Am. Mining Ins. Co. v. Peters Farms, LLC

557 S.W.3d 293
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 16, 2018
Docket2017-SC-000066-DG
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 557 S.W.3d 293 (Am. Mining Ins. Co. v. Peters Farms, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Am. Mining Ins. Co. v. Peters Farms, LLC, 557 S.W.3d 293 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE CUNNINGHAM

This is a mineral trespass case involving the interpretation and application of a mining insurance policy. The central issue is whether an insured mining company's unauthorized removal of minerals from the property of another is an "occurrence" that unintentionally caused "property damage" as defined by the insured's Commercial General Liability ("CGL") policy.

The measure of damages is also at issue. If the mining company's removal of the coal was an innocent trespass, then the proper measure of damages is "the value of the mineral after extraction, less the reasonable expenses incurred by the trespasser in extracting the mineral." Harrod Concrete & Stone Co. v. Crutcher, 458 S.W.3d 290, 296 (Ky. 2015). However, if the removal was a willful trespass, then the measure of damages is the reasonable market value of the coal, without compensating the trespasser for removal expenses. Id. While a tortfeasor is liable for willful or innocent trespass, a tortfeasor's trespass and conversion, both intentional *295torts, are not "accidents," and are therefore not "occurrences" covered by the CGL policy.

The trial court ruled in favor of the injured property owner, and the Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed. We granted discretionary review. For the reasons stated herein, we reverse the ruling of the Court of Appeals.

Factual and Procedural Background

Beginning in 2007, Ikerd Mining, LLC (hereinafter "Ikerd") removed 20,212 tons of coal from land belonging to Peters Farms, LLC (hereinafter "Peters"). Of that amount, 19,012 tons were wrongfully mined under Ikerd's alleged mistaken belief as to the correct location of Peters' boundary lines. The other 1,200 tons were mined by Ikerd knowing that the land thereunder belonged to Peters, pursuant to a disputed oral lease agreement between Ikerd and Peters; Peters claimed that the lease was an ongoing negotiation that was never finalized.

In 2010, Peters sued Ikerd and Ikerd's insurer, American Mining Insurance Company, Inc. (hereinafter "AMIC"), for Ikerd's "willful and wanton trespass" onto Peters' property and conversion of coal from it. In response, AMIC argued that the losses claimed by Peters from Ikerd's trespassory mining activities were not an "occurrence," and thus not covered by the insurance policy. During the course of litigation, Ikerd became insolvent, leaving AMIC as the only source for recovery.

In 2014, Ikerd, AMIC, and Peters reached a partial settlement. By their agreement, AMIC advanced $15,000 to Peters to preserve the mining permit on the property. Ikerd also admitted that it had mined the coal without Peters' consent, but the settlement left open whether Ikerd's mining was "intentional." Peters gave Ikerd a full release in the settlement, reserving its claims against AMIC for any available insurance coverage under Ikerd's policy.

The parties agreed to submit two issues to the trial court: (1) whether the insurance policy covers the damage caused by Ikerd's actions; and (2) whether the proper measure of damages is the reasonable royalty rate, which the parties agreed was $75,000, or the market rate of the coal less extraction costs, valued at $400,000.

The Owsley Circuit Court conducted a bench trial and concluded that injuries to Peters' property were the result of two separate and distinct mistakes committed by Ikerd. First, an Ikerd employee, Conway Speaks, offered testimony that the removal of 19,012 tons from Peters' property "occurred because of an 'accident' and a 'mistake' as to the location of the boundary line." He claimed that Ikerd only intended to mine coal from adjacent land belonging to Charles Gross, but mistakenly mined Peters' land instead. Second, according to Speaks' testimony, 1,200 tons of coal were knowingly removed from Peters' property, because "Ikerd's employees mistakenly believed [Ikerd] had permission from Peters to mine it. In fact, Peters had never entered into a lease with Ikerd."

The court determined that both of Ikerd's mistakes in mining Peters' property were "accidents," which meant each was an "occurrence" under the CGL policy. The court also determined that the removal of coal and foliage from Peters' property constituted "property damage" that triggered insurance coverage under the policy.

Further, the court found that additional coverage is provided through an aggregate limit under the "Products-completed operations hazard" ("PCOH") policy located within Section V of the CGL policy. Additionally, the court found that Peters was capable of extracting coal from the property, *296and, therefore, was entitled to $400,000 for the net market value of the coal based upon Bowman v. Hibbard, 257 S.W.2d 550, 552 (Ky. 1952).1

On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's findings. The court, based on the policy's definitions section and this Court's recent decision in Harrod, found that Peters had experienced "property damage." The Court of Appeals also determined that an "occurrence" had taken place, because the property damage-the trespassory removal and conversion of Peters' coal-was not intended by the insured. See Bituminous Casualty Corp. v. Kenway Contracting, Inc., 240 S.W.3d 633, 638-39 (Ky. 2007).

Because the Court of Appeals found that "Ikerd mined the Peters' property in good faith, and thus property damage was 'not the plan, design or intent of the insured[,]' " it did not address the "control" aspect of the two-part fortuity test for an "accident" outlined in Bituminous, 240 S.W.3d at 639, and Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Motorists Mut. Ins. Co., 306 S.W.3d 69, 76-77 (Ky. 2010).

Without providing analysis, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's finding that the PCOH policy provides a source for coverage additional to the aggregate limit set on the CGL policy. As for the damages to be awarded, the Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court that the correct measure of damages is the net market value rate of $400,000.

Analysis

We generally conduct a de novo review of the interpretation of insurance contracts. Cincinnati, 306 S.W.3d at 73 (internal citation omitted).

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
557 S.W.3d 293, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/am-mining-ins-co-v-peters-farms-llc-moctapp-2018.