Benchmark Insurance Co. v. Dismon Corp.

262 F. Supp. 3d 991
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedAugust 16, 2017
DocketCV 15-01539 TJH (FFMx)
StatusPublished

This text of 262 F. Supp. 3d 991 (Benchmark Insurance Co. v. Dismon Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Benchmark Insurance Co. v. Dismon Corp., 262 F. Supp. 3d 991 (C.D. Cal. 2017).

Opinion

Amended Order and' Judgment JS-6

Terry J. Hatter, Jr., Senior United States District Judge

The Court has considered Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment or, alternatively, an order pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(g) regarding the material facts not in dispute, together with the moving and opposing papers.

Plaintiff Benchmark Insurance Company [“Benchmark”] issued insurance policies to Defendant Dismon Corp. [“Dis-mon”], a construction company wholly owned and operated by its president, Jaa-far Ramin Jaafarian, between 2009 and 2012: Policy No. BIC5002341, in effect from May 16, 2009 to May 16, 2010 [“2009 Policy”]; Policy No. BIC5003424, in effect from June 13, 2010 to June 13, -2011 [“2010 Policy”]; Policy No. BIC5004981, in effect from June 13, 2011 to June 13, 2012 [“2011 Policy”]; and Policy No. BIC5006472, in effect from June 13, 2012 to June 13, 2013 [“2012 Policy”] [the 2009, 2010, 2011,. and 2012 Policies collectively referred to as “The Policies,” and the 2010, 2011, and 2012 Policies collectively referred to as the “2010-12 Policies,”].

The Policies were underwritten- by Westcap Insurance Services, LLC [“West-cap”]. Dismon retained an insurance broker, Concord General Insurance Services [“Concord”] to procure The Policies and the 2009 Policy. CK Specialty Insurance Associates, Inc. [“CK Specialty”], at the times relevant to this motion, was an independent wholesale insurance broker.

On February 3, 2009, Westcap received from CK Specialty a Contractors Application identifying Dismon as the applicant and which included the following questions and answers to questions sixty-seven through seventy-one of the application [“Subject Application Questions”]:

• “Does applicant have a written contract with its subcontractors which inclúdes a hold harmless agreement relative to work performed by the subcontractor?”
• “Are you named as an additional insured on your subcontractors’ policies?”
• “Does applicant hold others harmless and/or are you required to provide additional insured endorsements for others?” . .
• “Are your subcontractors required to provide you with a certifícate of insurance before commencing work?”
• “Does applicant require subcontractors who do work for the applicant to maintain limits of liability at least $1,000,000 per occurrence?”

On May 12, 2009, Jaafarian executed the Contractors Application [“2009 Application”] on behalf of Dismon and transmitted the signature page to Concord. On June 2, 2009, CK Specialty sent an email to West-cap transmitting the Concord fax cover sheet with the Contractors Application bearing a signature on behalf of Dismon, dated June 2, 2009. Subsequently, Benchmark issued the 2009 Policy.

On May 20, 2010, Dismon applied for commercial general liability insurance [“2010 Application”]. The 2010 Application answered each of the Subject Application Questions in the affirmative. Jaafarian, on behalf of Dismon, signed the 2010 Application. Subsequently, Benchmark issued the 2010 Policy.

[994]*994On June 13, 2011, Jaafarian requested a renewal of the 2010 Policy. Thereafter, Concord submitted Dismon’s application for renewal [“2011 Application”], signed by Jaafarian, in which the Subject Application Questions were answered in the affirmative. Subsequently, Benchmark issued the 2011 Policy.

On June 22, ,2012, Jaafarian requested a renewal of the 2010 Policy. Thereafter, Concord, submitted Dismon’s application for renewal [“2012 Application”], signed by Jaafarian,,in which the Subject Application Questions were answered in the affirmative, Subsequently, Benchmark issued the 2012 Policy.

At all relevant times in this matter: Dis-mon did not have written contracts with all of' its subcontractors; Dismon had not been named as an additional insured on all of its subcontractors’ policies; and Dismon had not required all of its subcontractors to provide Dismon with a certificate of insurance before commencing work.

The Policies were issued with. an endorsement entitled “Subcontractor Special Conditions” [“Subcontractor ' Endorsement”] stating that ““a condition precedent to this policy applying to any claim' in whole or in part based upon work performed by subcontractors” is that the insured must “have, prior to the date of the loss giving rise to the claim”: (1) “received a written indemnity agreement from the subcontractor holding” the insured “harmless for all liabilities, including costs of defense, arising from the work of the subcontractor”; (2) “obtained certificates of insurance from the subcontractor indicating that” the insured is “named as an additional insured on a policy providing coverage at least as broad as the coverage provided by this policy ...”; and (3) the insured has “maintained the records evidencing compliance with subsections 1 and 2.”

On June 22 2009, Accurate Inspection Services, retained by Westeap, conducted an inspection of the 2009 Policy [“June 22, 2009, Inspection”]. The inspection was conducted via a telephone survey with Jaafari-an. In its report on the June 22, 2009, Inspection [the “Inspection Report”], Accurate Inspection Services noted that Dis-mon answered “[n]o” to the question “[d]o you have “Hold Harmless Clause” signed?” The Inspection ' Report, also, notes that Dismon did not have “contracting jobs during [the]. 2008 policy year, [Dismon] .., provided consulting services only.” The Inspection Report, further, noted that Dismon “anticipate^] 100% new construction” in 2009.

Defendants Masoud Tehrani and Fate-meh Tehrani own — Defendant Tara Tehra-ni resides at — a residential property [“Residence”]. On March 16, 2009, Masoud Tehrani and Dismon entered into a contract for the construction of the Residence. On June 10, 2014, Tara Tehrani submitted a claim for damage to the Residence to Benchmark [“Tehrani Claim"]. She claimed, inter alia, that Dismon failed to properly construct and supervise the construction of the Residence. As a result, she claimed, the Residence suffered from water damage, including mold and fungus growth under the home, and loss of use.

On behalf of Benchmark, Westeap issued letters to Defendants dated July 15, 2014 and July 24, 2014 in connection with the Tehrani Claim. Both letters included the notice that “Benchmark will conduct an investigation in this matter subject to a reservation of rights and in doing so is not waiving but is preserving all its rights to contend that it is not.obligated to provide coverage for Dismon Corporation and to file a. declaratory relief action to secure a resolution of any coverage issues should Benchmark so elect.” On April 17, 2015, Masoud and Fatemeh Tehrani filed an ac[995]*995tion entitled Masoud H. Tehrani and Fa-temeh A. Tehrani v. Dismon Corp., et al, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Torrance Courthouse, Southwest Judicial District, Case No. YCO70534, against Dismon, Jaafarian, and others, including fourteen of Dismoris subcontractors, seeking damages based on alleged negligent construction of the Residence and other claims for relief [the “Tehrani Action”].

On March 3, 2015, Benchmark filed the Complaint in the instant matter.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
262 F. Supp. 3d 991, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benchmark-insurance-co-v-dismon-corp-cacd-2017.