Facts

United Specialty Insurance Co. filed a lawsuit for relief against its insured, Concepcion Silva, in relation to a wrongful death action brought against Silva.

On May 28, 2017, Alvaro Palma, 30, was shot and killed by a security guard at La Oficina Bar in San Francisco. On June 7, 2017, Palma's widow and their three minor children filed an action for wrongful death against various defendants, including Concepcion Silva. Silva owns the premises on which the bar was located.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: United Specialty sought summary judgment and claimed it had no duty to defend or indemnify Silva under a wrongful death claim related to the nightclub shooting. United Specialty claimed that the terms of its insurance policy expressly excluded claims for assault and battery.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Silva contended that the policy exclusion was inapplicable to her case. Silva argued that plaintiffs, in the underlying wrongful death suit, did not bring a claim for battery against her and that exclusion could not be used.

Result

The court granted United Specialty's motion for summary judgment. The court also determined that United Specialty was entitled to recover its defense costs. The court determined that the underlying basis of the claim against Silva resulted from a battery, and therefore, because she is separately charged with negligence cannot allow her to simply avoid the exception.