American Modern Property and Casualty Insurance Company v. Lacey Sullivan and Daniel Sullivan, a married couple, individually, and as natural guardians to Infant Sullivan, a minor child, and Ryan Yates

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington granted American Modern Property and Casualty Insurance Company’s motion for partial summary judgment. The court declared that the insurer had no duty to indemnify Lacey Sullivan and Daniel Sullivan in an underlying personal-injury action arising from a golf-cart accident involving their minor child. The ruling followed the court’s earlier determination that the insurer had no duty to defend and the defendants’ failure to respond to the motion.

Holdings

1. The Court construed defendants' failure to respond as consent to entry of an adverse order because the motion was unopposed and the substantive record did not reveal a genuine issue of material fact.
2. American Modern had no duty to indemnify Lacey and Daniel Sullivan in the underlying action under the policy.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Court could construe defendants' failure to respond to the motion for partial summary judgment as consent to an adverse order under LCivR 7(e).
2. Whether American Modern was entitled to summary judgment declaring that it owed no duty to indemnify the defendants in the underlying personal-injury action.

Disposition

other