts' claim of bad faith against Westfield.
. Ohio courts have held that when someone has been convicted of a criminal offense involving the elements of purposefulness or recklessness, then an insurer has no duty to defend that person from a civil suit arising from acts which constituted the criminal offense under an intentional acts exclusion provision. In this case, the Barnetts were each convicted of assault which includes the elements of either knowledge or recklessness and the underlying suit arises from the same acts which constituted the criminal offense and their policy with Westfield contains an intentional acts exclusion provision. Accordingly, Westfield has no duty to defend the Barnetts in the underlying lawsuit. Because they have no duty to defend, whether it acted in good or bad faith in reaching that conclusion is irrelevant. For these reasons, the trial court's judgment is affirmed.
Facts and Standard of Review
. On March 18, 2001, the Barnetts invited several people over to their house for a cookout which started at about 10:00 a.m. Donna's brother, Mark Reiter, and his girlfriend, Julie Morrison, were guests at the cookout and Reiter drank a few beers during the day. Reiter and Morrison left the Barnetts' home sometime after 7:00 p.m. Reiter was driving the couple home in his truck when he was stopped by Caldwell Police Officer Ralph Cobb. Cobb confirmed that Reiter's license was suspended indefinitely and had him perform field sobriety tests. Cobb also informed Morrison she could walk home. Cobb subsequently arrested Reiter for driving under the influence , driving with a suspended license, and for failing to produce proof of insurance. Since the truck appeared to be uninsured, Cobb made an inventory of Reiter's truck while he waited for a tow truck to remove the vehicle.
. Morrison and Reiter lived a couple of blocks away from where Cobb stopped them and when Morrison got home she called the Barnetts to tell them that Reiter had been arrested. The Barnetts immediately left their home and drove to the scene. When they arrived on the scene, an altercation occurred. As a result of this altercation, both Rondus and Donna were tried and found guilty of assault on a police officer, obstructing official business, and resisting arrest.
. After their conviction, Cobb and his wife filed a complaint against the Barnetts for their "intentional and willful assault" on Cobb. The complaint alleged the Barnetts acted recklessly, intentionally, willfully, wantonly, and with malice. As a result of the suit, the Barnetts submitted a claim to their homeowner's insurance carrier, Westfield Insurance Company. In a response, Westfield agreed to defend them pursuant to a reservation of rights.
. Subsequently, Westfield filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against the Barnetts and the Cobbs which sought a declaration that it had no duty to defend the Cobbs' lawsuit against the Barnetts. The Barnetts answered and asserted counterclaims against Westfield for declaratory judgment, bad faith, and breach of contract.
. After di
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