Opinion ID: 2631046
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Extension of Blakeslee

Text: ¶ 25 Woo next argues that in concluding that his practical joke did not constitute the practice of dentistry, the Court of Appeals improperly extended Blakeslee to include more than just sexual assault. He argues that Blakeslee should apply only in a sexual assault context because sexual contact during dental treatment presumes intent to injure whereas the same does not hold true for an innocently conceived group joke. Suppl. Br. of Pet'r Woo at 8. Fireman's counters that Blakeslee merely stands for the general proposition that an insured should not expect insurance coverage to apply to problems that fall outside the policy coverage. It also claims the court did not apply the intent to injure rule of sexual assault cases with regard to the professional liability provisionit only applied settled law to a unique set of facts. Resp'ts' Answer to Amicus Curiae WSTLA's [Foundation] Memo. in Support of Pet. for Review at 3. ¶ 26 Blakeslee involved a dentist accused of sexually assaulting a patient during a dental procedure while the patient was under the influence of nitrous oxide. 54 Wash.App. at 2, 771 P.2d 1172. The court noted that medical malpractice insurance policies do not cover a physician's sexual contact with a patient. Id. at 8-9, 771 P.2d 1172 (citing Wash. Ins. Guar. Ass'n v. Hicks, 49 Wash.App. 623, 627, 744 P.2d 625 (1987) (a gynecologist's sexual assault of a patient)). It concluded, therefore, that because there could be no legitimate course of treatment involving sexual contact between a dentist and a patient, the dentist's insurance policy did not cover his actions. Id. at 9, 771 P.2d 1172. ¶ 27 The Court of Appeals analogized the facts of this case to Blakeslee by noting that, like Blakeslee, Woo took advantage of Alberts' anesthetized state for his own purposes. Woo, 128 Wash.App. at 104, 114 P.3d 681. It also analogized this case to Blakeslee on the grounds that the professional services that Woo rendered were not the proximate cause of Alberts' injuries. Id. ¶ 28 We conclude the Court of Appeals improperly analyzed the significance of the act at issue by focusing only on the facts that Woo inserted the boar tusk flippers for his own purposes and the injuries did not arise from the treatment Alberts requested. It ignored the fact that application of Blakeslee to other contexts could inappropriately narrow the duty to defend. It also failed to consider that sexual contact is never an appropriate component of dental treatment whereas other actions could conceivably fall within the broad definition set out in the insurance policy and RCW 18.32.020. [6] ¶ 29 Additionally, the Court of Appeals failed to recognize that the Blakeslee analysis was based on the duty to indemnify, not the duty to defend. Woo, 128 Wash.App. at 103, 114 P.3d 681. The insurer in Blakeslee properly defended under a reservation of rights and sought a declaratory judgment. Blakeslee, 54 Wash.App. at 3, 771 P.2d 1172. Blakeslee's analysis, therefore, focused on whether the insurance policy actually provided coverage. In contrast, our focus in this case is whether the facts alleged in the complaint conceivably triggered a duty on the part of Fireman's to defend. Thus, Blakeslee does not even provide the proper framework for our analysis. ¶ 30 We conclude that the Court of Appeals improperly extended Blakeslee to a nonsexual assault context.