Marco v. Starr Indemnity & Liability Co.

Citations

• 205 Conn. App. 111

Syllabus

The plaintiff sought to recover damages for breach of contract from the defendant insurer. The plaintiff was awarded damages for personal injuries she sustained when a large fight broke out while she was at a bar owned by C Co., the defendant's insured. C Co. assigned its rights under its general liability insurance policy to the plaintiff. The defendant, however, declined to defend or indemnify C Co. with respect to the plaintiff's injuries because the insurance policy contained an exclusion for any injuries arising out of assault or battery, and the plaintiff com- menced this action. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on the ground that it did not owe C Co. a duty to defend because the plaintiff's claim was barred by the insurance policy's assault and battery exclusion. The court, Swienton, J., denied the motion, finding that genu- ine issues of material fact existed, including relating to the cause of the plaintiff's injuries. The court, J. Moore, J., then granted the plaintiff's motions to quash and for a protective order in which she argued that the defendant should not be allowed to take her deposition because the only evidence that should be considered in determining the case were the complaint and the insurance policy. Following that decision, the defendant filed a motion to strike the plaintiff's claim for a jury trial on the ground that there were no factual issues for a jury to decide, as the duty to defend was purely a legal question to be resolved by the court. After hearing oral argument on the matter, Judge Moore issued an order to bifurcate the trial, with the issue of the duty to defend to be considered first by the court. He requested that the initial stage of the trial be assigned to another judge because he had been involved in the parties' pretrial settlement discussions, and the matter was assigned to Judge Aurigemma. Both parties filed briefs on the issue and waivers of oral argument, asking the court to decide the matter on the