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Punching a Person in the Face is an Excluded Intentional Act  

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Alphonso Williams, appealed a judgment granting the motion for summary  judgment of the defendant, ANPAC Louisiana Insurance Company ("ANPAC").  The trial court dismissed plaintiff\'s claims against ANPAC, finding the  intentional act exclusion in the insurance policy precluded coverage for  the injury caused by the insured, Christopher Hart.  

In Alphonso B. Williams v. Christopher L. Hart & ABC Insurance  Company, No. 54,604-CA, Court of Appeals of Louisiana, Second Circuit  (July 6, 2022) the Court of Appeal looked to the video of a battery when  Hart Punched Williams in the face without hesitation.  FACTS  On February 2, 2020, Alphonso Williams and Christopher Hart attended a  Super Bowl event at a Holiday Inn hotel in Shreveport. At approximately 7:30  p.m., Hart violently punched Williams in the face, knocking him down. 

A  surveillance camera recorded the incident.  At the time of the incident, Hart was insured by a homeowner\'s policy  issued by ANPAC. The insurance policy contains an exclusion of coverage  for bodily injury "which is caused intentionally by . . . any insured,  even if the resulting injury or damage is different than expected or  intended. This exclusion shall not apply to an intentional act arising  out of any insured\'s use of lawful force to protect persons or  property."  ANPAC denied Williams\\u2019 insurance based on the exclusion.  Williams sued for damages against the defendants, Christopher Hart and  ANPAC. After taking the depositions of Williams and Hart, ANPAC filed a  motion for summary judgment alleging the insurance policy did not  provide coverage because plaintiff\'s injuries were caused by the  intentional act of the insured.  The trial court granted ANPAC\'S motion for summary judgment based on the  policy language, the video and the applicable law. The trial court  granted summary judgment in favor of ANPAC, dismissing plaintiff\'s  claims against ANPAC.