United States Eighth Circuit

In an insurer's declaratory judgment suit seeking a determination that a homeowner's insurance policy it issued to defendant did not provide coverage for damages awarded against her in a wrongful death suit, summary judgment against the insurer finding that the damages were covered by the policy is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) a state wrongful death consent judgment does not bar insurer from litigating the issue of policy coverage; 2) the negligence claims at issue are covered by the homeowner's policy; 3) the "concurrent cause doctrine" does not apply, and thus insurer can avoid liability if it demonstrates that a criminal acts exclusion applies; 4) defendants are collaterally estopped by one defendant's guilty plea and conviction from challenging whether she committed a criminal act; but 5) collateral estoppel does not prevent defendants from challenging whether bodily injury may have reasonably been expected to result from that criminal act.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/26/2007
• Published 06/26/2007

Judges

• GRUENDER, Circuit Judge., Before COLLOTON, HANSEN and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Paul Hasty, Jr. of Overland, KS. Also appearing on the brief was Allison G. Ross.


• For Appellees:
  
• Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was Jeff M. Bauer of Springfield, MO. Also appearing on the brief were Steve Garner and Patricia A. Keck.