469_C357
TEEN
TRAGEDY: WAS EACH DRINK AN “OCCURRENCE”?
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Homeowners |
Occurrence |
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Social Host
Liability |
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Marqui Cook, Tiffany Oliver, and Nikole Brown, all minors, attended a
party at the Meek residence, which was insured under a homeowners policy issued
by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. The Meeks allegedly served or
allowed alcoholic beverages to be served to the minors at the party in
violation of a state statute. The minors became intoxicated, drove away from
the party in a motor vehicle, and were involved in a serious car crash,
resulting in the deaths of Cook and Oliver and serious injuries to Brown.
The personal representatives of the estates of Cook and Oliver filed a
declaratory judgment action against Citizens and the Meeks, seeking a judicial
decree interpreting the term “occurrence” in the Citizens policy.
The estate representatives contended that the policy’s liability limit
of $100,000 per occurrence applied to each alcoholic drink consumed by each of
the deceased minors, in addition to a separate $100,000 occurrence limit for
the Meeks’ negligence in “allowing the minors to become intoxicated, and then
to leave the Meek residence operating a motor vehicle while in an intoxicated
state.”
Citizens disagreed, arguing that there was only one occurrence, the
car crash. Both parties moved for judgment on the pleadings.
The trial court ruled that “the complaint alleges multiple
‘occurrences’ under the policy” and held that each alcoholic drink served or
allowed to be served to Cook and Oliver at the Meek residence was a separate
“occurrence” for which the Meeks and Citizens were liable. Citizens appealed.
In reviewing the trial court’s interpretation of the Citizens policy,
the Court of Appeal of
COVERAGE E—PERSONAL LIABILITY
If a claim is made or a suit is brought against an insured for damages
based on “bodily injury or “property damage” caused by
an “occurrence” to which this coverage applies, we will:
1. Pay up to our limit of liability for the damages for which the
“insured” is legally liable
SECTION II—CONDITIONS
1. Limit of Liability
a. Our total liability under Coverage E for all
damages resulting from any one “occurrence” will not be more than the Coverage E limit of liability shown in the
Declarations.
This limit is the same regardless of the number of “insureds,” claims
made or persons injured.
All “bodily injury” and “property damage”
resulting from one accident or from continuous or repeated exposure to
substantially the same general harmful conditions will be considered to be the
result of one “occurrence.”
The policy defined an “occurrence” as “an accident, including
continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful
conditions, which results, during the policy period, in: a. ‘Bodily injury’ or b. ‘Property damage.’ The policy did not define the
term “accident.”
The appellate court stated that, in reaching its decision that each
drink provided to each deceased minor was a separate occurrence, the trial
court had misinterpreted rulings in two previous cases. For that reason, and
based on the Citizens policy wording, the appellate court concluded that there
was only one occurrence, the car crash. It reversed the trial court’s judgment.
Citizens Property Ins. Corp. vs. Cook-No. 5D11-1555-District Court of
Appeals of Florida, Fifth District-July 20, 2012-37 Fla. L. Weekly D1726