Amish Connection, Inc. v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company

861 N.W.2d 230, 2015 WL 1260085, 2015 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMarch 20, 2015
Docket13–0124
StatusPublished
Cited by56 cases

This text of 861 N.W.2d 230 (Amish Connection, Inc. v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amish Connection, Inc. v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, 861 N.W.2d 230, 2015 WL 1260085, 2015 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32 (iowa 2015).

Opinions

WATERMAN, Justice.

In this appeal, we must decide whether a business insurance policy covers water damage inside a building resulting when a corroded interior drainpipe bursts during a summer rainstorm. The pipe carried rainwater from the roof to a storm sewer. The policy only insures damage “caused by rain” if an insured event first ruptures the roof or exterior walls to allow the rain to enter or if the damage results from melting ice or snow. The district court granted summary judgment for the insurer, concluding the water damage was caused by rain. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that damage from “rainwater” flowing from the broken interior drainpipe is not damage “caused by rain.” We granted the insurer’s application for further review.

This case presents our first opportunity to adjudicate coverage claims under a rain limitation in an insurance policy. For the reasons explained below, we conclude the unambiguous language of the rain limitation precludes coverage for the damage caused by the rainwater escaping the ruptured interior drainpipe. We, like the district court, also reject the insured’s alternative argument that coverage is available because the damage resulted from the “breaking or cracking of any part of a system containing water or steam.” That argument fails because the policy does not provide coverage for damage “caused by rain,” even if a system containing water was involved. We therefore vacate the decision of the court of appeals and affirm the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the insurer.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Amish Connection, Inc. leased space in Crossroads Shopping Mall in Waterloo, where it operated the Amish Connection Store. In 2008, Amish Connection moved into Suite 102. This litigation arises from the failure of a leaky four-inch cast-iron drainpipe that ran above the ceiling tiles [233]*233and along the interior back wall. This pipe connected to the rooftop drains and carried rainwater down and through the interior of the budding to a storm sewer. During heavy rains, leaking rainwater routinely ran down the back wall of the suite. To address the leakage, mall management installed a makeshift wooden trough to catch the rainwater from the back wall and direct it toward a drain. The drainage tile and pipe system in Suite 102 showed “trails of rust left by years of water leak issues.” The drainpipe was hidden from the tenant’s view by ceiling tiles and wallboard, and Amish Connection was unaware that it 'leaked. The drainpipe itself was “extremely rusty” before it failed. Subsequent photos show extensive corrosion on the pipe, especially where it joined the wall.

In May 2010, the owner of Amish Connection approached the mall manager about closing the store until November “because business was bad.” New lease contracts were prepared to allow Amish Connection to close its business to the public through October and reopen November 1. During that period, Amish Connection would continue paying rent for Suite 102 and store property there. On June 14, the new lease agreements were executed. It rained heavily that night. The rainstorm caused no damage to the roof, windows, or exterior walls of the building. The next morning, however, the mall maintenance staff discovered the interior drainpipe had failed, flooding the back room of Suite 102 with up to several inches of rainwater and soaking the carpet in much of the front showroom. The rainwater caused substantial damage to Amish Connection’s office, bathroom, and property stored there, including its samples, inventory, office supplies, and business records.

Amish Connection promptly submitted a claim under its business insurance policy with State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (State Farm). Section I of the policy, entitled “LOSSES INSURED AND LOSSES NOT INSURED,” provides:

We insure for accidental direct physical loss to property covered under this policy unless the loss is:
1. limited in the PROPERTY SUBJECT TO LIMITATIONS section; or
2. excluded in the LOSSES NOT INSURED section that follows.

The relevant provisions of those two sections state:

PROPERTY SUBJECT TO LIMITATIONS
We will not pay for loss:
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6. to the interior of any building or structure, or the property inside any building or structure, caused by rain, snow, sleet, ice, sand, or dust, whether driven by wind or not, unless:
a. the building or structure first sustains damage by an insured loss to its roof or walls through which the rain, snow, sleet, ice, sand or dust enters; or
b. the loss is caused by thawing of snow, sleet or ice on the building or structure....
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LOSSES NOT INSURED
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2. We do not insure for loss either consisting of, or directly and immediately caused by, one or more of the following:
[[Image here]]
d. smog, wear, tear, rust, corrosion, fungus, mold, decay, deteriora[234]*234tion, hidden or latent defect or any quality in property that causes it to damage or destroy itself.
But if accidental direct physical loss by any of the “Specified Causes of Loss” or by building glass breakage results, we will pay for that resulting loss....

The definitions section of the policy defined “Specified Causes of Loss” to include:

14. water damage, meaning accidental discharge or leakage of water or steam as the direct result of the breaking or cracking of any part of a system or appliance containing water or steam.

On June 16, State Farm declined Amish Connection’s claim based on the rain limitation in paragraph 6 of the property subject to limitations section. On December 27, Amish Connection filed a civil action against its landlord and the mall operator alleging they had concealed the water infiltration problem the tenant discovered when ceiling tiles were removed after the drainpipe failed. Amish Connection alleged those defendants “took insufficient efforts to remedy the water infiltration problem and Defendants’ actions caused further water damage to the lower level unit # 102.” The lawsuit further alleged the mall owner and operator “were guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct by renting [Suite 102] while knowing of, not disclosing, and not taking remedial action to resolve the significant long-standing water problems.”

On November 28, 2011, counsel for Amish Connection wrote to State Farm asking it to reconsider its denial of the claim and provide coverage for the water damage. State. Farm responded on' December 22 that it would investigate further and cited paragraph 2(d) excluding coverage for “rust, corrosion, ... and deterioration,” in addition to the rain limitation in paragraph 6. On January 8, 2012, State Farm sent another letter confirming its denial of coverage based on both provisions. On January 20, Amish Connection moved to amend its petition to add State Farm as a defendant to a claim of breach of its insurance contract. Amish Connection later dismissed its claims against the mall owner and operator. The lawsuit proceeded against State Farm alone.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
861 N.W.2d 230, 2015 WL 1260085, 2015 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amish-connection-inc-v-state-farm-fire-and-casualty-company-iowa-2015.