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Allstate Insurance Co. v. McCarn

683 N.W.2d 656 (2004)

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Allstate Insurance Co. v. McCarn

Michigan Supreme Court
683 N.W.2d 656 (2004)

RW

Facts

Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate) (plaintiff) insured 16-year-old Robert McCarn (defendant) and his grandparents, Ernest and Patricia McCarn (defendants). Allstate’s policy excluded coverage for the reasonably expected consequences of an insured’s intentional or criminal acts. Ernest kept a shotgun under his bed. The gun normally was unloaded. One day, while Robert and a friend were engaging in horseplay, after having smoked marijuana, Robert took Ernest’s shotgun and pointed it at his friend’s head. Robert believed that the gun was unloaded, but he was mistaken. When Robert squeezed the trigger, the loaded gun fired, killing Robert’s friend. The friend’s estate sued the McCarns for tort damages. Allstate invoked its policy’s criminal-acts exclusion and sued for a declaratory judgment relieving it of any duty to defend or indemnify the McCarns against the estate’s claim. The trial court entered judgment for the McCarns but was reversed on appeal. The McCarns appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Taylor, J.)

Dissent (Weaver, J.)

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