Jacobs

In separate actions, plaintiffs Susanna Jacobs and Bruce W. Busch, as administrator of the estate of Jesse Aguilar (deceased), filed suit against Aguilar’s insurer, defendant Fire Insurance Exchange (FIE), under Aguilar’s homeowners policy, due to FIE’s refusal to pay a civil judgment Jacobs obtained against Aguilar’s estate for gunshot injuries inflicted by Aguilar. The trial court granted FIE’s motion for summary judgment on the basis the shooting was willful and therefore excluded from coverage under Insurance Code section 533 (hereafter section 533 ) and under an express exclusionary clause in the insurance contract.

The critical issue in this appeal by plaintiffs is their contention that a triable issue of material fact exists as to whether Aguilar’s conduct was not willful but rather the product of a mental disorder which rendered him unable to control his conduct, a circumstance which assertedly would allow coverage. We shall conclude volitional incapacity, or an “irresistible impulse,” does not negate a “willful act” under section 533 where the insured retains cognitive capacity. Finding no triable issue regarding Aguilar’s cognitive capacity to understand the…