Lift-Up, Inc. v. Colony Ins. Co.

Excerpt

The substitute plaintiffs, D and A, sought a declaratory judgment to deter- mine the rights and obligations of the parties under a certain insurance policy that had been issued to the plaintiff L Co., a wheelchair accessible van seller and van modifying company, by the defendant C Co. In an underlying personal injury action, D, a paraplegic confined to a motor- ized wheelchair, sought damages for injuries he sustained in connection with a confrontation with K, an employee of L Co. During an argument D had with K about modifications L Co. made to D and A's van, the confrontation turned physical when K slapped a baseball cap off D's head. When K saw that A, D's wife, had recorded the incident on her cell phone, he grabbed the phone from her and threatened in crude terms to break it. As D moved his wheelchair toward K in order to retrieve the cell phone, K grabbed D's arm and the wheelchair and altered its path, which caused D to fall from his wheelchair and sustain serious injuries. D and A settled an underlying personal injury action against L Co. and K by means of a stipulation for judgment. L Co. and K commenced an action against C Co. seeking a legal declaration that, under their insurance policy, C Co. had a duty to defend and indemnify them for the claims alleged in the personal injury action. As part of the stipulated settlement of the personal injury action, L Co. assigned its rights under the policy to D and A, and D and A were substituted as party plaintiffs. The trial court granted a motion for summary judgment filed by C Co. as to D and A's complaint and its counterclaim, from which D and A appealed to this court. Held: 1. The trial court did not err in holding that the exclusion provisions under the insurance policy pertaining to an assault or battery applied to D's and A's claims and that there was no coverage under the policy because D's injuries were not caused by an accident that resulted from garage operations, and properly determined that C Co. had