AUBRIS RESOURCES v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins.

566 F.3d 483, 2009 WL 1089434
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedApril 23, 2009
Docket07-41272
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 566 F.3d 483 (AUBRIS RESOURCES v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
AUBRIS RESOURCES v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins., 566 F.3d 483, 2009 WL 1089434 (5th Cir. 2009).

Opinion

566 F.3d 483 (2009)

AUBRIS RESOURCES LP, formerly known as United Resources LP, formerly known as United Oil and Minerals Limited Partnership, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
ST. PAUL FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE CO., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 07-41272.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

April 23, 2009.

*484 David W. Green (argued), Darrell L. Barger, Kathryn F. Green, Hartline, Dacus, Barger, Dryer & Kern, LLP, Corpus Christi, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Levon G. Hovnatanian (argued), Kennetha Waynne Lucas, Christopher Weldon Martin, Diana Perez, Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, Joseph Anthony Ziemianski, Cozen O'Connor, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellee.

*485 Before JOLLY, DAVIS and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.

E. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal we decide what effect a general indemnity provision in an oilfield services agreement has on the scope of additional insured coverage required by the same agreement. United Oil and Minerals filed this action in federal court, seeking a declaratory judgment that St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company has a duty to defend United in state court lawsuits arising from an explosion at an oilfield that was serviced by St. Paul's insured, J&R Valley Oil Services. Under its services agreement with J&R Valley, United was J&R Valley's additional insured. St. Paul, however, denied additional insured coverage, citing a general indemnity provision in the services agreement whereby United agreed to indemnify J&R Valley for causes of action arising from United's own negligence. St. Paul argued, and the district court agreed, that the general indemnity provision necessarily limited the scope of United's additional insured coverage under the services agreement. We conclude, however, that Texas case law instructs otherwise and construe the services agreement in favor of coverage. Accordingly, we vacate summary judgment for St. Paul and render judgment in favor of United.

I.

We begin with the relevant facts.

United hired J&R Valley to service its oilfield properties in April 2002. Their services agreement required that J&R Valley carry commercial general liability insurance and name United an additional insured under that policy. The agreement also contained a general indemnity provision, whereby United agreed to indemnify J&R Valley for causes of action arising from United's own negligence.

On October 20, 2003, an explosion at one of United's oilfields severely injured two J&R Valley employees, Ernesto Garza and Carlos Figueroa. Garza later died from his injuries. Thereafter Garza's estate and Figueroa sued both J&R Valley and United in a Texas state court, alleging negligence. J&R Valley was dismissed from the lawsuits because under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act neither employee could recover from J&R Valley under a theory of simple negligence.[1] The lawsuits against United, however, proceeded.

The practical question here is who will pay for United's expense in the Garza litigation. J&R Valley purchased its commercial general liability insurance policy from St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company. That policy covers additional insureds, but only where specifically required in a written agreement. United contends that under its services agreement with J&R Valley it is an additional insured, and therefore St. Paul had a duty to defend it in the Garza litigation. St. Paul counters that United is not an additional insured for causes of action arising from United's own negligence.

United and St. Paul dispute whether two of the services agreement's provisions— the additional insured provision and the general indemnity provision—interrelate. The additional insured provision states that United is an additional insured except *486 with respect "to any obligations for which UNITED has specifically agreed to indemnify" J&R Valley; the general indemnity provision states that United will indemnify J&R Valley for causes of action arising from United's own negligence. St. Paul reads the two provisions together, such that there is no coverage in causes of action arising from United's own negligence. United, on the other hand, argues there is no relationship between the two provisions, and coverage is determined by reference only to the additional insured provision. United reads the additional insured provision to provide that United is an additional insured unless it separately and extra-contractually agrees to indemnify J&R Valley. Because it has not separately agreed to indemnify J&R Valley in connection with the Garza litigation, United insists the Garza litigation is covered under the St. Paul policy.

The district court, in granting summary judgment for St. Paul, rejected United's interpretation as unreasonable because it agreed with St. Paul that the general indemnity provision necessarily limited additional insured coverage. We conclude, however, that in the light of recent Texas case law United's interpretation is at least reasonable and therefore construe the disputed provisions in favor of coverage.

II.

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same legal standards as the district court. United States v. Corpus, 491 F.3d 205, 209 (5th Cir.2007). Summary judgment is appropriate only "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." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c).

Where federal jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship, a federal court applies the substantive law of the forum state. See Foradori v. Harris, 523 F.3d 477, 486 (5th Cir.2008) (citing Erie R.R. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 78-79, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938)); see also Empire Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Brantley Trucking, Inc., 220 F.3d 679, 680-81 (5th Cir.2000). The parties agree that the substantive law of Texas applies in this case.

Under Texas law, the same general rules apply to the interpretation of contracts and insurance policies. See, e.g., Am. Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Schaefer, 124 S.W.3d 154, 157 (Tex.2003). The contract should be "considered as a whole" and "each part of the contract should be given effect." Forbau v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 876 S.W.2d 132, 133 (Tex.1994). Our primary concern is to ascertain the parties' true intent, as expressed in the language of the policy. Kelley-Coppedge, Inc. v. Highlands Ins. Co., 980 S.W.2d 462, 464 (Tex. 1998). "We cannot adopt a construction that renders any portion of a policy meaningless, useless, or inexplicable." Evanston Ins. Co. v. ATOFINA Petrochemicals, Inc.,

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Bluebook (online)
566 F.3d 483, 2009 WL 1089434, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aubris-resources-v-st-paul-fire-and-marine-ins-ca5-2009.