Allstate Insurance v. Martin

34 F. Supp. 3d 955, 2014 WL 3571507, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98761
District Court, W.D. Arkansas·Decided July 21, 2014·No. Case No. 13-CV-6113·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SUSAN O. HICKEY, District Judge.

Before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiff Allstate Insurance Company. ECF No. 14. Defendant Donald Martin has responded. ECF No. 22. Allstate Insurance Company has filed a reply. ECF No. 26. The matter is ripe for the Court’s consider[957] ation. For the reasons explained below, Allstate Insurance Company’s summary judgment motion is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

Allstate Insurance Company (“Allstate”) issued a homeowners insurance policy and umbrella policy to Donald Martin. In 2013, Peter and Michelle Pazuchowski sued Martin, alleging that Martin and his employer, Ouachita Regional Counseling and Mental Health Center, Inc., denied the Pazuehowski’s minor children appropriate education services and discriminated against them as a result of their mental disabilities. Allstate brings the instant declaratory judgment action against Martin, seeking a ruling that it has no duty to indemnify Martin for any damages awarded in the underlying action or to continue its defense of Martin in that action.

A. Underlying Lawsuit

Martin is Chief Executive Officer of Ouachita Regional Counseling and Mental Health Center, Inc. The allegations in the underlying lawsuit involve the activities of both Martin and his employer regarding their contract to provide alternate education for mentally disabled students in the Hot Springs and Fountain Lake School Districts. The Pazuchowskis specifically allege the following causes of action against Martin: (1) violations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (2) violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act; (3) deprivation of the property interest in a free appropriate public education pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment; (4) fraud; (5) outrage; and (6) deprivation of the right to public education pursuant to the Arkansas Constitution.

Martin has tendered the underlying lawsuit to Allstate and demanded that Allstate provide a defense. Allstate is currently providing a defense in the underlying action under a reservation of rights.

B. Insurance Policies

Coverage X of the homeowners policy purchased by Martin offers family liability protection. Coverage X provides coverage for “damages which an insured person becomes legally obligated to pay because of bodily injury or property damage arising from an occurrence to which this policy applies, and is covered by this part of the policy.” Similarly, the Umbrella Policy purchased by Martin provides that “Allstate will pay when an insured becomes legally obligated to pay for personal injury, property damage, or bodily injury caused by an occurrence.”

Under both Coverage X of the homeowners policy and the umbrella policy, “occurrence” means an “accident.” The term “accident” has been consistently defined by the Arkansas Supreme Court as “an event that takes place without one’s foresight or expectation — an event that proceeds from an unknown cause, or is an unusual effect of a known cause, and therefore not expected.” U.S. Fidelity & Guar. v. Cont’l Cas. Co., 353 Ark. 834, 845, 120 S.W.3d 556, 563 (Ark.2003) (quoting Cont’l Ins. Co. v. Hodges, 259 Ark. 541, 534 S.W.2d 764 (Ark.1976)).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) states that summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Under this standard, the inquiry is not whether the evidence favors one side or the other, but “whether a fair minded jury could return a verdict for the plaintiff on the evidence presented.” Anderson v. [958] Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). When, considering a summary judgment motion, the Court “must view the evidence ‘in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.’ ” Sappington v. Skyjack, Inc., 512 F.3d 440, 445 (8th Cir.2008) (quoting F.D.I.C. v. Bell, 106 F.3d 258, 263 (8th Cir.1997)). To defeat a motion for summary judgment, however, the non-moving party must “make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The “nonmovant must present more than a scintilla of evidence and'must advance specific facts to create a genuine issue of material fact for trial.” Bell, 106 F.3d at 263 (8th Cir.1997). “In order to survive a motion for summary judgment, the non-moving party must be able to show sufficient probative evidence that would permit a finding in his favor on more than mere speculation, conjecture, or fantasy.” Binkley v. Entergy Operations, Inc., 602 F.3d 928, 931 (8th Cir.2010).

III. DISCUSSION

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Allstate Insurance v. Martin, 34 F. Supp. 3d 955, 2014 WL 3571507, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98761 (W.D. Ark. 2014).

34 F. Supp. 3d 955 (Allstate Insurance v. Martin) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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