Christy v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America

810 F.3d 1220, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 891, 2016 WL 231158
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 20, 2016
Docket14-2168
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 810 F.3d 1220 (Christy v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Christy v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America, 810 F.3d 1220, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 891, 2016 WL 231158 (10th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

McHUGH, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-Appellant Corey Christy purchased a commercial general-liability insurance policy (the CGL Policy) from Travelers in the name of his sole proprietorship, K & D Oilfield Supply (K & D). Subsequently, Mr. Christy registered his business as a corporation under the name K & D Oilfield Supply, Inc. (K & D, Inc.). Mr. Christy renewed his CGL Policy annually, but did not notify Travelers that he had incorporated his business. After Mr. Christy formed K & D, Inc., he was in an accident and made a claim under the CGL Policy. Travelers denied coverage based on Mr. Christy’s failure to inform it of the change in business form, and Mr. Christy brought suit. On cross motions for summary judgment, the district court found in favor of Travelers. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

Mr. Christy purchased the CGL Policy from. Travelers in 2007. The Policy designated K & D as the named insured and listed the “Form of Business” as “Individual,” indicating K & D was a sole proprietorship. The CGL Policy insured a truck used for K & D’s business as a “covered auto” and included uninsured motorist (UM) coverage in the amount of $1,000,000. In addition to the CGL Policy, the Christys also purchased an auto insurance policy through Travelers on their personal vehicle (the Personal Policy).

Subsequently, an attorney advised Ms. Christy that K & D should be incorporated to protect the family’s assets from liability incurred by the business. The Christys incorporated K & D, Inc. in April 2008, but did not notify Travelers of the change.

Each year at the renewal of the CGL Policy, the Christys’ insurance agent sent a cover letter stating, “Please review your policy for accuracy and advise me if any changes or additional coverage are needed.” Additionally, the Christys’ insurance agent met with them annually to advise them about their coverage. The Christys did not inform Travelers of the formation of K & D, Inc. during any of these annual meetings.

On July 28, 2010, Mr. Christy was seriously injured when a vehicle operated by an underinsured motorist struck him while he was riding his bicycle. Mr. Christy recovered the underinsured motorist’s policy limits of $25,000. He received an additional $100,000 from the UM coverage on the Personal Policy with Travelers. Relevant to this appeal, Mr. Christy also sought to recover under the UM provision *1224 of the CGL Policy, 1 but Travelers denied the claim.

Mr. Christy brought suit, arguing he was entitled to UM benefits under the CGL Policy. Specifically, he pointed to the CGL Policy’s identification of K & D as the “Named Insured” and the “Form of Business” as “Individual.” 2 He also relied on the CGL Policy’s definition of an “Insured” as “any person or organization qualifying as an insured in the Who Is An Insured provision of the applicable coverage.” That provision of the CGL Policy states:

If the Named Insured is designated in the Declarations as:
1. An individual, then the following are “insureds”:
a. The Named Insured and any “family members”.
b. Anyone else “occupying” a covered “auto” or a temporary substitute for a covered “auto”. The covered “auto” must be out of service because of its breakdown, repair, servicing, “loss” or destruction.
c. Anyone for damages he or she is entitled to recover because of “bodily injury” sustained by another “insured”.
2. A partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or any other form of organization, then the following are “insureds”:
a.Anyone “occupying” a covered “auto” or a temporary substitute for a covered “auto”. The covered “auto” must be out of service because of its breakdown, repair, servicing, “loss” or destruction.
b. Anyone for damages he or she is entitled to recover because of “bodily injury” sustained by another “insured”.
c. The Named Insured for “property damage” only.

The UM endorsement further provides that Travelers will pay “all sums the ‘insured’ is legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or driver of an ‘uninsured motor vehicle’ because of ... ‘[b]odily injury’ sustained by an ‘insured’ and caused by an ‘accident.’ ” The CGL Policy broadly defines “Accident” to include “continuous or repeated exposure to the same conditions resulting in ‘bodily injury’ or ‘property damage.’ ”

Based on this language, Mr. Christy claimed he was entitled to recover UM benefits as an “insured” under the CGL Policy. Specifically, Mr. Christy argued that although K & D was designated as the named insured on the CGL Policy, Mr. Christy was the true named insured as the sole proprietor of K & D, which was simply a name under which Mr. Christy did business. According to Mr. Christy’s reading of the CGL Policy, the named insured was an individual — Mr. Christy— and therefore UM coverage was available for any accident, not only accidents occurring while the insured was occupying a covered auto. As such, Mr. Christy argued the CGL Policy provides coverage for the accident that occurred while he was riding his bicycle.

Travelers contended the incorporation of K & D effectively changed the named insured to K & D, Inc. And, according to Travelers, where the named insured is a corporation, the CGL Policy covers only *1225 persons occupying an insured vehicle at the time of the accident. Thus, Travelers asserts Mr. Christy’s bicycle accident is not covered by the CGL Policy.

Following discovery, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, advancing their competing positions on whether Mr. Christy was entitled to UM coverage under the CGL Policy. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Travelers. The district court found, first, that Mr. Christy had a duty to notify Travelers he had changed the form of his business from a sole proprietorship to a corporation. Second, the district court found that Mr. Christy’s failure to update Travelers about the change in his business structure constituted a material misrepresentation that had induced Travelers to renew the CGL Policy in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The district court therefore reformed the CGL Policy to reflect K & D, Inc. as the named insured from 2008 through 2010 and held that, as reformed, the CGL Policy did not cover Mr. Christy’s bicycle accident.

Mr. Christy appeals. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we reverse in part, affirm in part, and remand for additional proceedings.

II. DISCUSSION

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Bluebook (online)
810 F.3d 1220, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 891, 2016 WL 231158, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/christy-v-travelers-indemnity-co-of-america-ca10-2016.