Becker Metals Corp. v. Transportation Ins. Co.

802 F. Supp. 235, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14743, 1992 WL 237397
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedSeptember 25, 1992
Docket91 0802 C(5)
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 802 F. Supp. 235 (Becker Metals Corp. v. Transportation Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Becker Metals Corp. v. Transportation Ins. Co., 802 F. Supp. 235, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14743, 1992 WL 237397 (E.D. Mo. 1992).

Opinion

802 F.Supp. 235 (1992)

BECKER METALS CORP., Plaintiff,
v.
TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE CO., and Valley Forge Life Insurance Co., Defendants.

No. 91 0802 C(5).

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, E.D.

September 25, 1992.

*236 Norah Ryan, Robert Espstein, Susman, Schermer, Rimmel & Shifrin, St. Louis, Mo., for plaintiff.

Donald L. James, Brown & James, P.C., St. Louis, Mo., Stephen Sonderby, Peter Bora, Haskell & Perrin, Chicago, Ill., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM

LIMBAUGH, District Judge.

This matter is before the court upon defendants Transportation Insurance Company's (hereinafter "Transportation") and Valley Forge Life Insurance Company's (hereinafter "Valley Forge") motion for summary judgment and plaintiff Becker Metals Corporation's (hereinafter "Becker") motion to deny summary judgment, or in the alternative, to continue defendants' summary judgment motion in order to allow plaintiff to obtain further discovery.

Plaintiff Becker has brought this insurance coverage action seeking indemnification and defense from defendants Transportation and Valley Forge in a proceeding brought against Becker by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter "EPA"). Plaintiff Becker is a Missouri corporation engaged in the business of buying and selling metal scrap. Defendant Transportation is an Illinois corporation which engages in the sale of insurance in the State of Missouri. Defendant Valley Forge is a Pennsylvania corporation that also engages in the sale of insurance in the State of Missouri. Becker alleges that in October of 1975, Transportation issued a Comprehensive General Liability *237 (CGL) insurance policy to Becker. In addition, Becker avers that Valley Forge also issued a CGL insurance policy to Becker in October of 1982. Becker alleges that both policies provide as follows:

The company will pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage caused by an occurrence.

Becker also alleges that the policies provided that defendants had the right and duty to defend any suit against Becker seeking damages on account of property damage, even if the allegations of the suit were groundless, false or fraudulent. In December of 1990, Becker was served with a CERCLA § 106 Unilateral Administrative Order by the EPA, naming Becker a potentially responsible party with respect to the cleanup of a land reclamation center in Granite City, Illinois. Becker sent spent lead batteries to the site between 1970 and 1983.

Becker notified the defendants (through CNA Insurance Co. (hereinafter CNA)) of the EPA notices by letters dated July 17, 1990, August 7, 1990, September 4, 1990, and December 6, 1990. Defendants, by CNA, denied coverage by letters dated August 24, 1990 and December 19, 1990. Becker has brought this declaratory judgment action against Transportation and Valley Forge seeking an order declaring that Transportation and Valley Forge have a duty to indemnify and defend Becker Metals in the EPA proceeding. Defendants Transportation and Valley Forge have filed a motion for summary judgment in this cause on the grounds that defendants have no duty to defend plaintiff in the EPA proceeding against plaintiff because the EPA proceeding is not a "suit" requiring a defense under the terms of the alleged policies as a matter of law, and defendants further have no duty to indemnify plaintiff for any cleanup costs assessed against Becker in the EPA proceeding because such cleanup costs are not "damages" entitled to indemnification under the alleged policies of insurance as a matter of law. Becker moves to deny defendants' motion for summary judgment, or in the alternative, to continue defendants' motion for summary judgment in order for plaintiff to obtain further discovery.

The Court will first consider plaintiff's motion to continue defendants' motion for summary judgment to allow plaintiff to obtain further discovery. Plaintiff argues that defendants have failed to produce any policy documents, declarations of coverage, endorsements, or specimen policies for the relevant time period from 1970 to 1983, and that without such information, a ruling on defendants' motion for summary judgment would be premature.

The policy language that is alleged in Becker's Complaint is the exact policy language that defendants rely on in their motion for summary judgment. "[T]he party filing the affidavit [under Rule 56(f) for additional discovery time] must show how additional time will enable him to rebut the movant's allegations of no genuine issue of fact." Patty Precision v. Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Co., 742 F.2d 1260, 1264 (10th Cir.1984). Becker has failed to show how this information could aid its position in opposing defendants' motion for summary judgment. The defendants have asked this court to assume that the policy language alleged by Becker in its complaint is true for purposes of this motion for summary judgment. Additionally, the defendants' have subsequently provided documents which establish that for the time periods of 1977 to 1978, 1982 to 1985 and 1987 to 1988, the insurance policies contained essentially the same language as that alleged by Becker. Thus, additional discovery by plaintiff showing that the policy language is that which plaintiff alleges is unnecessary for this court to rule on defendants' motion for summary judgment.

As a federal court sitting in diversity, this court is required to apply the forum state's conflict-of-law rules. Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Electric Mfg. Co., Inc., 313 U.S. 487, 61 S.Ct. 1020, 85 L.Ed. 1477 (1941). Missouri has adopted § 188 and § 193 of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws in casualty insurance cases. Crown *238 Center Redevelopment Corp. v. Occidental Fire & Casualty Co. of North Carolina, 716 S.W.2d 348 (Mo.Ct.App.1986). Section 188 of the Restatement (Second) provides in pertinent part:

2. In the absence of an effective choice of law by the parties (see § 187), the contacts to be taken into account in applying the principles of § 6 to determine the law applicable to an issue include:
a. the place of contracting,
b. the place of negotiation of the contract,
c. the place of performance,
d. the location of the subject matter of the contract and
e. the domicile, residence, nationality, place of incorporation and place of business of the parties.
These contacts are to be evaluated according to their relative importance with respect to the particular issue.
3. If the place of negotiating the contract and the place of performance are in the same state, the local law of this state will usually be applied, except as otherwise provided in §§ 189-199 and 203.

Section 193 provides:

Contracts of Fire, Surety or Casualty Insurance

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Bluebook (online)
802 F. Supp. 235, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14743, 1992 WL 237397, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/becker-metals-corp-v-transportation-ins-co-moed-1992.