Shooter wants insurers to cover legal bills after jurors find him not guilty
Jurors in the criminal case agreed with testimony that Michael Barisone was suffering from a delusional disorder that left him detached from reality at the time of the shootings.
A former Olympic equestrian coach found not guilty by reason of insanity in a shooting on his New Jersey farm is suing three insurance companies to compel coverage of the incident.
Michael Barisone did not act intentionally when he shot Lauren Kanarek in August 2019, he claims in a suit seeking to compel the carriers to pay his claims stemming from the incident.
Spotted on Law.com Radar: Barisone sued Farm Family Casualty Insurance Co., American National Insurance Co. and Great American Insurance Co. in the New Jersey Superior Court on April 7. The suit was removed to federal court on Thursday, and is assigned to U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin.
Barisone, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Dressage Team, was charged with attempted murder of Kanarek, a student at his dressage academy in Long Valley, New Jersey, and her fiance, Robert Goodwin.
But a jury found Barisone not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting Kanarek, and not guilty of shooting Goodwin.
Jurors agreed with the testimony that Barisone was suffering from a delusional disorder that left him detached from reality. Barisone was involuntarily committed to Greystone Park, a state psychiatric hospital.
Should insurers pay legal bill?
In a suit seeking to compel the insurance company defendants to pay their claims, Barisone said that they breached their duties and obligations to him when they refused to provide him a defense from a civil suit brought by Kanarek.
Barisone’s suit said the insurance companies conducted inadequate investigations of the claim, which prevented them from realizing that he was entitled to a defense.
“The jury’s verdict was its determination that Barisone did not commit an intentional criminal act against Ms. Kanarek as a victim and determination that Barisone did not commit any criminal act against Mr. Goodwin as a victim,” the suit claims.
Kanarek brought a civil suit in October 2019 against Barisone and Sweet Grass Farm, a corporation that owns the equestrian training facility. Kanarek owns the corporation along with two other people.
Barisone claimed that he committed no intentional act against Kanarek because he was mentally incompetent at the time of the shooting. He also claimed that his use of force against Kanarek was reasonable.
In Kanarek’s civil suit, Barisone presented testimony from two psychiatrists, who said he was mentally incompetent at the time of the shooting and was incapable of forming the intent to cause harm to Kanarek, the suit said.
Kanarek did not dispute those reports, and she reached a settlement with Sweet Grass Farm on March 29, the suit said. On April 3, Kanarek dismissed her claims against Barisone, the suit said.
Barisone claimed in the coverage suit that the shooting came after a period of severe harassment, stalking, threats, taunting and emotional abuse, which was aimed at causing him to have a breakdown.
$4 million policies
Between the three policies, Barisone has $4 million in coverage, but it’s unclear how much he is seeking in damages.
According to a court document in the civil case, Barisone seeks expenses, including experts’ fees and attorney fees. Attorney fees exceed $400,000, according to the document. It’s unclear what damages he will seek from the criminal case, according to the court document.
Barisone’s attorney in the coverage suit, Christopher Deininger of Deininger & Associates in Randolph, New Jersey, had no comment about the case.
Ryan Westerfield of Clyde & Co in Morristown, representing Great American, did not respond to a request for comment and a Clyde & Co spokeswoman said the firm would not comment.
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Read the complaint here.