Brookshire Downs v. Owners Ins. Co.

366 F. Supp. 3d 1224
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedFebruary 21, 2019
DocketCivil Action No. 17-cv-0871-WJM-NRN
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 366 F. Supp. 3d 1224 (Brookshire Downs v. Owners Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brookshire Downs v. Owners Ins. Co., 366 F. Supp. 3d 1224 (D. Colo. 2019).

Opinion

William J. Martinez, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Brookshire Downs at Heatherridge Condominium Association, Inc.

*1225("Plaintiff") sues Defendant Owners Insurance Company ("Defendant") for breach of insurance contract and unreasonable delay or denial of insurance benefits under Colorado Revised Statutes §§ 10-3-1115 and - 1116. (See ECF No. 1.) By way of a summary judgment motion filed by Plaintiff, the parties previously presented to the Court a potentially dispositive legal issue. Specifically, the insurance policy in question states that lawsuits seeking coverage (i.e. , breach of contract) must be brought within two years from the date of loss. See Brookshire Downs at Heatherridge Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Owners Ins. Co. , 324 F.Supp.3d 1201, 1203 (D. Colo. 2018) (ECF No. 71 ). But the loss at issue here, hail damage, occurred on September 29, 2014, and Plaintiff did not file suit until April 7, 2017. Id. Given this, Defendant asserted in its second affirmative defense that the contractual statute of limitations had expired. (See ECF No. 16 at 9, ¶ 2.) Plaintiff then moved for summary judgment that this affirmative defense fails as a matter of law in light of a Colorado statute that invalidates such contractual limitations periods in "homeowners" insurance policies. (See ECF No. 36.)

The Court denied Plaintiff's motion, holding that Plaintiff's insurance policy was not a "homeowners" policy within the meaning of the statute. Brookshire Downs , 324 F.Supp.3d at 1203-06. Thus, it appeared that this lawsuit should be dismissed as untimely. But Defendant had not cross-moved for summary judgment. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f), the Court ordered Plaintiff to show cause why summary judgment should not enter in Defendant's favor. Id. at 1206-07.

Plaintiff responded with what was, for the most part, a veiled summary judgment motion. (ECF No. 77.) Plaintiff asserted Colorado's "reasonable expectations doctrine" (discussed below) as an alternative basis for disregarding the contractual statute of limitations, and also argued that its statutory unreasonable delay/denial claim could go forward regardless. The Court then entered the following order (bracketed numerals refer to CM/ECF docket entries):

Before the Court is its Order to Show Cause [71] and Plaintiff's response [77]. The response is, in substance, a second motion for summary judgment, in violation of the undersigned's Revised Practice Standard III.E.2. The motion also raises new arguments that could have and should have been raised previously, and the Court could therefore deem these arguments forfeited. Cf. Muskrat v. Deer Creek Pub. Sch. , 715 F.3d 775, 791 (10th Cir. 2013) (party forfeited counterargument that was not raised in a summary judgment response but naturally should have been, given that it would have mooted analysis of other arguments made in the summary judgment motion). Solely in the interest of substantial justice, however, the Court will not strike the response nor deem Plaintiff to have forfeited its new arguments.... Plaintiff's response [77] to the Court's Order to Show Cause is CONSTRUED as Plaintiff's Second Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendant shall respond and Plaintiff may reply according to the [Court's normal procedures]. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(f), Plaintiff is hereby given notice that the Court may grant summary judgment in Defendant's favor, despite Defendant's failure to move, on the arguments raised in Plaintiff's original Motion for Summary Judgment [36] and in Plaintiff's construed Second Motion for Summary Judgment [77].

(ECF No. 79.)

The matter being fully briefed, the Court is prepared to rule on Plaintiff's as-construed *1226second summary judgment motion. For the reasons explained below, the Court rejects Plaintiff's reasonable expectations argument and grants summary judgment in Defendant's favor on its affirmative defense of untimeliness. However, Defendant does not appear to contest Plaintiff's position that the statutory unreasonable delay/denial claim may go forward regardless. Therefore, the Court does not grant summary judgment to either party on that claim. By separate order, the Court will call for further briefing to understand the scope and continued viability of a statutory unreasonable delay/denial claim when not anchored to a viable breach of contract claim.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is warranted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56"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) ; see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is "material" if, under the relevant substantive law, it is essential to proper disposition of the claim. Wright v. Abbott Labs., Inc. , 259 F.3d 1226, 1231-32 (10th Cir. 2001). An issue is "genuine" if the evidence is such that it might lead a reasonable trier of fact to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Allen v. Muskogee , 119 F.3d 837, 839 (10th Cir. 1997).

In analyzing a motion for summary judgment, a court must view the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ,

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366 F. Supp. 3d 1224, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brookshire-downs-v-owners-ins-co-cod-2019.