Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co. v. Pasiak

Citations

• 346 Conn. 216

Syllabus

The plaintiff insurance companies sought a judgment declaring that they were not obligated to defend and indemnify the named defendant, J, a business owner, under J's homeowners and umbrella insurance policies for damages awarded in a tort action brought against him by the defen- dants S and S's husband. The tort action stemmed from an incident that occurred when S, who was employed by J's construction company, P Co., was working alone in P Co.'s office, which was located in J's home. A masked individual, K, entered J's home and bound, gagged, and blindfolded S. K put a gun to S's head and told S that he would kill her and her family if she did not open the safe, of which S claimed to have no knowledge. K continued to threaten S for approximately forty- five minutes. J then returned home and was attacked by K. J was eventu- ally able to unmask K, revealing his identity as J's longtime friend. After S was untied, she asked to leave, but J prevented her from leaving or calling the police, even after S informed him of the extent of K's threats to her and her family. S returned to her own home hours later, and the police subsequently were contacted. At the time of the incident, J was covered under a personal homeowners policy and an umbrella policy, both of which were issued by the plaintiffs, but he did not hold a separate commercial liability policy. The plaintiffs provided J with an attorney to defend him in the tort action but indicated that they were reserving their right to contest liability coverage. In the tort action against J, which included a claim of false imprisonment, the jury returned a verdict for S and her husband and awarded damages. Subsequently, in the present declaratory judgment action, the trial court denied in part the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment as to the plaintiffs' duty to indemnify J, concluding, inter alia, that the plaintiffs were not entitled to summary judgment under the umbrella insurance policy, which covered ''personal inju