Mead v. Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Co.

**Mead v. Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Co.** This case involved Robert Mead, who worked for Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Company and had an insurance policy with them. Mead was criminally convicted for intentionally shooting a police officer. When he tried to get coverage under his insurance policy for this incident, the insurance company refused to pay, citing an "intentional acts exclusion" clause in his policy. Mead sued the company for breach of contract, arguing they should provide coverage. The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled in favor of the insurance company. The court found that since Mead had already been convicted in criminal court for intentionally shooting the officer, he couldn't reliably argue in this civil case that his actions weren't intentional. The court said this issue was already decided (legally settled) by his criminal conviction, so the insurance company was right to deny coverage under the intentional acts exclusion. **What this means for workers:** If you have insurance through your employer and are convicted of an intentional crime, don't expect that insurance to cover damages from those actions. Insurance policies typically exclude coverage for intentional wrongdoing, and a criminal conviction can prevent you from arguing otherwise in later civil cases.