Tred R. Eyerly | Insurance Law Hawaii
The Montana Supreme Court held that because there was no duty to defend the insureds’ intentional acts, the insurer had no duty to defend. Farmers Ins. Exch. v. Wessel, 2020 Mont. LEXIS 2617 (Mont. Dec. 22, 2020).
The insureds’ property was accessed by Turk Road. Turk Road was also used by the neighbors to access their land. The insureds asked for permission to snowmobile across the neighbors’ property. Permission was denied because the property was in a conservation easement which prohibited motorised used. The insureds’ thereafter retaliated by not allowing the neighbors to use Turk Road. The neighbors then purchased an easement from another landowners to construct a new driveway which did not traverse the insureds’ property. The insureds built snow berms and gates, felled trees, and created other obstacles to prevent the neighbors from using the new driveway. Physical threats were also made by the insureds.
The neighbors sued the insureds for declaratory and injunctive relief. The complaint alleged that the insureds’ acts were intentional and purposeful.
Farmers defended, but sued for a declaratory judgment on coverage. Farmers argued there was no “occurrence” because there was nothing accidental about the insureds’ conduct. The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s granting summary judgment agains the insureds on the duty to defend.
The district court also determined it was premature to decided whether Farmers had a duty to indemnify. The Supreme Court reversed. There was no coverage under the policy to give rise to a duty to defend. A conclusion that there was no duty to defend compelled the conclusion that there was no duty to indemnify.