The NJ Appellate Division recently held, in the case of Callo v. Allstate, that the plaintiff would not be able to collect on a $250,000.00 jury verdict against a co-student attacker from the attacker's parents' homeowners' insurance policy.

Generally, pursuant to New Jersey law, a homeowners' policy will not cover injuries sustained when its insured intends on causing the injury. Homeowners' policies are designed to cover injuries sustained when the insured homeowner engages in a negligent act, which results in another's injury. However, there is case law in New Jersey to suggest that coverage under a homeowner's policy of insurance will cover the unintended consequences of intentional acts. This means that if an insured intended on engaging in an act but did not intend the outcome of that act (i.e. personal injury) there may be coverage.

In this case, the defendant attacked the plaintiff while in school. After a trial, a jury entered a $250,000.00 verdict in favor of the girl who was attacked. The defendant's insurance company, Allstate Insurance, provided a defense to the attacker but refused to pay the jury's verdict. Instead, it filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration from the court that it owed no duty to pay the jury's verdict. The Appellate Division agreed with Allstate, and held that the attacker intended to cause significant injury to the plaintiff, and, as such, the verdict was not covered under the policy of insurance.

In a case such as this, discovery must be conducted of the parties in an effort to establish that the attacker did not cause the specific type of injury that was sustained by the victim. In this regard, argument can be made to the courts that the victim's injury was merely an unintended consequence of an intentional act. Accordingly, it is important to see an attorney who specializes in a personal injury law practice in the event you are injured by a purported intentional act or assault.