State Farm Fire And Casualty Company v. Ronald Smith

907 F.2d 900 STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ronald SMITH, Defendant, and Toni Delibertis, individually and in her capacity as Guardian of the person Angela Marie Smith; and Angela Marie Smith, Defendants-Appellants. No. 89-15394. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted April 19, 1990. Decided July 3, 1990. George W. Foley, Jr., Pearson and Patton, Las Vegas, Nev., for plaintiff-appellee. J. Randall Jones, argued, Paul A. Lemcke, Jones, Jones, Close & Brown, Las Vegas, Nev., for defendants-appellants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Before BEEZER and KOZINSKI, Circuit Judges, and STEPHENS, * District Judge. KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge: 1 This case presents a question of insurance coverage. Ronald Smith sexually molested his adopted daughter on several occasions. While he admits these acts were intentional, he denies any intent to harm his daughter. He was, he says, trying to do her a favor. The question is whether, in a subsequent civil lawsuit brought by his daughter and her mother to recover for emotional and psychological damage, Smith can force his liability insurance carrier to…