American Bankers Ins. Co. of Florida v. Shockley

Dist. Ct. erred in granting plaintiff-insurance company’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff’s action seeking declaration that it had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured in defendant’s underlying negligence action, alleging that insured’s employee ran over defendant with insured’s golf cart during horse trail event that took place off insured’s premises and was hosted by insured. Applicable policy was ambiguous as to whether policy could properly be viewed as CGL or farmland policy, and that: (1) policy contained clause providing for payment of benefits for bodily injuries caused by occurrence that arose out of operations that were necessary or incidental to insured’s premises; and (2) policy contemplated that it would cover insured’s equestrian events that took place off insured’s premises. Also, exclusion that provided that there would be no coverage for incidents arising out of recreational use of golf cart did not apply. As such, plaintiff had duty to defend insured in defendant’s underlying lawsuit. Too, Dist. Ct. improperly resolved issue regarding plaintiff’s duty to indemnify insured, where merits of duty to indemnify claim could not be resolved until insured had incurred liability in underlying lawsuit.