MICHAEL B. BOSSON, APPELLANT,
v.
KATHRYN E. UDERITZ, APPELLEE
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Bosson and accomplices committed a purse snatching robbery at a mall, injuring elderly victim Uderitz when Bosson drove away. The court affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Bosson's insurer Allstate, holding that the insurer's intentional act exclusion clause bars coverage for injuries intentionally caused during the robbery.
The court held that the intentional act exclusion clause bars insurance coverage because the conduct constituted robbery—an intentional act—under Florida's robbery statute, and the injury occurred as a result of intentional conduct during the commission and flight from the crime.
[1] An intentional act exclusion clause in an insurance policy does not apply to liability for bodily injury or property damage caused intentionally by, or at the direction o…
[2] Acts committed in flight during an attempt or the commission of a robbery are considered part of the robbery and are therefore intentional.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“This coverage does not apply to liability for: Bodily injury or property damage caused intentionally by, or at the direction of, an insured person.”
The intentional act exclusion clause in Allstate's insurance policy that bars coverage for the injury.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBosson, Bigham, and Morgan drove to a mall parking lot with the intent to steal a purse. They lured elderly victim Uderitz to the car under the preten…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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CAMPBELL, Judge.
Preparatory to leaving on an out-of-town trip, Michael Bosson, Wanda Bigham and Robin Morgan drove in Bosson’s car to the Pinellas Square Mall to “get a purse.” Once in the mall parking lot, they spotted Kathryn Uderitz, an elderly woman, and they called her over to the car on the pretext of asking for change. When Uderitz approached the passenger side of the vehicle, Wanda Bigham grabbed her purse and pulled it into the car. Uderitz grabbed at the car door handle, but as she did so, Bosson, who was driving, sped away.
Uderitz was injured, and she sued Bosson and the others, claiming intentional or negligent injury. She later added Allstate Insurance Company as a party defendant because Allstate provided automobile insurance to Bosson. Allstate later moved for summary judgment, and when the trial court granted it, Bosson appealed.
The only issue that we need consider here is whether the insurer may escape liability by virtue of its policy’s intentional act exclusion clause. That clause provides:
This coverage does not apply to liability for: Bodily injury or property damage caused intentionally by, or at the direction of, an insured person.
The uncontroverted testimony given below and relied on by the trial court reveals that Bosson and his cohorts intended to steal the purse by exerting whatever force was necessary. Accordingly, the trial court could easily examine the robbery statute, section 812.13, Florida Statutes (1979), and see that the conduct amounted to robbery and that it was, therefore, intentional. Section 812.13 provides that acts committed in the course of a robbery include acts committed in flight during an attempt or the commission of the crime. Accordingly, it matters not that Uderitz received her injuries when Bosson drove away after the purse snatching.
At a minimum, the acts amounted to an assault, and under McDonald v. Ford, 223 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969), and Hartford Fire Insurance Co. v. Spreen, 343 So. 2d 649 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), they were intentional and not negligent.
We therefore affirm the trial court’s interpretation of the intentional act exclusion clause. Because we affirm on this issue, we do not decide whether the conduct falls within the ambit of an accident arising out of the ownership, use or maintenance of an automobile. See Novak v. Government Employees Insurance Co., 424 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983).
AFFIRMED.
BOARDMAN, A.C.J., and LEHAN, J., concur.
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Zordan v. Gerald "Bud" Page, 500 So. 2d 608 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)…case law, such as, Hartford Fire Insurance Co. v. Spreen, 343 So. 2d 649 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), where a person striking another person with his fist in his eye causing a fracture of the eye was deemed to have intended injury and with Bosson v. Uderitz, 426 So. 2d 1301, 1302 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983), where the intention to injure was inferred from acts committed against an elderly woman pursuant to a plan to steal her purse “by exerting whatever force was necessary.” Spreen and Bosson are extensions of the principle exp…
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Jones v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 589 So. 2d 333 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)…v. Novak, 453 So. 2d 1116 (Fla.1984), and Race v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 542 So. 2d 347 (Fla.1989); and (2) the death was not an accident under the insurance policy but resulted from the husband’s intentional act, citing Bosson v. Uderitz, 426 So. 2d 1301 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983).1 The personal representative of the deceased wife appeals. We affirm. [*334] This is another in a continuing series of similar cases. In addition to the cases cited above, see Reynolds v. Allstate Ins. Co., 400 So. 2d 496 (Fla. 5…
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Brown v. Norfolk & Dedham Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 469 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Bosson v. Uderitz, 426 So. 2d 1301 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983).…
Authorities Cited
- Hartford Fire Ins. Co. & St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Spreen, 343 So. 2d 649 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)
- McDONALD v. Ford, 223 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969)
- Daniel M. Novak for Beverly Ann Novak v. Gov't Emps. Ins. Co., 424 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)