Chapital v. Harry Kelleher & Co.

144 So. 3d 75, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 1606, 2014 WL 2532441, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1509
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 4, 2014
DocketNo. 2013-CA-1606
StatusPublished
Cited by60 cases

This text of 144 So. 3d 75 (Chapital v. Harry Kelleher & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chapital v. Harry Kelleher & Co., 144 So. 3d 75, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 1606, 2014 WL 2532441, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1509 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

ROSEMARY LEDET, Judge.

|, This is an insurance agent malpractice case coupled with an insurance coverage dispute. The insured, Emmett B. Chapi-tal, Jr., M.D., and his wife, Jovita Marie Chapital, brought this suit against the insured’s agent, Harry Kelleher & Co., Inc. (“Kelleher”); the insurer of the insured’s agent, Westport Insurance Corporation (‘Westport”); and the insured’s own insurer, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”). From the trial court’s judgment granting all three defendants’ peremptory exceptions of peremption and motions for summary judgment and dismissing all the plaintiffs’ claims, the plaintiffs, Dr. Chapital and Mrs. Chapital, appeal. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1989 or 1990, Dr. Chapital purchased rental property located at 3106 Republic Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70119 (the “Property”).1 The Property was one of several rental properties that Dr. Chapital owned in New Orleans. In 1997, Dr. Cha-pital obtained, through Kelleher, dwelling coverage for the Property |2with the Louisiana Joint Reinsurance Plan. In August 2004, Dr. Chapital’s dwelling policy with the Louisiana Joint Reinsurance Plan was not renewed. Thereafter, Dr. Chapital obtained, through Kelleher, dwelling coverage for the Property through Citizens.2

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area and caused extensive damage to the Property. Citizens paid Dr. Chapital’s Hurricane Katrina damage claim, and Dr. Chapital began repairs on the Property. During the repairs, the Property was vacant. From 2006 through 2011, Dr. Chapital paid the premiums to insure the Property; and Citizens annually renewed the Policy.

On May 18, 2011, Dr. Chapital reported to Kelleher both a theft and a fire claim. The theft claim was that, in March 2011, a theft of copper occurred at the Property. The fire claim was that, in May 2011, a neighbor’s residence caught fire and caused damage to the Property. On the dates of the reported theft and fire, Dr. Chapital had not yet completed the repair of the Hurricane Katrina damage; thus, the Property was still vacant.

[80]*80On July 25, 2011, Citizens sent Dr. Cha-pital a letter denying coverage for the theft claim on the basis that theft was not a covered loss under the Policy.3 On lathe same date, Citizens sent Dr. Chapital a letter denying coverage for the fire claim on the basis that the Property had been vacant for more than 60 days. Citizens explained in the letter that because the Property had been vacant for more than 60 days before the fire, the Policy was suspended by its own terms at the time of the loss.4 Citizens also included in the letter a reservation of rights; it stated: “[w]e expressly reserve our rights to assert all other rights or defenses that we may have to this claim even though not enumerated above. We do not waive or relinquish any of our rights under the policy of insurance.”

On January 16, 2012, Dr. Chapital filed a petition for damages against Kelleher and Citizens. In his petition, Dr. Chapital asserted multiple causes of action against both Kelleher and Citizens, including negligence by agent (agent malpractice), breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, bad faith, and unjust enrichment.

|4In June 2013, Kelleher filed a motion for summary judgment and a peremptory exception of peremption.5 As to the former motion, Kelleher argued that it had no duty to identify Dr. Chapital’s insurance needs. As to the latter exception, Kelle-her argued that any claim against it for lack of coverage due to the application of the 60-day vacancy clause in the Policy was perempted by the one-year and three-year periods set forth in La. R.S. 9:5606.

Citizens filed a separate motion for summary judgment. In its motion, Citizens argued that it was not liable for the fire loss given the undisputed fact that the Property had been vacant since Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) — in excess of 60 days. Citizens contended that the 60-day vacancy clause precluded coverage. In the alternative, Citizens joined in Kelleher’s motion for summary judgment and exception of peremption. In so doing, Citizens contended that if it is found liable for any of Kelleher’s actions, it too should receive the benefit of peremption under La. R.S. 9:5606.6

[81]*81In opposing the motions for summary judgment, Dr. Chapital provided his own affidavit in which he attested to the following:

• That I was told by my agent, Kelleher, that the 60 day vacancy clause on my policy, was suspended on all properties that had suffered damages in Hurricane Katrina.
[• That this information seemed logical to me, as no one in New Orleans could have possibly repaired their property in 60 days. It took years for most of us.
• That I paid Kelleher directly, annual premiums ongoing for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. At no time, was I ever advised by Defendants, Kelleher and Citizens, that the 60 day vacancy clause had been reinstated.

In opposing the exception of peremption, Dr. Chapital contended that the peremp-tive period did not commence to run until July 2011 when Citizens, by letter, informed him that it was denying the fire claim because it was enforcing the 60-day vacancy clause.

On August 6, 2013, the trial court rendered judgment in the defendants’ favor, granting the motions for summary judgment and exception and dismissing all of the plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice. This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The standard of review of a trial court’s ruling granting a motion for summary judgment, pursuant to La. C.C.P. arts. 966 and 967, and the jurisprudence, is well-settled. As this court has noted, it can be summarized as follows:

Appellate courts review the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment de novo, using the same criteria applied by trial courts to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate. This standard of review requires the appellate court to look at the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, to determine if they show that no genuine issue as to a material fact exists, and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A fact is material when its existence or nonexistence may be essential to the plaintiffs [sic] cause of action under the applicable theory of recovery; a fact is material if it potentially insures or precludes recovery, affects a litigant’s ultimate success, or determines the outcome of the legal dispute. A genuine issue is one as to which reasonable persons could disagree; if reasonable persons could reach only one conclusion, no need for trial on that issue exists and summary judgment is appropriate. To affirm a summary judgment, we must find reasonable minds would inevitably | fiConclude that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of the applicable law on the facts before the court.
The summary judgment procedure is designed to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of actions. Summary judgments are favored, and the summary judgment procedure shall be construed to accomplish these ends.

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144 So. 3d 75, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 1606, 2014 WL 2532441, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chapital-v-harry-kelleher-co-lactapp-2014.