Cameron International Corp. v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters, Inc.

807 F.3d 689, 2015 WL 7421978
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedNovember 19, 2015
DocketNo. 14-31321
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 807 F.3d 689 (Cameron International Corp. v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters, Inc.) 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
Cameron International Corp. v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters, Inc., 807 F.3d 689, 2015 WL 7421978 (5th Cir. 2015).

Opinion

EDITH BROWN CLEMENT, Circuit Judge:

This is an insurance dispute arising out of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Liberty Insurance Underwriters, Inc. (“Liberty”), appellee-cross-appellant here, insured Cameron International Corporation (“Cameron”), appellant-cross-appellee here and the manufacturer of the blowout pre-venter used on Deepwater Horizon, for potential losses associated with the blowout preventer. After the spill, Cameron settled with BP, the well owner, and sought the policy benefits from Liberty to help cover the settlement costs. For a number of reasons, Liberty refused to pay, so Cameron sued. The district court granted summary judgment for Cameron on its breach of contract action, granted summary judgment for Liberty on Cameron’s claim under the Texas Insurance Code, and denied Cameron’s motion for attorney’s fees. Both parties appealed.

CERTIFICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT TO THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS, PURSUANT TO ART. 5, § 3-C OF THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION AND RULE 58.1 OF THE TEXAS RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE TO THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS AND THE HONORABLE JUSTICES THEREOF:

I.

This case turns, in part, on a complicated arrangement of indemnification be[692]*692tween some of the parties involved in the spill. BP (a nonparty here) owned the Maeondo oil well and the lease on the continental shelf. BP contracted with Transocean (also a nonparty here), which owned Deepwater Horizon, to drill the well, and to indemnify1 Transocean for liability associated with drilling. Cameron manufactured and sold Transocean the blowout preventer connecting the rig to the well, and Transocean indemnified Cameron for liability associated with the blowout preventer. In short, Cameron was indemnified by Transocean, which was in turn indemnified by BP.

Cameron did not rely solely on indemnification to protect itself. It created an insurance “tower” of $500 million in coverage by purchasing insurance from various insurers. Those insurance policies covered the risk that Cameron would incur liability as the blowout preventer’s manufacturer. The first $25 million in losses would be covered by one insurer, the next $25 million in losses would be covered by another, and so forth.2 Liberty sold Cameron a policy covering the $50 million in losses between the first $100 million and $150 million in losses. In other words, Liberty’s $50 million policy was excess of the policies covering the first $100 million in losses, and Cameron obtained other policies that were excess of Liberty’s policy.

Like many insurance policies, Liberty’s policy incorporated a subrogation clause. That clause provided that if Cameron could recover from a third party some or all of the losses paid under the policy, Cameron would transfer the rights to recover to Liberty, “do nothing after loss to impair these rights,” and “help [Liberty] enforce them.” For example, if Liberty paid Cameron $50 million for a covered loss, and a third party was potentially liable to Cameron for that same loss, Liberty would assert Cameron’s rights against that third party and receive any recovery up to the amount Liberty paid Cameron.

After the spill, thousands of lawsuits were filed against BP, Transocean, Cameron, and others. Cameron sought indemnity (for its potential liability for pollution) from Transocean under the sales contract, and Transocean refused; Cameron thus sued Transocean, and Transocean counterclaimed. Transocean, in turn, sought indemnity from BP under its drilling contract, and BP refused; Transocean and BP thus also sued each other. And BP sued Cameron, claiming that, as the manufacturer of the blowout preventer, Cameron was responsible for the losses that BP incurred.

As well as seeking indemnification from Transocean, Cameron notified Liberty after the spill of a potential loss covered by the policy. Initially, Liberty neither rejected nor paid Cameron’s claim.

Following extensive litigation, BP and Cameron began to discuss settlement. The parties soon developed a framework for that settlement: BP would indemnify [693]*693Cameron in exchange for $250 million,3 but only if Cameron’s insurers agreed to waive their subrogation rights and Cameron agreed to waive its indemnification rights against Transocean. Otherwise, BP feared, Cameron’s insurers would cover Cameron’s settlement costs, then step into Cameron’s shoes and sue Transocean for indemnification, which would in turn sue BP for indemnification — for the very $250 million that BP just received. Why, in other words, would BP settle for a payment from Cameron that Cameron would ultimately recoup — albeit in a circuitous fashion — from BP?

Alone among Cameron’s insurers, Liberty objected to the settlement and declined to offer its policy limits of $50 million. Liberty did not agree to a settlement that waived its subrogation rights and Cameron’s indemnification rights against Trans-ocean, leaving Liberty on the hook for $50 million. Liberty also pointed out another clause in its policy that, in its view, meant that its obligation to pay had not yet been triggered: the Other Insurance Clause. That clause provided that “[i]f other insurance applies to a ‘loss’ that is also covered by this policy, this policy will apply excess of such other insurance.” In turn, the policy defined “other insurance” as “any type of self-insurance, indemnification or other mechanism by which an Insured arranges for funding of legal liabilities.” Liberty argued that because Cameron had not yet exhausted its legal remedies against Transocean, “other insurance”— namely, Transocean’s indemnification— “applie[d]” to the loss, so Liberty’s policy was excess of that other insurance. Cameron disputed this interpretation.

Seeking to assuage Liberty’s concerns about subrogation, Cameron and BP inserted additional language into the settlement purportedly preserving Liberty’s subrogation rights. Then — despite Liberty’s refusal to contribute its policy limits— Cameron went ahead with the settlement, putting up $50 million of its own money in addition to the $200 million its other insurers contributed.

Because Liberty continued to refuse to offer its policy limits, Cameron filed this suit, asserting claims for breach of contract and for violations of the Texas Insurance Code. Liberty moved under Rule 12(c) for judgment on the pleadings, but the district court denied most of that motion. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court granted Cameron a $50 million judgment on its breach of contract action. But the district court granted judgment in favor of Liberty on Cameron’s Texas Insurance Code claims and, in a later order, denied Cameron’s request for attorney’s fees incurred in this action.

Cameron appealed the district court’s judgment against it on its claim under Chapter 541 of the Texas Insurance Code and on its claim for attorney’s fees. Liberty cross-appealed the district court’s judgment in favor of Cameron on its breach of contract claim.

II.

This court reviews de novo the district court’s grants of summary judgment. Morris v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, 457 F.3d 460, 464 (5th Cir.2006). Summary judgment is proper if “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.

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Bluebook (online)
807 F.3d 689, 2015 WL 7421978, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cameron-international-corp-v-liberty-insurance-underwriters-inc-ca5-2015.