Mitchell Kelleher v. American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin, Member of American Family Insurance Group, Madison, Wi ( 2014 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 13-1132
Filed April 30, 2014
MITCHELL KELLEHER,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
vs.
AMERICAN STANDARD INSURANCE
COMPANY OF WISCONSIN, Member of
AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE
GROUP, Madison, WI,
Defendant-Appellee.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County, Richard D.
Stochl, Judge.
Mitchell Kelleher appeals from a declaratory judgment of no insurance
coverage. AFFIRMED.
Zachary C. Priebe of Jeff Carter Law Offices, P.C., Des Moines, for
appellant.
Scott K. Green, West Des Moines, for appellee.
Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Mullins, JJ.
2
DANILSON, C.J.
This is a declaratory judgment action to ascertain whether there is
insurance coverage for Mitchell Kelleher’s injuries. The insurance policy
excludes intentional acts. We conclude the district court did not err in
determining coverage does not exist as the injuries were caused by an
intentional act. We affirm.
This case arises from incidents occurring in May 2005. Jeremy
Schaufenbuel and a group of friends were involved in ongoing conflict with
Mitchell Kelleher and his friends. In the early morning hours of May 14, 2005,
Schaufenbuel—after a night of using his vehicle as a weapon, hitting other cars,
including Kelleher’s, and using his vehicle to trap a person against a wall so
others could hit that person—drove at Kelleher, who was on foot. Kelleher ran
out of the way. Schaufenbuel put his car in reverse, punched the gas, and
backed over Kelleher. Kelleher suffered a compound fracture of his right leg.
Schaufenbuel was charged with willful injury causing serious injury, but
later entered an Alford plea to serious injury by vehicle.1 The offense of serious
injury by vehicle does not require a finding of intent to injure. See Iowa Code
§ 707.6A(4) (2005).
Kelleher filed a personal injury suit against Schaufenbuel. The two
entered into a settlement whereby Schaufenbuel assigned to Kelleher all his
rights against his insurer, American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin.
American denied coverage to Schaufenbuel under the intentional acts exclusion
1
See North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 37 (1970) (holding “express admission of
guilt . . . is not a constitutional requisite to the imposition of [a] criminal penalty”).
3
of the policy: “This coverage does not apply to: . . . (2) Bodily Injury or Property
Damage caused by an intentional act of, or at the direction of an insured person
even if the actual injury or damage is different than that which was expected or
intended.”
Kelleher filed a declaratory judgment action requesting a finding that
Schaufenbuel was covered under the American policy. At trial, Kelleher testified
about the various altercations that had occurred between the two groups, but
testified he was injured accidentally when Schaufenbuel was attempting to “get
away from a fight that was fixing to happen, so I think he was just trying to get
away after he hit my car.“ Other evidence admitted at trial was Schaufenbuel’s
September 8, 2008 deposition; an incident narrative authored by Deputy Sheriff
Reed H. Palo; the insurance policy; and the May 19, 2006 deposition of Trevor
Thein, who was at the scene.
The district court entered an order of declaratory judgment, concluding:
Based on the evidence presented, it is clear that
Schaufenbuel intended to strike Kelleher with his vehicle. While he
may not have intended to cause the serious injuries that resulted,
he intended to run him over. The parties were at the locker that
evening to fight. Schaufenbuel had earlier trapped McCully with his
car and t-boned Kelleher’s car. He had chased Kelleher earlier and
finally ran him over when he “punched the accelerator” and cranked
the wheel towards him.
Because Schaufenbuel’s actions were clearly intentional, he
has no coverage under the American Family Policy for any
compensable damages he may owe Kelleher. As Kelleher stands
in Schaufenbuel’s shoes, Kelleher has no right of recovery from
American Family.
4
The district court’s findings are supported by substantial evidence.2 The
court was not bound by the elements of the offense to which Schaufenbuel
tendered an Alford plea. We therefore affirm without further opinion pursuant to
Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.1203(a) and (d).
AFFIRMED.
2
Kelleher argues that because no rulings on objections were made, this action was tried
in equity and our review is de novo. See Iowa R. App. P. 6.907. But the action was for
interpretation of coverage under an insurance contract for which the court entered an
order, not a decree. These factors indicate the matter was considered as an action at
law. See Van Sloun v. Agans Bros. Inc., 778 N.W.2d 174, 178-79 (Iowa 2010); Sutton v.
Iowa Trenchless, L.C., 808 N.W.2d 744, 748 (Iowa Ct. App. 2011). In any event, our
conclusion would be the same even if under de novo review.