Wisconsin Court Says Insurance Doesn’t Cover Negligence

The Wisconsin Supreme Court said a couple’s homeowner’s policy does not cover alleged negligence by the wife for not preventing her husband from sexually abusing a child.

The minor alleged that the woman, Deborah Wangard, was negligent because she did not prevent her husband, Steven Wangard, from sexually abusing the child between 2000 and 2003 in his two Elm Grove homes.

Steven Wangard pleaded guilty in 2004 to second-degree sexual assault of a child.

The homeowner’s insurance policies exclude damage from intentional acts. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the exclusion precluded any coverage for Deborah Wangard’s alleged negligence.