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Occurrence Must be an Accident  

https://zalma.com/blog

Beverly Weathersby appealed the trial court\'s order awarding summary  disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10) to plaintiff, Meemic Insurance  Company (Meemic), and denying its insured, defendant Randal S. Ritchie,  personal liability coverage under his homeowner\'s insurance policy.  In Meemic Insurance Company v. Randal S. Ritchie, and Beverly  Weathersby, No. 358929, Court of Appeals of Michigan (October 20, 2022)  the Court of Appeals was asked to resolve the issue of coverage for a  claimed assault under a homeowners policy.  

FACTUAL BACKGROUND  

The case arose out of an unfortunate encounter between two strangers,  whose stories of the incident vastly differ. As Weathersby tells it,  while making a home visit in rural Coldwater as part of her job as a  social worker, she became lost and her GPS erroneously sent her to  Ritchie\'s house. She pulled her car into Ritchie\'s driveway and  approached the home. Then, according to Weathersby, Ritchie came out of  his house, approached her, and aggressively confronted her while  pointing a gun directly at her at close range.  Fearing for her life,  Weathersby returned to her car and drove away.  Weathersby brought a civil action against Ritchie, asserting that  Ritchie committed the intentional tort of assault. She also claimed that  Ritchie was negligent in an apparent effort to dip into Ritchie\'s  insurance since is always intentional.  She sought damages for the emotional distress and injury she sustained  as a result of Ritchie\'s conduct. At the time of the incident, Ritchie  was insured under a homeowner\'s policy issued by Meemic. The trial court  denied coverage, ruling that Ritchie\'s act was not an "occurrence."  LEGAL ANALYSIS  The interpretation of an insurance contract is a question of law that is  reviewed de novo. An insurance policy is an agreement between parties  that a court interprets much the same as any other contract to best  effectuate the intent of the parties and the clear, unambiguous language  of the policy. The terms of a contract must be enforced as written  where there is no ambiguity.