Archon Investments, Inc. v. Great American Lloyds Insurance Co.

174 S.W.3d 334, 2005 WL 2037177
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 28, 2005
Docket01-03-01299-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 174 S.W.3d 334 (Archon Investments, Inc. v. Great American Lloyds Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Archon Investments, Inc. v. Great American Lloyds Insurance Co., 174 S.W.3d 334, 2005 WL 2037177 (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

EVELYN Y. KEYES, Justice.

This is an insurance coverage case decided on cross-motions for summary judgment in which the trial court construed a commercial general liability (CGL) policy in favor of appellees, Great American Lloyds Insurance Company (Great American) and Mid-Continent Casualty Company 1 and against appellant, Archon Investments, Inc. d/b/a GEMS Custom Homes (Archon). In three issues, Archon contends that the trial court erred in rendering summary judgment for Great American because Great American (1) had a duty to defend Archon; (2) had a duty to indemnify Archon; and (3) violated article 21.55 of the Texas Insurance Code. 2 The parties do not dispute the pertinent facts; the issue in this case is whether those facts triggered Great American’s duty to defend. Because we conclude Great American has a duty to defend Archon in the underlying litigation, we reverse.

Factual & Procedural Background

In 1994, Dr. William F. Braden contracted with Archon to build a custom home for him in Baytown, Texas. A few years after the house was built, Braden noticed that wood was rotting around the windows, possibly as a result of leakage from the stucco siding or because some of the windows might have been installed by a subcontractor without the requisite flashing. In 2001, Braden sued Archon and two of its subcontractors, contending that the defendants had used materials that did not meet industry standards and had failed to construct the home in a good and workmanlike manner. Based on these allegations, Braden brought causes of action for breach of the implied warranties of good and workmanlike construction and suitability for habitation, breach of contract, violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), 3 violation of chapter 27 of the Property Code, 4 negligence, and negligent *337 misrepresentation. Braden sought to recover his actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.

Great American refused to provide counsel to defend Archon and sought a declaratory judgment from the trial court that it owed no duty to defend or indemnify Ar-chon. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the coverage issue. The trial court granted Great American’s motion and denied Archon’s motion, finding that Great American had no duty to defend or indemnify Archon.

Standard of Review

We follow the usual standard of review for traditional summary judgments rendered under rule 166a(a) and (b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure: The party with the burden of proof must prove it is entitled to judgment by establishing each element of its claim or defense as a matter of law, or by negating an element of a claim or defense of the opposing party as a matter of law. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(a), (b). These standards are applicable in insurance-coverage cases. See e.g., State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Vaughan, 968 S.W.2d 931, 933 (Tex.1998); Hanson v. Republic Ins. Co., 5 S.W.3d 324, 327 (Tex.App.Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, pet. denied). When, as here, both parties move for summary judgment and the trial court grants one motion and denies the other, we may determine all questions presented, including the propriety of overruling the losing party’s motion, provided each party has fully met its burden and sought final judgment relief. CU Lloyd’s v. Feldman, 977 S.W.2d 568, 569 (Tex.1998); Hanson, 5 S.W.3d at 327.

Discussion

In its first and second issues, Archon contends the trial court erred in concluding that Great American had no duty to defend or indemnify it in the underlying lawsuit and in rendering summary judgment for Great American on that basis. Archon contends that its CGL policy provides coverage for inadvertent construction defects that cause damage after a home has been sold to a buyer when the damages arise from the work of the insured’s subcontractors, as alleged in the underlying suit; and therefore Great American has a duty to defend and indemnify it. Great American contends that a suit for construction defects does not constitute an “occurrence” triggering the indemnification provisions of the GCL policy; thus, it has had no duty to defend Archon. The policy provisions and definitions and Bra-den’s pleadings comprise the foundation of our analysis.

Policy Terms

The policy issued to Archon is a standard 1993 broad-form CGL policy. Section I of the policy contains the insuring agreement and the terms of coverage. “Coverage A,” providing coverage for “Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability,” addresses the duties to defend and to indemnify. Coverage A provides that the insurer has a duty to defend Archon in any suit seeking damages for “bodily injury” and “property damage” and to indemnify Archon for those sums it becomes legally obligated to pay as damages as follows:

COVERAGE A. BODILY INJURY AND PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY

1. Insuring Agreement
a. We will pay those sums that the Insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of “bodily injury” or “property damage” to which this insurance applies. We will have the right and duty to defend any “suit” seeking those damages. We may at our discretion investigate any *338 “occurrence” and settle any claim or suit that may result....
b. This insurance applies to “bodily injury” and “property damage” only if:
(1) the “bodily injury” or “property damage” is caused by an “occurrence” that takes place in the “coverage territory”;. ... 5

“Property damage” is defined in relevant part in Section V(15) of the CGL policy as “physical injury to tangible property, including all resulting loss of use of that property.” The definition further provides that “loss of use shall be deemed to occur at the time of the physical injury that caused it.” An “occurrence” is defined in Section V(12) of the CGL policy as “an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions.”

Coverage A Section 2(j) provides that certain property damage is excluded from coverage, including property damage to “(5). that particular part of real property on which you or any contractors or subcontractors working directly or indirectly on your behalf are performing operations, if the ‘property damage’ arises out of those operations,” and “(6). that particular part of any property that must be restored, repaired or replaced because ‘your work’ was incorrectly performed on it.” 6 Section 2(j) then states, “Paragraph (6) of this exclusion does not apply to ‘property damage’ included in the ‘products-completed operations hazard.’ ”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
174 S.W.3d 334, 2005 WL 2037177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/archon-investments-inc-v-great-american-lloyds-insurance-co-texapp-2005.