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Columbia Casualty Company v. Westfield Insurance Company
Citations: 378 F.3d 424; 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 15618; 2004 WL 1730283Docket: 03-1811
Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; July 21, 2004; Federal Appellate Court
Columbia Casualty Company initiated a lawsuit against Westfield Insurance Company for a declaration of Westfield's partial liability regarding the settlement and defense costs incurred from lawsuits linked to suicides of two inmates at the Randolph County jail. The district court ruled in favor of Westfield, concluding that the suicides were intentional acts and did not constitute "occurrences" under Westfield's commercial general liability policy, which only covers damages from accidents. Columbia subsequently appealed this decision, prompting the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to certify a question of West Virginia law to the West Virginia Supreme Court: whether the suicides qualify as "occurrences" under the policy. The case stems from claims of negligence and deliberate indifference filed by the inmates' estates against local officials. Columbia, which provided insurance for the Sheriff’s Department, is seeking coverage for expenses related to defending and settling these lawsuits, having already incurred substantial costs in the process. The appeals court noted the lack of controlling West Virginia case law on this issue and requested guidance from the state Supreme Court.