Charles Anspaugh, who had secured a HO policy from Michigan Millers Mutual, had requested the company to defend and indemnify him in an action brought by Judith Simpson for damages which resulted from a burglary and fire. Her home had been broken into by a group of juveniles, including the insured's minor son, Chris Anspaugh, and his brother, Scot. Chris was tried in juvenile court and found delinquent by reason of having committed involuntary manslaughter. The others, including Scot Anspaugh, admitted to having committed the same crime.

The evidence showed that the juveniles, consisting of Clark, Spicer, Brigeman, Thomason, the Anspaugh brothers, Huffman and Burns, were at Brigeman's home. Clark and Brigeman planned to burglarize Judith Simpson's home and conceal the crime by setting fire to the house, which they believed would be unoccupied that night since Simpson had told Brigeman she was going fishing. However, Simpson did not go and Judith and her daughter, Amanda, were asleep in the house. Judith was injured in the fire, and Amanda died from her injuries a short time later.

Clark and Spicer had entered the home while the others stayed outside to act as lookouts. The boys removed a microwave from the kitchen, took it outside, and then went back inside. It was then that Spicer noticed that Judith was asleep on the couch. At the trial, Spicer said that he told Clark that Judith was sleeping on the couch; but Clark poured gasoline in the kitchen. Spicer and Thomason testified that Clark lit the fire, and all of them then ran from the scene.

Simpson filed a complaint for injuries and wrongful death against all the juveniles and their parents. Michigan Millers then filed an action for declaratory judgment as to its duty and liability to its insured.

The trial court found that Scot and Chris Anspaugh "were part of a course of criminal conduct which was to culminate in the theft of property." The judge said that all of them knew that a can of gasoline was to be used to start a fire to conceal the burglary. The court also found that at least one of them, Spicer, knew that one person was present in the house. Consequently, the trial court held that the policy exclusion based on intentional conduct precluded coverage. The lower court also found that the parents were not liable. Michigan Millers appealed.

The higher court found that Michigan Millers had not met its burden of proof to show that bodily injury or death would have been reasonably expected given the actual conduct of the Anspaugh brothers, and did not show that they actually intended the resulting injuries. The court said that in order for the exclusion to apply, Michigan Millers had to show that bodily injury could reasonably have been expected from the actual conduct of the Anspaugh brothers. While they knew of the plan to set the fire, there was no evidence that either of them knew that anyone was in the house, and their actions were confined to acting as lookouts.

The judgment entered in the trial court in favor of Michigan Millers was reversed, and judgment entered in favor of the insured and Simpson.

Michigan Millers Insurance Company v. Anspaugh et al., Appellants (Discretionary appeal to the Supreme Court of Ohio was not allowed)--No. 15211--Court of Appeals of Ohio, Second District, Montgomery County--March 1, 1996--672 North Eastern Reporter 2d 1042.