“Our argument was this is not a wrongful act because being involved in a conspiracy to kidnap a child is not something done in the ordinary course of being a higher education institution,” Malloy said.
U.S. District Judge Norman Moon of the Western District of Virginia in 2014 ruled the insurance company has “a duty under the contracts of insurance” to defend Liberty. Moon ruled that Hanover owed Liberty more than $150,000.
“Liberty has already incurred substantial costs, fees and expenses to defend itself against the Jenkins complaint,” the university said in its complaint, filed in 2013 in the Lynchburg division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. “Liberty is entitled to reimbursement of those costs fees and expenses from Hanover.”
The Fourth Circuit panel—Judge Stephanie Thacker (left), joined by Judges Paul Niemeyer and Allyson Duncan, wrote the opinion—reversed the district court’s decision.
The appeals court said Citizens Insurance has no duty to defend. The court found the exclusions to the insurance policies in question do, in fact, apply.
“The Jenkins complaint alleges [Liberty’s] liability for injuries arising from its direct involvement in conspiracies to commit kidnapping and racketeering, which carry criminal penalties. We conclude these claims clearly and unambiguously trigger the intentional and criminal acts exclusion,” Thacker wrote.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
