“Resident” Defined to Determine whether Incident Covered under Homeowner’s Policy
In Carter v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Erin Carter (“Carter”) filed a complaint against James Relihan (“Relihan”) for damages caused by his alleged negligent act when Relihan wielded a pocketknife at a party and struck her in the throat. Carter also filed a declaratory judgment action against State Farm, Relihan, and Thomas Connor (“Connor”). The motion alleged Relihan resided at 7999 New City Road in Rochester and was a relative of Connor. State Farm issued a homeowner’s policy to Connor providing insurance for him and residents of the household. Carter sought a judgment declaring that State Farm had an obligation under the policy to provide coverage to Rellihan, including representation and indemnification in her civil claim.
The court reviewed the meaning of resident within the State Farm policy.
Carter claims Rellihan was a resident of the household for purposes of the insurance policy’s liability coverage. In the policy’s definition section, “insured” is defined as “you and, if residents of your household, …your relatives,” and “any other person under the age of 21 who is in the care of a person described above.” Thus, Rellihan qualifies as an insured under the policy only if he can be deemed a resident of the household.
Under Illinois law, the term resident of the household has no fixed meaning, but it must be liberally construed in favor of the insured. A person can have only one domicile, or permanent abode, at a time. However, he may have several residences. A resident is generally understood to include intent and permanency of abode in addition to mere physical presence. The controlling factor is the intent of the party whose residency is in question as evidenced by the party’s actions. If an absence from a residence is intended to be temporary, it does not constitute an abandonment or forfeiture.
The court found that while Rellihan did not intend to make his aunt and uncle’s house his permanent abode, he had no intention of returning to his apartment in Missouri. Here, while the home in Rochester was a short-term stopping point until Rellihan entered the military, it was still his residence at the time of the incident. The totality of the evidence tips the scales in favor of finding that Rellihan was a resident of the household.
Carter v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2014 IL App (4th) 131057.
