Commercial Financial Services, Inc. ex rel. Whitaker v. Great American Insurance Co. of New York

381 F. Supp. 2d 291, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16104
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 5, 2005
DocketNo. 02 Civ. 7168(RPP)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 381 F. Supp. 2d 291 (Commercial Financial Services, Inc. ex rel. Whitaker v. Great American Insurance Co. of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commercial Financial Services, Inc. ex rel. Whitaker v. Great American Insurance Co. of New York, 381 F. Supp. 2d 291, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16104 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

ROBERT P. PATTERSON, JR., District Judge.

Defendants Great American Insurance Company of New York (“Great American”) and Ohio Casualty Insurance Company (“Ohio Casualty”), joined by Westchester Fire Insurance Company (“Westchester Fire”), issuers of umbrella and excess liability insurance coverage to Plaintiff, Commercial Financial Services, Inc. (“CFS”), move to dismiss the First Amended Complaint (“Am.Complaint”), pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons that follow, this motion is denied.

BACKGROUND

The Am. Complaint, which was filed April 5, 2004, sets forth three causes of action: (1) breach of contract, (2) declaratory judgment, and (3) bad faith failure and refusal to pay. (Am.Compl.1ffl 55-71.) This action arises out of the failure of Defendants Great American and West-chester Fire to pay certain insurance claims, which CFS alleges were covered under the umbrella and excess insurance policies these carriers issued to CFS. (Id. ¶¶ 1, 3.) Defendants Great American and Ohio Casualty move to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) on the ground that the CFS “has failed to state a cause of action against [them] that can be supported in good faith under the law or facts.” (Great American Mem. (“GA Mem.”) at 1.) Defendant Westchester Fire moves to dismiss the Am. Complaint, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), “because CFS has failed to allege any cause of action under which relief may be granted in its favor.” (Westchester Fire Mem. at 10.)

[294]*294A. The Amended Complaint1

1. Parties

Plaintiff CFS is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Oklahoma, with its principal place of business in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Am.Compl^ 9.) On December 11, 1998, CFS filed for protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma and became a debtor and debtor-in-possession under the United States Bankruptcy Code. (Id.) Pursuant to the September 14, 2001 Order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, which confirmed CFS’s Second Amended Plan of Orderly Liquidation (the “Plan”), Lloyd T. Whitaker, a citizen of the State of Georgia, is the duly-appointed sole Trustee of the ABS Liquidating Trust, a trust established pursuant to that Plan. (Id. ¶ 10.) Prior to filing for bankruptcy protection, CFS was in the business of purchasing and selling non-performing loans and, at its peak, was the largest purchaser and servicer of defaulted credit card receivables in the world. (Id. ¶¶ 2, 21.)

Defendant Great American is a New York corporation, has its principal place of business in Cincinnati, Ohio, and resides in New York.2 (Id. ¶ 12.) Defendant Ohio Casualty, which is named as a Defendant because, “upon information and belief,” it purchased the commercial lines of Great American in 1998, including the policy at issue in this matter, is an Ohio corporation, which resides in Ohio and has its principal place of business in Fairfield, Ohio. (Id. ¶¶ 8, 14.) Defendant Westchester Fire is a New York corporation, which resides in New York and has its principal place of business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Id. ¶ 16.)

2. Facts

CFS obtained a number of insurance policies to protect itself from the risks associated with its business through a local Tulsa insurance agency, Chandler, Frates & Reitz, now known as CFR, Inc. (“Chandler Frates”). (Id. ¶22.) In the fall of 1995, Chandler Frates first obtained primary coverage for CFS from American International Specialty Lines Insurance Company (“AISLIC”) in the form of a policy of Bankers Professional Liability Insurance (the “BPL Policy”). (Id. ¶¶ 3, 23.) On October 4, 1997, AISLIC issued the BPL Policy number 244-04-01, and on October 4, 1998, issued a renewal of the BPL Policy number 244-34-23, which had an aggregate coverage limit of $5 million. (Id. ¶ 26.) The BPL Policy covered CFS for claims arising out of its rendering or failure to render professional services, which, as defined by the BPL Policy, included “[t]he servicing of any loan, lease or extension of credit.” (BPL Policy No. 244-34-23, Endorsement 1, attached as Ex. 12 to Pl.’s App. Vol. II, submitted Jan. 21, 2003 (“Pl.’s App. Vol. II”).)

Great American issued CFS an umbrella insurance policy, number UMB 8-52-26-68-05, with a $50 million aggregate limit for the policy period from March 5,1998 to March 5, 1999, which did not list the BPL Policy as underlying insurance. (Am. Comply 27.) In May of 1998, Great Amer[295]*295ican “reissued” policy number UMB 8-52-26-68-06 to CFS, with a policy period from May 14, 1998 to March 5, 1999 (the “Reissued Policy”), which stated its limits of “$50,000,000 Each Occurrence, $50,000,000 General Aggregate (Where Applicable) and $50,000,000 Products-Completed Operations Aggregate.” (Id. ¶ 28.) “On information and belief,” Chandler Frates stated that the reason for the Reissued Policy was to reflect the addition of CFS Kids, a daycare center, and CFS Camp to the policy. (Id.) This Reissued Policy provides that in the event of exhaustion, the policy will continue in force as “underlying insurance but for no broader coverage than is available under this policy.” (Id. ¶ 29.)

The Great American policy issued for the March 5, 1998 to March 5, 1999 period limited “underlying insurance” to policies “shown in the Declarations or endorsed to this policy,” while the Reissued Policy defines “Underlying Insurance” as “the insurance coverage provided under the policies shown in the Schedule of Underlying Insurance, or any additional policies agreed to by us in writing ....”3 (Id. ¶ 30 (emphasis in original and internal quotation marks omitted).) The Great American policies expressly exclude liability for any claims

arising out of or related to any actual or alleged act, error, omission, mistake or breach of duty, by or on behalf of any “Insured” in the performing or failure to perform banking or fiduciary services, or in giving financial, economic or investment advice, or out of the rendering of or failure to render any investment, advisory or management services....

(Pl.’s App. Vol. II Ex. 15, Reissued Policy, Financial Institutions Limitation ¶ 3.)

Also, in the section “Professional Liability Coverage-Following Form,” the following is expressly excluded:

Any liability for, caused by, arising out of, or in connection with the rendering of or failure to render any professional service, except to the extent that such insurance is provided by a policy listed in the Schedule of Underlying Insurance, and for no broader coverage than is provided by such policy.

(Pl.’s App. Vol. II Ex. 15, Reissued Policy, Professional Liability Coverage-Following Form (emphasis added).) Great American’s Reissued Policy does not include the BPL Policy on its Schedule of Underlying Insurance. (See Pl.s’ App. Vol. II Ex. 15, Reissued Policy, Schedule A-Schedule of Underlying Insurance.)

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Bluebook (online)
381 F. Supp. 2d 291, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16104, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commercial-financial-services-inc-ex-rel-whitaker-v-great-american-nysd-2005.