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Nevada Accident Attorney
Welcome to Nevada Attorney. This site provides free legal information for people who need a Nevada Accident Attorney because they were injured in Nevada. Nevada Accident Attorneys can negotiate a settlement of a Nevada personal injury claim or file a Nevada personal injury lawsuit for anyone who was injured in a Nevada accident. Contact a Nevada Accident Attorney for a free consultation.
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Intoxication And The "Intentional Acts" Exclusion Clause
Beckwith v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 83 P.3d 275, 277 (Nev. 2004):
[R]egardless of the insured's intoxicated state, the act of striking another is intentional, that such an act is not a covered occurrence under the policy in question here, and that such incidents are subject to a properly drafted "intentional acts" exclusion clause. Consequently, we hold that the liability insurer in this instance is under no duty to defend or indemnify its insured in connection with an action seeking damages stemming from the insured's intentional infliction of bodily injury, even when the insured was intoxicated or believed he acted in self-defense.
The insurance agreement in this case obligates State Farm to defend and indemnify Beckwith in connection with actions brought against him for damages caused by an "occurrence." The policy defines the term "occurrence" as an accident resulting in bodily injury. Although the policy does not define the term "accident," a common definition of the term is "a happening that is not expected, foreseen, or intended." In addition, the policy contains exclusionary language precluding coverage for bodily injury or property damage "(1) which is either expected or intended by the insured; or (2) which is the result of willful and malicious acts of the insured."
This court dealt with a similarly worded insurance policy in Mallin v. Farmers Insurance Exchange [108 Nev. 788, 790, 839 P.2d 105, 106 (1992)]. In Mallin, this court observed that "'intent' or 'intention' denotes a design or desire to cause the consequences of one's acts and a belief that given consequences are substantially certain to result from the acts." Applying this definition of intent, we concluded that a homeowner's liability insurance policy did not cover the insured's actions of fatally shooting his wife and two of her friends, despite a claim that the insured did not intend his actions because he acted in a psychotic fit of rage. We also noted that the insured's "supposed inability to control his acts [was] not the same as an inability to intend his acts."
We take this opportunity to extend our holding in Mallin and reject appellants' argument that Beckwith was unable to act intentionally as a result of his voluntary intoxication. Whether Beckwith thought Reccelle was God or his evil master is of no matter because he admittedly struck Reccelle in the eye with the desire of getting away from him. This is a non-accidental intentional act even if Beckwith did not intend to harm Reccelle. Thus, we conclude that Beckwith's act of striking Reccelle is not an occurrence under the insurance policy and is excluded from coverage under the policy language concerning intentional misconduct. In this, we recognize Beckwith's claims that the intentional-acts exclusion does not apply because, given his advanced state of intoxication, he did not intend to injure Reccelle and that, because he believed he acted in self-defense, his conduct was not malicious. We reject this line of argument because the exclusion properly dovetails with the reasonable construction of the policy that an occurrence requires an accidental event. Accordingly, State Farm is not obligated to defend or indemnify Beckwith with respect to any judgment obtained against him by Reccelle.
Applying this court's holding in Mallin, we conclude that . . . notwithstanding the claim that he was too intoxicated to intend the acts and resulting injuries to [the victim], the intentional-act exclusionary clause applies to negate coverage.
*** Any law, statute, regulation or other precedent is subject to change at any time ***
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The Nevada Attorney website is designed for residents of Nevada who were bruised, hurt, injured, disfigured, attacked, assaulted or accidentally killed because of the negligent, reckless, careless or intentional misconduct of a person or company which happened in Nevada. Nevada Accident Attorney is a contact site where a Nevada Accident Lawyer can provide free legal advice in an initial consultation to inform you of your Nevada legal rights and help you evaluate your Nevada accident claim. If you were hurt in Las Vegas - Henderson - Summerlin - or any other Nevada city, contact a Nevada Accident Attorney for legal assistance with your accident claim.
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