Auto-Owners Insurance Co. v. McMillan Trucking Inc.

242 F. Supp. 3d 1259, 2017 WL 992181, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36870
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedMarch 15, 2017
Docket7:16-cv-00979-LSC
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 242 F. Supp. 3d 1259 (Auto-Owners Insurance Co. v. McMillan Trucking Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Auto-Owners Insurance Co. v. McMillan Trucking Inc., 242 F. Supp. 3d 1259, 2017 WL 992181, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36870 (N.D. Ala. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION

L. Scott Coogler, United States District Judge

Before the Court is Plaintiff Auto-Owners Insurance Company’s (“Auto-Owners”), Motion for Judgment on The Pleadings, or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment. (Doc. 30.) Auto-Owners brought this case on the basis of diversity jurisdiction, seeking a declaratory judgment that it does not owe Defendants a defense or indemnification in the underlying lawsuit. For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs motion is due to be granted.

I. Background

On April 21, 2015, Defendants Christopher Jones (“Jones”) and Kenneth Jackson (“Jackson”) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, styled as Jones, et al., v. Scott Davis Chip Mill, et al., 7:15-cv-00661 (“Jones v. Davis”). Scott Davis Chip Mill (“the Mill”), Brett Davis (“Davis”), McMillan Trucking, Inc. (“McMillan Trucking”), Mike McMillan (“McMillan”), and Jamie Brasher (“Brasher”) were named as defendants in Jones v. Davis. After two amendments, the complaint in Jones v. Davis sets out claims for racially discriminatory denial of the right to contract under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, civil conspiracy, racketeering in civil violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962, and unjust enrichment in violation of Alabama law.

According to the Second Amended Complaint in Jones v. Davis (“the Jones Complaint”), Jones and Jackson operated trucking businesses which hauled wood chips from the Mill in Alabama to Beaumont, Texas. McMillan Trucking is located on the same property as the Mill, and was also engaged in the business of hauling wood chips, including hauling loads from the Mill to Dallas County, Alabama, and other locations. Operations of McMillan Trucking and the Mill are alleged to be intertwined. Brasher was an employee of McMillan Trucking responsible for assigning wood chip loads to truckers, and was supervised by Davis and McMillan.

The Jones Complaint further alleges that Brasher, who is white, devised a plan to “requir[e] African American truckers to pay Brasher [a] $100 cash kickback for [1262]*1262certain loads,” and that Davis and McMillan, who are also white, helped implement this plan and maintain its secrecy, (Doc. 32-4 at 4.) In accordance with the scheme, Jones and Jackson allegedly were “ask[ed], pressur[ed] and threatened] .., to pay [Brasher] $100 in cash for each load they hauled to Beaumont, Texas.” (Id. at 5.) They, and other African Americans, were told that if they did not pay for their loads, they would only get loads that were left over after the paying drivers received their loads. Jones never paid for any loads, while Jackson paid a total of $2,900 for loads.

The Jones complaint also claims that the kickbacks helped McMillan and McMillan Trucking, because Brasher gave them priority loads, and because the kickbacks kept Brasher from demanding a higher salary. Jones and Jackson complained about the scheme to Davis, who reported that McMillan knew about the scheme. Instead of ending the practice, Brasher retaliated against Jones and Jackson by telling them that they “were cut off from loads to Texas and [ordering them] to leave the chip mill.” (Id. at 8.) The complaint alleges that McMillan and McMillan Trucking were aware that Jones and Jackson had been cut off, and that such an action could not have been taken without their approval. Jones and Jackson were thereafter unable to find work at other chip mills and were forced to sell them trucks and trailers. They claim that due to the discriminatory actions of the Jones v. Davis defendants, they suffered loss of business, loss of income, loss of property, long-term damage to their business, mental anguish, hardship and inconvenience, and emotional distress.

Auto-Owners is currently defending McMillan Trucking, McMillan, and Brasher (collectively, “McMillan & Co.”) in Jones v. Davis, as their purported liability insurance provider, but has .reserved the right to withdraw from that defense. From July 8, 2014 until July 8, 2015, McMillan Trucking was covered by an Auto-Owners Tailored Protection Policy of insurance (“TPP”), which included Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) coverage. The CGL policy provided coverage against damages that McMillan would be obligated to pay for bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, or advertising injury. However, the policy contained a number of limitations, exclusions, conditions, and terms. During this time period (July 8, 2014-July 8, 2015), McMillan was also insured under an Auto-Owners Commercial Umbrella Insurance Policy (“CUI”), which provided umbrella or excess liability insurance coverage for sums that McMillan would be obligated to pay for bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, or advertising injury.. The CUI also contained various provisions, endorsements, terms, conditions, limitations, and exclusions. The terms of these policies are not in dispute.

The CUI provides liability coverage for an injury “to which this insurance applies caused by an incident.” (Doc. 32-8 at 14.) An incident is further defined as “either an occurrence or an offense, whichever is the basis of coverage.” (Id. at 10.) The CUI also contains exclusions, including exclusion R, which states that personal injuries “[e]aused by or at the direction of any insured with the knowledge that the act would violate the rights of another and would inflict personal injury” are not covered. (Id. at 19.)

On June 15, 2016, Auto-Owners filed this action seeking a declaration that it does not owe McMillan & Co. a defense or indemnification in Jones v. Davis. On No[1263]*1263vember 28, 2016, Auto-Owners filed its Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, or, in the Alternative, Motion for Summary-Judgment.

II. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A fact is “material” if it “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). There is a “genuine dispute” as to a material fact “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Id. The trial judge should not weigh the evidence but must simply determine whether there are any genuine issues that should be resolved at trial. Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

In considering a motion for summary judgment, trial courts must give deference to the nonmoving party by “considering all of the evidence and the inferences it may yield in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” McGee v. Sentinel Offender Servs., LLC, 719 F.3d 1236, 1242 (11th Cir. 2013) (citations 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)
242 F. Supp. 3d 1259, 2017 WL 992181, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36870, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/auto-owners-insurance-co-v-mcmillan-trucking-inc-alnd-2017.