Municipal Mutual Ins. Co. v. Mangus

In Municipal Mutual Ins. Co. v. Mangus, 191 W. Va. 113, 443 S.E.2d 455 (1994), a policyholder with a mental illness deliberately shot a neighbor over a property line dispute. When the neighbor sued, the policyholder's insurance company denied coverage under an intentional acts exclusion. After examining the record, we concluded that the policyholder had a "sufficient degree of awareness" that he was shooting his neighbor -- although the policyholder "suffered from clinical depression or delusions in certain aspects of his life, he fully understood what he was doing at the time he shot" the neighbor. 191 W. Va. at 115-116, 443 S.E.2d at 457-58. Because the policyholder knew he was acting with a wrongful intent, and was intending to cause his neighbor harm, the Court affirmed the denial of coverage.