Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co v. Juan Garcia

878 F.3d 566
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedDecember 22, 2017
Docket17-1224
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 878 F.3d 566 (Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co v. Juan Garcia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co v. Juan Garcia, 878 F.3d 566 (7th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

BAUER, Circuit Judge.

Defendants-appellants, Juan and Maria Garcia (“the Garcias”), filed a claim with plaintiff-appellee, Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company (“Atlantic”), for insurance coverage. Atlantic responded by seeking declaratory judgment. The Garcias replied with counterclaims for breach of the policies and bad faith for denial of their claim. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Atlantic. The Garcias now seek reversal.

I. BACKGROUND

The Garcias purchased commercial property at 2316 Ripley Street, Lake Station, Indiana (“the Property”), on August 9, 2004. During the Garcias’ ownership, the Property was used to operate an automobile repair shop and a day. spa, Prior, to their ownership, the Property was used as a dry cleaning facility from approximately 1946 until 2000. The site contained six underground storage tanks used by the dry cleaning company. Four of these tanks were used for petroleum-based Stoddard solvent, one was used for gasoline, and the last for heating oil.

In 1999, the dry cleaning company reported a newly discovered leak from the Stoddard solvent tanks to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (“IDEM”). In 2000, a site investigation was conducted, an Initial Site Characterization Report was prepared, and five groundwater monitoring wells were installed. On February 9, 2001, IDEM requested additional investigation to fully delineate the nature and extent of the petroleum pollution, as well as testing for volatile organic compounds. Due to a lack of information provided from the February 2001 request, IDEM requested additional testing on April 8, 2004.

The Garcias claim they had no knowledge of the preexisting environmental contamination before insuring with Atlantic. In September 2014, a letter from Environmental Inc., dated July 10, 2014, brought the contamination to the Garcias’ attention. In the spring of 2015, the Garcias hired Environmental Inc, to investigate the Property. This investigation showed that the chemicals from the Stoddard solvent tanks, Perchloroethylene solvent, and heating oil still affected the Property.

Atlantic insured the Property with two policies that ran consecutively, starting on June 25, 2009, and ending on June 25, 2011. Both were substantially similar Commercial General Liability Coverage (“CGL”) policies. Both contained relevant exclusion provisions that modified the CGL policies through a “Claims in Process” exclusion and a “Total Pollution Exclusion.”

The “Insuring Agreement” language under the “Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability” coverage states:

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 the insured against any “suit” seeking those damages. However, we will have no duty to defend the insured against any “suit” seeking damages for “bodily injury” or “property damage” to which this insurance does not apply. We may, at our discretion, investigate any “occurrence” and settle any claim or “suit” that may result.

The relevant language from the “Claims in Process” exclusion states:

1. any loss or claim for damages arising out of or related to “bodily injury” or “property damage”, whether known or unknown:
a. which first occurred prior to the inception date of this policy; or
b. which is, or is alleged to be, in the process of occurring as of the inception date of this policy.
2. any loss or claim for damages arising out of or related to “bodily injury” or “property damage”, whether known or unknown, which is in the process of settlement, adjustment or “suit” as of the inception date of this policy.

The relevant-language from the “Total Pollution Exclusion” states:

This insurance does not apply to:

f. Pollution
(1) “Bodily injury” or “property damage” which would not have occurred in whole or in part but for the actual, alleged or threatened discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration, release or escape of “pollutants” at any time.

Atlantic filed a complaint seeking declaratory relief after the Garcias tendered the IDEM claim to Atlantic. The Garcias responded with a counterclaim for breach of the CGL policies and for bad faith denial of their IDEM claim. Atlantic then moved for summary judgment and the Garcias responded with a partial motion for summary judgment. The court interpreted the “Claims in Process” exclusion to preclude coverage for losses or claims for damages arising out of property damage—known or unknown—that occurred or was in the process of occurring before the policy’s inception. Both parties agreed that the damage happened before inception of the policies. Thus, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Atlantic and held that coverage for the Garcias’ claim was excluded. Since there was no coverage, the court granted summary judgment in favor of Atlantic over the Garcias’ bad faith claim as well. The Garcias now seek reversal.

II. DISCUSSION

We review de novo a district court’s interpretation of an insurance policy and its decision to grant summary judgment. W. Bend Mut. Ins. Co. v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 598 F.3d 918, 921 (7th Cir. 2010). A federal court sitting in diversity “applies the choice-of-law rules of the forum state to determine which state’s substantive law applies.” Auto-Owners Inc. Co. v. Websolv Computing, Inc., 580 F.3d 543, 547 (7th Cir. 2009). Thus, we must apply Indiana law and turn to the “most intimate contacts” rule. Carlisle v. Deere & Co., 576 F.3d 649, 563 (7th Cir. 2009). Under the “most intimate contact” rule, the Supreme Court of Indiana has “recognized that ‘[a]n insurance policy is governed by the law of the principal location of the insured risk during the term of the policy.’” Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Standard Fusee Corp., 940 N.E.2d 810, 814 (Ind. 2010) (quoting Dunn v. Meridian Mut. Ins. Co., 836 N.E.2d 249, 251 (Ind. 2005)), With the Property located and the policies delivered in Indiana, Indiana’s substantive law applies here.

“In Indiana, the meaning of an insurance policy is a matter of law, and in general the same rules of construction apply to insurance policies as to other contracts.” Home Fed. Sav. Bank v. Ticor Title Ins. Co., 695 F.3d 725, 729 (7th Cir. 2012).

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Bluebook (online)
878 F.3d 566, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atlantic-casualty-insurance-co-v-juan-garcia-ca7-2017.