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Allstate Ins. Co. v. Neal

The decedent's intentional shooting of a deputy sheriff at the decedent's home was not an occurrence to which his homeowner's liability policy applied.

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Deputy sheriff Patrick Neal was injured in a shooting with Frank Sheridan while trying to serve Sheridan with an arrest warrant at Sheridan’s residence. Sheridan was killed. Neal brought a tort action against Sheridan’s estate seeking damages for his injuries. Sheridan’s homeowner’s insurer, Allstate Insurance Company, brought this declaratory judgment action against Neal and the estate seeking a ruling that it was not obligated to provide the estate with coverage, indemnity or a defense for any claim arising out of the shooting. The trial court denied Allstate’s motion for summary judgment in the declaratory judgment action, and we granted interlocutory review. Finding that Allstate was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, we reverse. Summary judgment is proper where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.1 On appeal from the grant or denial of summary judgment, we conduct a de novo review, construing the evidence and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.2

Neal’s deposition testimony is the only record evidence of the circumstances of the shooting. He testified that he was assigned to serve an arrest warrant on Sheridan. At about 3:00 p.m. on August 10, 2004, Neal drove to Sheridan’s house in his patrol car. There, he saw Sheridan standing beside the passenger door of a truck which had been backed into the driveway. The two men looked at each other. Sheridan then ran “around the back of his truck to the driver’s side.”

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