Ace American Insurance v. Dish Network, LLC

173 F. Supp. 3d 1128, 2016 WL 1182744, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40274
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedMarch 28, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. 13-cv-00560-REB-MEH
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 173 F. Supp. 3d 1128 (Ace American Insurance v. Dish Network, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ace American Insurance v. Dish Network, LLC, 173 F. Supp. 3d 1128, 2016 WL 1182744, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40274 (D. Colo. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER CONCERNING CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Blackburn, Judge.

This matter is before me on the following: (1) ACE American Insurance Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Supporting Memorandum [#97]1 filed June 15, 2015; and (2) the Motion of DISH Network L.L.C. for Partial Summary Judgment and Supporting Memorandum of Law [#102] filed June 15, 2015. The parties filed responses [#121 & #127] and replies [#140 & #146]. The plaintiff filed a notice [#164] of a recent decision, and the defendant filed a joinder [#168] concerning that notice. The two motions are cross motions for summary judgment which, for the most part, address the same issues.' I grant the motion of ACE American Insurance Company and deny the motion of DISH Network LLC.

I. JURISDICTION

I have jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1382 (diversity).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The purpose of a summary judgment motion is to assess whether trial is necessary. White v. York Int'l Corp., 45 F.3d 357, 360 (10th Cir.1995). Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.2 Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A dispute is “genuine” if the issue could be resolved in favor of either party. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Farthing v. City of Shawnee, 39 F.3d 1131, 1135 (10th Cir.1994). A fact is “material” if it might reasonably affect the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Farthing, 39 F.3d at 1134.

A party who does not have the burden of proof at trial must show the absence of a genuine factual dispute. Concrete Works, Inc. v. City & County of Denver, 36 F.3d 1513, 1517 (10th Cir.1994), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1004, 115 S.Ct. 1315, 131 L.Ed.2d 196 (1995). Once the motion has been properly supported, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to show, by tendering depositions, affidavits, and other competent evidence, that summary judgment is not proper. Id at 1518. All the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Simms v. Oklahoma ex rel Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 165 F.3d 1321, 1326 (10th Cir.1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 815, 120 S.Ct. 53, 145 [1131]*1131L.Ed.2d 46 (1999). In either case, once the motion has been properly supported, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to show, by tendering depositions, affidavits, and other competent evidence, that summary judgment is not proper. Concrete Works, 36 F.3d at 1518. All the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Simms v. Oklahoma ex rel Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 165 F.3d 1321, 1326 (10th Cir.1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 815, 120 S.Ct. 53, 145 L.Ed.2d 46 (1999). However, conclusory statements and testimony based merely on conjecture or subjective belief are not competent summary judgment evidence. Rice v. United States, 166 F.3d 1088, 1092 (10th Cir.1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 933, 120 S.Ct. 334, 145 L.Ed.2d 260. (1999); Nutting v. RAM Southwest, Inc., 106 F.Supp.2d 1121, 1123 (D.Colo.2000).

This case concerns the duty of an insurance company to defend its insured in a lawsuit as well as the duty of an insurance company to indemnify its insured for any damages awarded against the insured in the lawsuit. The parties agree that Colorado law controls the interpretation of the insurance policies in question. Under Colorado law, a determination of the duty of an insurer to defend an insured in an underlying lawsuit is made by examining the terms of the insurance policy and the allegations made against the insured in the complaint in the underlying lawsuit. DISH Network Corp. v. Arch Specialty Ins. Co., 659 F.3d 1010, 1015-16 (10th Cir.2011). “In the duty to defend context, the ‘complaint rule’ operates to cast a broad net, such that when the underlying complaint alleges any facts or claims that might fall within the ambit of the policy, the insurer must tender a defense.” Cyprus Amax Minerals Co. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 74 P.3d 294, 301 (Colo.2003). While this determination normally is limited to the underlying complaint and the policy, “[ejxtrinsic evidence constituting ‘an indisputable fact that is not an element of either the cause of action or a defense in the underlying litigation’ is admissible.” Dish Network Corp. v. Arch Specialty Ins. Co., 989 F.Supp.2d 1137, 1150 (D.Colo.2013) (quoting Pompa v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 520 F.3d 1139, 1147 (10th Cir.2008)), aff'd 772 F.3d 856 (10th Cir.2014).

The insurer resisting a duty to defend has “a heavy burden to overcome in avoiding the duty to defend, such that the insured need only show that the underlying claim may fall within policy coverage; the insurer must prove it cannot.” Cyprus Amax, 74 P.3d at 301 (internal quotation and citation omitted). In order to defeat its duty to defend, “an insurer must establish that ‘there is no factual or legal basis on which the insurer might eventually be held liable to indemnify the insured.’” Cotter Corp. v. Am. Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 90 P.3d 814, 829 (Colo.2004) (quoting Hecla Mining Co. v. N.H. Ins. Co., 811 P.2d 1083, 1089 (Colo.1991)). In cases of doubt, the insurer must defend its insured. Compass Ins. Co. v. City of Littleton, 984 P.2d 606, 614 (Colo.1999) (quoting Hecla, 811 P.2d at 1089) (If “there is some doubt as to whether a theory of recovery within the policy coverage has been pleaded, the insurer must accept the defense of the claim”).

An insurer, however, “has no duty to defend if the claims asserted in the complaint are clearly excluded from coverage.” Lopez v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co., 148 P.3d 438, 439 (Colo.App.2006).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
173 F. Supp. 3d 1128, 2016 WL 1182744, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40274, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ace-american-insurance-v-dish-network-llc-cod-2016.