A+ Restorations, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company

714 F. App'x 923
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit·Decided October 23, 2017·No. 17-11387 Non-Argument Calendar·Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

A+ Restorations, Inc. (A Plus) brought suit against Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Liberty) for denial of coverage under an insurance policy issued by Liberty to a customer of A Plus, Liberty moved for dismissal or, in the alternative, for judgment on the pleadings. The district court determined the action was barred by a suit-limitation provision in the applicable insurance policy and granted Liberty’s motion. A Plus appealed, and after review, 1 we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

This lawsuit arises out of a homeowners insurance policy (the Policy) issued by Liberty to Larry and Nancy Mitchell of Savannah, ■ Georgia. On or about March 7, 2014, the Mitchells discovered that raccoons had taken up residence in the attic and crawl space of their Savannah home. The unwelcome animals caused extensive damage to the premises. Accordingly, the Mitchells entered into a contract with A Plus to remedy the situation. In exchange for repair and restoration work on the home, the Mitchells assigned A Plus certain rights under the Policy, including the right to collect benefits for the services performed by A Plus directly from the insurer, as well as “all rights to proceed against the insurance company obligated to provide such benefits, including, but not limited to, initiating legal suit to enforce such payments.”

Once the work was completed, A Plus tendered invoices to Liberty for the materials and services provided on the project. Liberty remitted a portion of the claim, but refused to reimburse A Plus for the full amount, leaving $98,794.79 unpaid. In August 2014, A Plus submitted to Liberty a final demand seeking payment of the full amount, but Liberty declined. On April 20, 2016, nearly two years later, A Plus filed a complaint against Liberty in state court, asserting breach of contract. A Plus included a count for quantum meruit and unjust enrichment in the complaint.

Liberty removed the case to the Southern District of Georgia and immediately moved for dismissal or in the alternative for judgment on the pleadings. The court initially denied the motion because neither party had presented the assignment contract to the court. Liberty renewed its motion and attached the assignment. The district court granted the renewed motion because' the Policy contained a suit-limitation provision. The provision read as follows:

Suits Against Us. No action can be brought unless the policy provisions have been fully complied with and the action is started within two years after the date of loss.

The court determined the suit-limitation clause applied to the right to sue assigned by the Mitchells to A Plus. Since A Plus failed to file its complaint within two years of the loss under the policy, it was barred. The district court determined A Plus’s quantum meruit and unjust enrichment claims were barred under the provision as well. It entered judgment in favor of Liberty, and A Plus now appeals.

II. DISCUSSION

A Plus contends the suit-limitation provision found in the policy did not apply to it because the assignment was limited. Specifically, the assignment contained a provision that stated, in bold, capitalized letters, that the agreement was “not intended to assign rights beyond that necessary to collect, or enforce collection, of the charges for services rendered by [A Plus] and is not an assignment of, nor an attempt to assign the insurance policy itself.” Thus, the Mitchells assigned only the right to sue, but not the suit-limitation provision found in the Policy. A Plus asserts that the six-year limitation period for breach of contract actions provided under Georgia law prevails instead, and thus its claim is still viable. See O.C.G.A. § 9-3-24.

We reject A Plus’s argument. When it accepted the Mitchells’ assignment in exchange for its services, A Plus received the right to “standf ] in the shoes” of the Mitchells under the policy. See S. Telecom, Inc. v. TW Telecom of Ga. L.P., 321 Ga.App. 110, 741 S.E.2d 234, 237 (2013) (quotation omitted). As the Mitchells’ assignee, A Plus could “obtain[] no greater rights than the [Mitchells] possessed at the time of the assignment.” Id. It is abundantly clear that the Mitchells’ right to sue Liberty under the policy was contractually limited by the suit-limitation provision. By deduction, the right of A Plus to sue, assigned to it by the Mitchells, was limited as well.

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A+ Restorations, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, 714 F. App'x 923 (11th Cir. 2017).

714 F. App'x 923 (A+ Restorations, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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