Canal Indemnity Co. v. Palmview Fast Freight Transportation, Inc.

750 F. Supp. 2d 743, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119343, 2010 WL 4520908
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 10, 2010
DocketCivil Action 3:09-CV-0451-D
StatusPublished

This text of 750 F. Supp. 2d 743 (Canal Indemnity Co. v. Palmview Fast Freight Transportation, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Canal Indemnity Co. v. Palmview Fast Freight Transportation, Inc., 750 F. Supp. 2d 743, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119343, 2010 WL 4520908 (N.D. Tex. 2010).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SIDNEY A. FITZWATER, Chief Judge.

An insurer moves for summary judgment in this action seeking a declaratory judgment concerning its duties to defend and indemnify arising from a state court lawsuit. Although the insurer relies on two policy exclusions to avoid coverage, the dispositive question is whether a reasonable jury could find that defendants are entitled to recover on theories of waiver and equitable estoppel. The court concludes that a reasonable jury could not find waiver but that it could find the insurer liable to one defendant under a theory of equitable estoppel. The court therefore grants in part and denies in part the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

I

Plaintiff Canal Indemnity Company (“Canal”) sues defendants Palmview Fast Freight Transportation, Inc. (“Palmview”), Flavio Salinas (“Salinas”), and Ricardo Vela (“Vela”), seeking a declaratory judgment concerning its duty to defend or indemnify with respect to a state court lawsuit. 1 See Salinas v. Palmview Fast *746 Freight Transp., Inc., No. C-041-08-J (430th Dist. Ct., Hidalgo County, Tex.) (the “Underlying Lawsuit”). In the Underlying Lawsuit, Salinas was awarded damages, to be paid by Vela, for injuries Salinas incurred during the course of employment as a trucker working for Palm-view and Vela. Canal had issued a policy of insurance (the “Policy”) to “RICKY VELA d/b/a PALMVIEW FAST FREIGHT” as the named insured. The Policy was amended in 2006 to replace all mention of Vela with the corporate entity, “Palmview Fast Freight Transportation, Inc.” P.App. 66-67.

In 2007 Salinas was severely injured while trying to unstrap a load on a truck that he was operating while employed by Palmview and Vela. Salinas brought the Underlying Lawsuit against Palmview. He added Vela as a party in 2008. Canal tendered defenses to Palmview and Vela under reservation of rights. Canal sent three reservation of rights letters. The first two were mailed to Palmview’s address on January 29, 2009 and February 20, 2009, respectively. The third was mailed to Vela’s personal address on October 8, 2009 and received by Vela’s brother on October 13, 2009, the day the trial of the Underlying Lawsuit was scheduled to begin.

Canal hired Michele Gonzales, Esquire (“Gonzales”) as defense counsel in the Underlying Lawsuit. According to Vela, Gonzales assured him that he was going to receive unconditional, individual representation. It is not clear from the record when Gonzales began representing Vela in his individual capacity. The first mention of Gonzales on the state court’s docket sheet is on January 29, 2008. Gonzales filed an answer for Palmview at that time but did not file an answer for Vela. On February 20, 2009 Gonzales entered an appearance for Palmview, then reentered the ease by filing a motion for continuance that referenced “defendant,” “defendant’s,” and “defendants.” Ds. App. 13. Gonzales later conducted discovery as if representing both Palmview and Vela, sending a request for discovery on behalf of “defendants” on February 25, 2009 and filing a motion to recuse on behalf of “defendants” on April 20, 2009. Id. at 17-41. On October 7, 2009 Lynse Larence Guerra, Esquire (“Guerra”), the attorney from Gonzales’ law firm who entered an appearance at the pretrial hearing, expressed lack of knowledge concerning whether her firm was representing Vela, individually, and whether an answer had been filed for Vela, even though the trial was less than one week away.

On October 8, 2009, just four days before trial, Salinas nonsuited Palmview and elected to proceed against Vela. On Gonzales’ advice, Vela did not appear or testify at trial. 2 Vela told Gonzales that Salinas had tested positive for cocaine immediately after the accident and that he wanted to assert this fact as a part of his defense at trial. But because Gonzales did not retain expert witnesses to testify about the test and did not authenticate the relevant medical records, the trial court excluded the evidence. The jury returned a verdict against Vela for $302,396.90. The judg *747 ment in the Underlying Lawsuit is currently on appeal.

Contending there is no coverage under the Policy, Canal seeks the following declaratory judgment relief:

a. That no coverage exists under CANAL INDEMNITY COMPANY Policy No. L061223 for the claims made in and which form the basis of that particular lawsuit styled: Cause No. C041-08-J; Flavio Salinas v. Palmview Fast Freight Transportation, Inc.; In the 430th Judicial District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas;
b. That CANAL INDEMNITY COMPANY has no duty to indemnify or any obligation to pay the Final Judgment rendered against RICARDO VELA in Cause No. C-041-08-J; Flavio Salinas v. Palmview Fast Freight Transportation, Inc.; In the 430th Judicial District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas;
c. That CANAL INDEMNITY COMPANY had no duty to defend and has no obligation to continue to appeal the Final Judgment against RICARDO VELA in Cause No. C-041-08-J; Flavio Salinas v. Palmview Fast Freight Transportation, Inc.; In the 430th Judicial District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas;
d. That CANAL INDEMNITY COMPANY is entitled to recover reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees expended in the prosecution of this Complaint; and
e. That CANAL INDEMNITY COMPANY is entitled to recover all other relief, general or special, at law or in equity, to which it shows itself entitled.

P. Mot. 2-3.

The Policy contains an Employee Exclusion clause and a Workers’ Compensation Exclusion clause. Canal maintains, and defendants 3 do not dispute, that the Policy excludes coverage for the damages awarded to Salinas. Instead, defendants contend that Canal can be required, based on waiver or estoppel, to pay the damages awarded to Salinas and the legal fees incurred by Vela.

Defendants maintain that Canal waived the non-coverage argument by failing to adequately inform him before trial of its reservation of rights. They also posit that, by assuming control over his defense and appointing an attorney who allegedly mishandled the trial to his prejudice, Canal is equitably estopped from avoiding financial responsibility for the defense provided.

Canal counters that waiver cannot expand the Policy in a way that adds new risks to the scope of coverage and that the elements of estoppel have not been met. Canal argues that it never intentionally concealed the potential lack of coverage from Vela and that Vela already knew or had the means of knowing that Salinas’ claims would not be covered by the Policy.

II

Although Canal would normally have the burden of proof at trial of establishing its right to a declaratory judgment, in Texas, an insured generally bears the initial burden of showing that a risk comes within the policy’s coverage. Ulico Cas. Co. v. Allied Pilots Ass’n,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Little v. Liquid Air Corp.
37 F.3d 1069 (Fifth Circuit, 1994)
Chaney v. Dreyfus Service Corp.
595 F.3d 219 (Fifth Circuit, 2010)
Erie Railroad v. Tompkins
304 U.S. 64 (Supreme Court, 1938)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Perry Homes v. Cull
258 S.W.3d 580 (Texas Supreme Court, 2008)
Ulico Casualty Co. v. Allied Pilots Ass'n
262 S.W.3d 773 (Texas Supreme Court, 2008)
Farmers Texas County Mutual Insurance Co. v. Wilkinson
601 S.W.2d 520 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Johnson & Higgins of Texas, Inc. v. Kenneco Energy, Inc.
962 S.W.2d 507 (Texas Supreme Court, 1998)
Employers Casualty Company v. Tilley
496 S.W.2d 552 (Texas Supreme Court, 1973)
Owens v. MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC
541 F. Supp. 2d 869 (N.D. Texas, 2008)
Trugreen Landcare, L.L.C. v. Scott
512 F. Supp. 2d 613 (N.D. Texas, 2007)
Trammell Crow Co. No. 60 v. Harkinson
944 S.W.2d 631 (Texas Supreme Court, 1997)
U.S. Bank National Ass'n v. Safeguard Insurance
422 F. Supp. 2d 698 (N.D. Texas, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
750 F. Supp. 2d 743, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119343, 2010 WL 4520908, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/canal-indemnity-co-v-palmview-fast-freight-transportation-inc-txnd-2010.