Delinquency Case Law

Safeco v. Robert S. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 758 [110 Cal.Rptr.2d 844]. Supreme Court of California.

The juvenile court adjudged a child a ward of the court and placed him on probation for violating Penal Code section 192(b) (involuntary manslaughter).

The child accidentally shot his friend to death when he pulled the trigger of a gun he had found in his mother's coat pocket. The child believed the gun was unloaded. The parents of the victim brought a wrongful death action against the child and his parents. The child and his parents tendered defense against this action to Safeco Insurance Company of America. Safeco brought an action in superior court seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend or indemnify its insureds because the policy excluded coverage of an "illegal act." The trial court ruled that the policy's illegal-act exclusion could be reasonably interpreted as applying only to intentional illegal acts; therefore, the act was covered.

The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's judgment, holding that the policy did not provide coverage for an act causing a death that resulted in an adjudication of involuntary manslaughter.

The Supreme Court of California reversed the decision of the appellate court and affirmed the trial court's ruling. The Supreme Court determined that the wrongful death action was within the liability coverage of the Safeco policy, and rejected the illegal-act exclusion in this case. Justice Baxter concurred with the finding that the policy covered the child's parents' liability but dissented from the finding that the policy covered the child.