Insurer Must Cover Driver in Vermont Fatal Crash

A jury says an insurance company must honor the policy of a Vermont man who was convicted of murder in a drunken driving crash that killed a woman in 2010.

The insurance company Geico had filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Burlington to determine whether it needed to cover Timothy Dowd of Hinesburg for the crash. Geico questioned whether Dowd had approval to use the borrowed car involved in the accident that killed Kaye Borneman.

Geico sued Dowd and the administrator of Borneman’s estate in an effort to avoid paying damages. The estate counter-sued.

Separately, the estate is suing Dowd in state court for wrongful death. The Burlington Free Press reports that lawsuit had been stalled until the outcome of the federal case.