Capitol Reproduction, Inc. v. Hartford Insurance Company

800 F.2d 617, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 29871
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 10, 1986
Docket84-1040
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 800 F.2d 617 (Capitol Reproduction, Inc. v. Hartford Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Capitol Reproduction, Inc. v. Hartford Insurance Company, 800 F.2d 617, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 29871 (6th Cir. 1986).

Opinion

800 F.2d 617

CAPITOL REPRODUCTION, INC., a Michigan corporation, and
Capitol Air Surveys, Inc., a Division of Capitol
Reproductions, Inc., Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
HARTFORD INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 84-1040.

United States Court of Appeals,
Sixth Circuit.

Argued Sept. 23, 1985.
Decided Sept. 10, 1986.

Maureen Holahan, argued, Holahan, Malloy, Maybaugh, Monnich, Troy, Mich., for defendant-appellant.

Ralph Sosin, argued, Birmingham, Mich., for plaintiffs-appellees.

Before ENGEL and MILBURN, Circuit Judges, and WISEMAN,* District Judge.

ENGEL, Circuit Judge.

Hartford Insurance Company appeals from a judgment entered against it and in favor of plaintiff Capitol Reproductions, Inc., holding it obligated to indemnify Capitol for the sum of $62,500 in settlement costs and $1,065.60 attorney fees incurred in settling a third party action against Capitol. The district court held that an umbrella insurance policy which Capitol had taken out with Hartford covered the loss in question, that Hartford had wrongfully failed to defend the third-party action brought against Capitol, and that, in addition, because of the failure to defend, Hartford was not entitled to a $25,000.00 retained liability benefit under the umbrella policy. We affirm.

The legal questions under Michigan law regarding the insurance policies in this diversity case are most easily understood if the facts underlying the actual loss are first briefly described.

I.

In March, 1972, Linard Building Company, a Michigan corporation engaged in residential construction, purchased 46.78 acres of vacant land in the City of Troy, Oakland County, Michigan, intending to develop the premises into two platted residential subdivisions. To that end, it engaged the services of Giffels-Webster Engineers, Inc., and entered into a contract whereby the latter would serve as Linard's professional engineering representative in connection with the development of the land, and would provide engineering and surveying services related to the plats, storm drainage, sanitary sewage, draining, paving, retention areas, and other like developmental services. In connection with these services, Giffels-Webster obtained from plaintiff here, Capitol Reproductions, Inc., an aerial topographical survey of the property in question. In reliance upon the accuracy of the survey, Giffels-Webster commenced development of the property. It was ultimately discovered that the survey was incorrect, and that in consequence Giffels-Webster had placed sewer lines in the subdivisions three to four feet above their appropriate depth. Accordingly, Linard brought an action in the Oakland County Circuit Court alleging improper performance of its contract by Giffels-Webster, and seeking as part of the damages the cost of digging, trucking and spreading 130,000 yards of fill dirt which had been needed to raise the level of the subdivision by an average of three feet to assure that the sewer lines were at the appropriate level. Linard also claimed that it would incur additional costs in constructing the subdivision on the uncompacted fill dirt which had to be trucked in. It also claimed losses to the value of the subdivision lots themselves due to death of trees which were destroyed by the additional fill, and also a loss of aesthetic value due to the increased visibility of a main thoroughfare which was located near the subdivision.

In March, 1976, Giffels-Webster added Capitol Reproductions as a third-party defendant and sought indemnification from it on the basis that its defective survey had caused the loss for which Giffels-Webster was liable to Linard.

Capitol Reproductions at the time was covered by two separate policies of liability insurance with Hartford Insurance Company. A comprehensive general liability insurance policy with Hartford provided general coverage against liability for personal injury and property damages with limits of liability for property damage of $50,000 for each occurrence and with a $50,000 aggregate. While the comprehensive policy generally insured against property damage caused by any occurrences during the term of the policy and called upon Hartford to defend any suits, even if they were groundless, exclusion (k) of the policy provided:

This insurance does not apply:

to bodily injury or property damage resulting from the failure of the named insured's products or work completed by or for the named insured to perform the function or serve the purpose intended by the named insured, if such failure is due to a mistake or deficiency in any design, formula, plan, specifications, advertising material or printed instructions prepared or developed by any insured; but this exclusion does not apply to bodily injury or property damage resulting from the active malfunctioning of such products or work;

Hartford also provided Capitol with an umbrella liability policy for accidental property damage which carried an occurrence limit of $1,000,000, but with a retained limit of $25,000.1 This policy contained no equivalent to exclusion (k) of the comprehensive general liability policy. This policy did require Hartford to defend Capitol against any suit that alleged liability within the terms of the umbrella policy which was not covered by one of the underlying policies. Included among the schedule of underlying insurance policies for which the umbrella policy provided excess coverage, was the comprehensive general liability policy earlier referred to.

Upon being added as a third-party defendant in the Oakland County suit, Capitol called upon the Hartford to defend it, or otherwise to honor its obligation under the comprehensive and umbrella policies then in effect. After an investigation, Hartford concluded that the claim did not come within the coverage of either policy and declined either to defend Capitol or to participate in any negotiations for the settlement of Capitol's potential liability. Capitol thereupon proceeded to settle its liability by the payment of the sum of $62,500 and in the course thereof incurred legal expenses of $1,065.60. It then brought this action against Hartford which was removed on the basis of diversity to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

After the parties stipulated to the facts, United States District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor held that exclusion (k) of the comprehensive policy effectively relieved Hartford of any obligation under that policy. Capitol does not appeal that holding. She entered a summary judgment in favor of Capitol Reproductions and against Hartford, though, on the umbrella policy in the sums sought. She further found that because Hartford had refused to honor its obligation to defend Capitol, it was not entitled to the $25,000 retained liability which had been reserved in the umbrella policy. Hartford appeals.

II.

Under Michigan law an insurer's duty to defend its insured depends upon the allegations in the underlying complaint and is not limited to meritorious suits.

"The duty of the insurer to defend the insured depends upon the allegations in the complaint of the third party in his or her action against the insured.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
800 F.2d 617, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 29871, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/capitol-reproduction-inc-v-hartford-insurance-company-ca6-1986.