From Cedar Rapids GazetteOnline.com of March 15, 2006
Appeals Court seeks change in Iowa's self-defense law
A little-known Iowa law says if you kill an intruder in your home as you're being attacked, your insurance company may not have to pay to defend you from a wrongful death lawsuit.
In a ruling Wednesday, the Iowa Court of Appeals suggests a change in that state law.
The lawsuit which brought the issue before the court recounts a terrifying incident in eastern Iowa in December 2001.
Documents say two men broke into the rural Early home of Tracey Roberts, who was home with her three children.
Roberts was grabbed and strangled with a pair of her own panty hose until she passed out. When she awoke, she was again attacked by the men, but she got away and ran to her bedroom.
Roberts grabbed a pistol from a gun safe under her bed as one of the men, identified as Dustin Wehde, struggled with her. She shot him.
The other intruder, who was never identified, apparently fled when he heard gunshots.
Roberts ran to another room to check on her children and found them unharmed. Upon returning to the bedroom, she saw Wehde attempting to get up and she told him to stop. He didn't and she shot him several times, killing him.
Wehde's family filed a civil lawsuit claiming Roberts made a conscious decision to return to the bedroom and kill him.
Roberts was not charged with a crime.
Court records said she had purchased farm and homeowners policies from AMCO Insurance Co. and Allied Property and Casualty Insurance Co.
She had asked the insurance companies to defend her in the lawsuit, but they declined.
Roberts filed a lawsuit against the insurance companies, which got the Sac County District Court to dismiss the case.
The court ruled that Roberts had intentionally shot Wehde. The insurance policies have an exclusion from coverage if the bodily injury or property damage in question is intended.
Roberts appealed the ruling, and the Appeals Court ruled Wednesday that it was bound by current state law to side with the insurance companies. The court, however, said they hope the Iowa Supreme Court reviews the law and changes it.
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