Court Opinion

ID: 9574635
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:06:37.541817+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:44:26.315170
License: Public Domain

AMUNDSON, Judge
(dissenting).
The majority is correct: Under the decedent’s automobile liability policy, coverage does not exist for an “intentional act.” I do not agree, however, that the act involved in this matter was “intentional,” even when viewed from the perspective of the tortfea-sor, and I respectfully dissent.
The tragically unfortunate decedent intended to take her own life. To that end, she selected an automobile collision to perfect her plan. Completely at random, she ran her vehicle into an oncoming truck and severely injured its innocent driver. Can it be said that she intended the consequences this act had on the driver of the truck? That she “expected or intended” Odegard’s injury, a man whose existence was completely unknown to her and by mere serendipity, found himself colliding with her? I think not. Had she elected to merely propel her car off the road and then fell over a cliff and upon this truck, would we be asking this question? Of course not. But where is the difference?
The Minnesota Supreme Court has long recognized “the distinction between intentional acts and unintended injuries” for purposes of an “intentional act” exclusion in a liability policy. Continental W. Ins. Co. v. Toal, 309 Minn. 169, 175, 244 N.W.2d 121, 124 (1976). The Toal court noted that although tort and criminal law presume that the person intends the natural and probable consequences of his intentional acts, this presumption “has no application to the interpretation of terms used in insurance contracts.” Id. at 175, 244 N.W.2d at 125. The supreme court more recently noted:
The law in Minnesota is well-settled that an intentional act exclusion applies only where the insured acts with the specific intent to cause bodily harm. Specifically, the requisite intent demands that the insured intended the harm itself, not merely that the insured generally intended to act.
R.W. v. T.F., 528 N.W.2d 869, 872 (Minn.1995) (citations omitted).
These principles were applied in a case preceding Toal, Caspersen v. Webber, 298 Minn. 93, 213 N.W.2d 327 (1973). In Casper-sen, the insured pushed aside a hatcheck employee at the restaurant where he was eating. Id. at 96, 213 N.W.2d at 328. The employee was injured as a result of the push. Id. While the insured intended to push the employee aside so that he could be free to find his coat, he testified that he did not intend her resulting injury. Id. In finding coverage under the insured’s policy, which specifically excluded coverage for intentional bodily injuries caused by the insured, the supreme court held that “where no bodily injury is intended, an [act] does not come within the exclusionary clause.” Id. at 97-98, 213 N.W.2d at 330. Thus, when the act itself is intended, but the resulting injury is *743not, the intentional act exclusion has no application. Id. at 98, 213 N.W.2d at 330.
Here, we are not even dealing with a specific “intentional act” exclusion, but a liability policy that proposes coverage for injuries “caused by accident.” The majority, however, implies that “accident” coverage be interpreted as the functional equivalent of an “intentional act” exclusion.
In this case the tortfeasor is unable to testify with respect to her intent. Can it be assumed that the decedent intended Ode-gard’s injuries? To the contrary, how can you intend to injure someone you do not know exists? It is undisputed that Odegard was totally unknown to the decedent. The decedent, depressed and driven to the last full measure of despair, cannot be said to have intended anything else except to end her life. We certainly cannot infer that she intended Odegard be injured.
It is true that the supreme court held that in some instances, the necessary intent may be inferred as a matter of law. R.W., 528 N.W.2d at 872. “The determination to infer intent as a matter of law results from a case by case factual inquiry, not a bright line rule of law.” Id. at 873. In making this determination, we are to look at the “calculated nature” of the intent and the likelihood of harm; the greater the likelihood of harm, the more reason there is to infer intent. Id. In Toal, the supreme court inferred intent where the insured followed through with an armed robbery with the knowledge that someone might be injured or killed in the process. 309 Minn. at 177, 244 N.W.2d at 126.
It may be said that the decedent may have contemplated that someone could be injured in her suicide attempt. It must also be said that the decedent acted negligently or even recklessly. None of these states of mind bring this scenario within an intentional act exclusion and certainly does not preclude coverage for an “accident.” See Dornfeld v. Oberg, 491 N.W.2d 297, 301 (Minn.App.1992) (stating that an act that is reckless, but not intentional, will not come with an intentional act exclusion) rev’d in part on other grounds, 503 N.W.2d 115 (Minn.1993); Milbank. Ins. Co. v. B.L.G., 484 N.W.2d 52, 58 (Minn.App. 1992) (adopting the view that the term “accident” includes all negligently caused injury).
The evidence supports only that the decedent intended the act of driving into Ode-gard’s truck, fatally injuring herself. There is no evidence she intended the injury to Odegard. I respectfully dissent and would allow Odegard to recover under decedent’s automobile liability coverage.