Allstate Insurance v. Martin

34 F. Supp. 3d 955, 2014 WL 3571507, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98761
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedJuly 21, 2014
DocketCase No. 13-CV-6113
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 34 F. Supp. 3d 955 (Allstate Insurance v. Martin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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

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]*957ation. 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]*958Liberty 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

Allstate argues that it has no obligation to defend or indemnify Martin under the insurance policies because none of the Pazuchowski’s claims against Martin are “occurrences” as defined by the policy agreements. When an insurer’s duty to defend is in dispute, the pleadings against the insured generally determine the insurer’s duty to defend. Murphy Oil USA, Inc. v. Unigard Sec. Ins. Co., 347 Ark. 167, 175-76, 61 S.W.3d 807, 812 (Ark.2001) The duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify, and the duty to defend arises where there is a possibility that the injury or damage may fall within the policy coverage. Murphy Oil USA 347 Ark. at 177, 61 S.W.3d at 812. “Conversely, where there is no possibility that the damage alleged in the complaint may fall within the policy coverage, there would be no duty to defend.” Id. Although a court must resolve any doubt in favor of the insured in determining whether a complaint states a claim within the policy coverage, Murphy Oil USA 347 Ark. at 178, 61 S.W.3d at 814, courts “are not required by the rules of contractual construction to stretch our imaginations to create coverage where none exists.” Pate v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 14 Ark.App. 133, 136, 685 S.W.2d 530, 532 (Ark.App.1985). Here, this Court must examine whether the complaint in the underlying lawsuit alleges facts that would come within the coverage of the Allstate insurance policies. If so, Allstate’s duty to defend arises.

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34 F. Supp. 3d 955, 2014 WL 3571507, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98761, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allstate-insurance-v-martin-arwd-2014.