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(Article from Insurance Law Alert, April 2019)

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A Pennsylvania district court ruled that a homeowner’s insurer must defend cyberbullying claims arising from a teenager’s suicide, finding that a covered “occurrence” was alleged.  State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Motta, 356 F. Supp. 3d 457 (E.D. Pa. 2018).

A high school student died by suicide after being the target of cyberbullying by a fellow student.  The decedent’s parents sued the alleged bully and his parents, alleging that he negligently caused their daughter’s death.  State Farm defended the suit under a reservation of rights and filed a declaratory judgment action, seeking a ruling that it had no duty to defend or indemnify the claims.  State Farm argued that there was no covered “occurrence” (defined as an “accident’) because the alleged bully sent the text messages intentionally.  The court disagreed and granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings as to State Farm’s duty to defend.

Addressing this matter of first impression under Pennsylvania law, the court held that the underlying suit alleged an occurrence because suicide was not a foreseeable injury from the alleged bully’s perspective.  The court distinguished cases involving intentional physical acts by the insured, noting that the causal chain in such cases was direct, whereas a “more complex” and “nuanced” chain of alleged causation existed between the text messages and the self-inflicted death.  The court also emphasized that although the underlying complaint used words such as “intentional” and “harassment,” it alleged negligence rather than intentional torts.  Notably, the court expressed no opinion as to whether it would reach a different outcome if the decedent’s parents alleged only a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.