Cowan

This is an appeal from a judgment determining that a homeowners insurance policy issued by American Motorists Insurance Company (plaintiff or American Motorists) to John G. Murnane, Sr. and Sherrill Murnane does not provide liability coverage for an injury to Darryl Eugene Cowan, a minor, resulting from the act of the Murnane’s minor son, Richard Glen Murnane, in intentionally striking Cowan in the face. The judgment further purports to impose a resulting trust in favor of American Motorists on the proceeds of a settlement of Cowan’s claim against the Murnanes effected between American Motorists and Cowan through his guardian ad litem.

In December 1978, in an altercation at the Westminster Mall in the City of Westminster, Richard Glen Murnane, the minor son of John G. Murnane, Sr., and Sherrill Murnane, struck Darryl Eugene Cowan, a minor, in the face with his fist, causing Cowan serious personal injury. On June 18, 1979, Cowan, by and through his guardian ad litem, filed a complaint for damages for personal injury against Richard Murnane and his parents. The complaint sought recovery against the minor on theories of assault and battery and negligence. Recovery was…