Insurance company trying to get out of dog bite claim

There was a piece in the Morris Daily Herald recently about a lawsuit that was filed by Farmers Insurance Company regarding a dog bite claim.  The origin of the case was that a little girl was bitten by a dog owned by the Farmers insured.

The little girl's mother was the girlfriend of the son of the dog owners.  After the little girl was bitten, her father filed a dog bite lawsuit against the dog owners to recover for the damages his daughter sustained.  The dog owners, who were insured by Farmers, turned the suit over to them, expecting that they would be defended by the insurance company -- after all, that was why they paid premiums to the insurance company.

Instead, Farmers has filed a lawsuit asking for a judicial determination that there is no coverage for  the little girl's claim.  Their position is that the little girl and her mother were actually residing at the home with dog owners and therefore are excluded from coverage under the terms of the dog owners' homeowner's insurance policy.

Without taking a position on the merits of Farmers position, or whether it is right from a moral point of view, there is one point that is crucial: if Farmers gets out of covering this claim, then the little girl will probably not receive any compensation for her injuries.  This is because homeowner's insurance is the main source of compensation for dog bite victims.