Fire Ins. Exch. v. Pring–wilson

• Decision Date: 09 March 2011
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 09–11420–PBS.
• Citation: 778 F.Supp.2d 116
• Parties: FIRE INSURANCE EXCHANGE, Farmers Insurance Exchange, Plaintiffs,v.Alexander PRING–WILSON, Cindy Guzman, as Executrix of the Estate of Michael Colono, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

778 F.Supp.2d 116

FIRE INSURANCE EXCHANGE, Farmers Insurance Exchange, Plaintiffs,

v.Alexander PRING–WILSON, Cindy Guzman, as Executrix of the Estate of Michael Colono, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 09–11420–PBS.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

March 9, 2011.

William A. Schneider, Steven M. Couch, Morrison Mahoney LLP, Boston, MA, for Plaintiffs.Alexander Pring–Wilson, Colorado Springs, CO, pro se.Elizabeth N. Mulvey, Michael J. Harris, Crowe & Mulvey, LLP, Boston, MA, for Defendants.

ORDER

PATTI B. SARIS, District Judge.

ELECTRONIC ORDER ADOPTING [32] REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION on Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange. ACTION ON MOTION.... “I adopt the Report & Recommendation and DENY [22] Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment”.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (# 22)COLLINGS, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

In 2003 Alexander Pring–Wilson (“Wilson”) was involved in an altercation that led to the death of Michael Colono. In civil wrongful death proceedings brought by Colono's estate in the Massachusetts Superior Court, Wilson was found liable in negligence and a judgment of $260,000 was issued against him. Guzman, as Executrix of the Estate of Colono v. Pring–Wilson, Civil Docket No. MICV2006–00892 (Middlesex Sup.Ct. Mar. 1, 2010). Wilson is currently pursuing an appeal of this judgment through the state courts.

Wilson's mother, Cynthia Pring, is a named insured on a homeowner's policy issued by Fire Insurance Exchange (“Fire Insurance”) and is the named insured on an umbrella policy issued by Farmers Insurance Exchange (“Farmers Insurance”) (collectively, “the plaintiffs”). Fire Insurance provided and continues to provide Wilson with a defense to the claims asserted in the wrongful death proceedings in state court, subject to a complete reservation of rights.

On August 26, 2009, Fire Insurance and Farmers Insurance filed a complaint in federal court for declaratory relief seeking a judicial determination that they owe no duty to indemnify Wilson for the state court judgment levied against him. (# 1) On April 30, 2010, the plaintiffs moved for summary judgment. (# 22) Both Colono's estate and Wilson opposed the motion. (# 27, 28) The summary judgment motion was referred to the undersigned on May 27, 2010.(# 26) Oral argument on the motion was held on October 12, 2010. Plaintiffs were granted leave to file a short supplemental brief, which they did on December 2, 2010. (# 30, 31)

The summary judgment motion is now poised for resolution.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. The Insurance Policies

Cynthia Pring is a named insured on both a Homeowner's Insurance Policy issued by Fire Insurance with a policy period running from December 20, 2002 until May 1, 2003, and on an Umbrella Insurance Policy issued by Farmers Insurance with a policy period running from May 29, 2002 until May 1, 2003. (# 1 Ex. A at 1 and Ex. B at 2) The policies insure not only Pring but also her relatives who are residents of her household. (# 1 Ex. A at 3 and Ex. B at 7) For the purposes of resolving the summary judgment motion, this Court assumes without deciding that the two policies insure her son, defendant Wilson.¹

Both policies state that if an insured is sued and held liable for damages, the insurer will pay the damages, provided that the damages were the result of—to use the insurance policies' term—an “occurrence.” (# 1 Ex. A at 8 and Ex. B at 8) Both policies define the term “occurrence,” in relevant part, as an “accident” that results in bodily injury or property damage during the policy period. (# 1 Ex. B at 7, # 24 Ex. D at 10) ² Neither policy defines the term “accident.”

Both policies contain exclusion clauses making clear that the policies do not cover damages caused intentionally. The Homeowner's Policy states that Fire Insurance does not cover personal liability payments to others for “bodily injury, property damage or personal injury which ... is either a. caused intentionally by or at the direction of an insured; or b. results from any occurrence caused by an intentional act of any insured where the results are reasonably foreseeable.” (# 24 Ex. D at 21) The Umbrella Policy states that Farmers Insurance “does not cover damages ... [e]ither expected or intended from the standpoint of an insured.” (# 1 Ex. B at 8) The Umbrella Policy exclusion clause includes a carve-out for self-defense, stating that the exclusion “does not apply to damages for bodily injury if such insured acted with reasonable force to protect persons or property.” (# 1 Ex. B at 8)

B. Wilson's altercation with Colono and subsequent legal proceedings

On April 12, 2003, Wilson was involved in a physical altercation with Colono and Colono's cousin Sammy Rodriguez. (# 1 at¶ 15, # 27 at¶ 15, # 28 at 4) ³ Colono died from a wound sustained during the altercation. (# 1 at ¶ 16, # 27 at ¶ 16, # 28 at 4–5). The details of this altercation will be discussed, infra, after a recitation of the legal proceedings that arose as a result of the altercation.

Following the events of April 12, 2003, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts charged Wilson with first degree murder. (# 1 at ¶ 23, # 19 at ¶ 23, # 27 at ¶ 23) On October 14, 2004, a jury convicted Wilson of the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter (# 24 Ex. G at 13), but after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court set forth a new evidentiary rule in an unrelated case, the trial court judge in Wilson's case held that the “integrity of the evidence” against Wilson “has been rendered suspect as a result of the decision of the Supreme Judicial Court.” See Commonwealth v. Pring–Wilson, 448 Mass. 718, 720, 863 N.E.2d 936, 939 (2007). The trial court vacated Wilson's conviction and ordered a new trial. Id. The Commonwealth appealed. Id.

On March 22, 2006, while the Commonwealth's appeal in Wilson's criminal case was pending, Cindy Guzman, as executrix of Colono's estate, commenced a civil wrongful death action against Wilson in state court. The case was stayed pending the outcome of Wilson's criminal trial. (# 24 Ex. C)

On April 10, 2007, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the vacation of Wilson's criminal conviction and ordered a new criminal trial. Commonwealth v. Pring–Wilson, 448 Mass. at 720, 863 N.E.2d 936. On December 14, 2007, Wilson's second criminal trial ended in a deadlocked jury, and the court declared a mistrial. (# 24 Ex. G at 22)

Instead of proceeding with a third trial, on January 11, 2008, Wilson and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts entered into a plea agreement, and Wilson plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. (# 1 at ¶ 25, # 19 at ¶ 25, # 27 at ¶ 25) As part of the plea agreement, the Commonwealth and Wilson jointly recommended a sentence of two years and one day, which was in fact the term to which Wilson was sentenced. (# 24 Ex. G at 22 and Ex. H at 9, 43–44) This concluded the criminal proceedings against Wilson.

The civil wrongful death proceedings brought by Colono's estate were tried to Associate Justice Thomas Billings of the Middlesex Superior Court, jury-waived, from February 10 until February 16, 2010. (# 24 Ex. B at 1) On March 1, 2010, Justice Billings issued his Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order for Judgment. (# 24 Ex. B at 21) Justice Billings made extensive factual findings, discussed further below, and found Wilson liable in negligence and entered a judgment of $260,000 against him. (# 24 Ex. B at 21)

C. Justice Billings' Findings of Fact

The following facts are taken from Justice Billings' extensive findings.

In April 2003, Wilson was in his second and final year of a Master's degree program at Harvard University. (# 24 Ex. B at¶ 1) On Friday, April 12, 2003, Wilson went drinking with friends in Cambridge and disbanded at about 1:30 in the morning. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶¶ 2–5, 7) Wilson began walking home alone, talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend (now wife) in Colorado as he walked along Western Avenue. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶¶ 7, 19) By that time, Wilson had consumed seven or eight drinks and was intoxicated to the point where his speech, motor coordination and judgment were perceptibly impaired. (# 24 Ex. Bat¶ 6)

At the same time, Colono, his cousin Sammy Rodriguez, and Rodriguez's girlfriend Giselle Abreu were sitting in a car parked near Pizza Ring, a restaurant at 414 Western Avenue, waiting for a pizza Rodriguez had ordered. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶¶ 13–15) Rodriguez and Colono had been drinking. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶¶ 11, 13, 16)

As he walked up Western Avenue, Wilson was visible through the windshield of the Colono vehicle. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ 18) Colono, who was sitting in the driver's side rear seat of the car with the window open, said something along the lines of, “Look at that motherfucker, he's shitfaced.” (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ 18) As Wilson passed the car, Colono told Wilson to “get off the street.” (# 24 Ex. B at¶ 18)

Wilson heard someone address him from the car but did not hear what was said. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ 19) Thinking that the occupants of the car might be asking him for directions, he ended his phone call with his girlfriend, walked back to the car, and asked, “Were you talking to me?” (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ 19) Colono replied, “Yeah, do you want to do something about it?,” or words to similarly confrontational effect. (# 24 Ex. B at¶ 20)

Wilson said either “Fuck you” or “Fuck off,” and turned to leave. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ 21) Colono opened his door, exited the car, rushed at Wilson and attacked him. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶¶ 22, 24, 26) Although Colono started the fight, there is no evidence that Wilson made any meaningful effort to avoid it. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ 24)

For a short time it was an even fight. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ ¶ 26–27) Each man was punching the other. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ 26) Colono stomped on Wilson's unprotected right foot at least twice. (# 24 Ex. B at ¶ 26) At this stage of the fight, neither man had suffered any significant injury,...