United States Tenth Circuit

In an action involving an insurer's duty to defend and indemnify plaintiff-insured with respect to a wrongful-death action brought against him after he pled guilty to negligent homicide, a judgment finding that insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify plaintiff is affirmed over claims that: 1) a criminal-conviction exclusion in his homeowner's insurance policy applies only to a conviction after trial; 2) public policy bars the exclusion; and 3) Colorado law does not permit consideration of his conviction in determining the duty to defend when the wrongful-death complaint makes no mention of it.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/31/2008
• Published 04/01/2008

Judges

• HARTZ, Circuit Judge., Before HARTZ and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges, and BRIMMER, District Judge.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Zachary C. Warzel (Michael J. Rosenberg, with him on the brief), of Roberts, Levin & Patterson, P.C., Denver, CO, for Plaintiff-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Suzanne Lambdin (Stephanie A. Montague, with her on the brief), of Lambdin & Chaney, LLP, Denver, CO, for Defendant-Appellee.