Diamond State Insurance v. Boys' Home Ass'n

172 F. Supp. 3d 1326, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37016, 2016 WL 1110422
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 22, 2016
DocketCase No. 3:13-cv-456-J-34PDB
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 172 F. Supp. 3d 1326 (Diamond State Insurance v. Boys' Home Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Diamond State Insurance v. Boys' Home Ass'n, 172 F. Supp. 3d 1326, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37016, 2016 WL 1110422 (M.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

MARCIA MORALES HOWARD, United States District Judge

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Plaintiff/Counterdefendant Diamond State Insurance Company’s Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 50; Motion), filed on July 30, 2014. Defendant Boys’ Home Association, Inc. (Boys’ Home) filed a response and cross-motion for summary judgment on August 13, 2014. See Opposition to Plaintiff/Counterdefendant Diamond State Insurance Company’s Disposi-[1329]*1329tive Motion for Summary Judgment and Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 55; Boys’ Home Response). In addition, Defendants A.D. and S.T. (the Parents), individually and on behalf of their adopted children, J.D. and W.D. (the Minor Children) filed a response to the Motion on September. 2, 2014. See A.D. and S.T.’s Response to Diamond State’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 60; Parents Response).1 With leave of Court, see Order (Doc. 64), Diamond State Insurance Company (Diamond State) filed a reply in support of its Motion on September 17, 2014. See Plaintiff/Counterdefendant Diamond State Insurance Company’s Reply Memorandum in Support of its Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 66; Reply). At the request of the parties, the Court entered an Order (Doe. 67) staying this case on September 18, 2014. However, following an April 27, 2015 Telephonic Status Conference, see Minute .Entry (Doc. 75), the Court lifted the stay and reactivated the case on May 6, 2015. See Order (Doc. 77). With the Court’s permission, see Order (Doc. 82), Diamond State filed a supplemental reply brief to which the Parents filed a sur-reply. See Plaintiff/Coun-terdefendant Diamond State Insurance Company’s Supplemental Memorandum in Support of its Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 83; Supplemental Reply), filed October 8, 2015; Defendants’ A.D. and S.T. Response in Opposition to Plaintiff, Diamond .State’s Supplemental Memorandum in Support of its Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 84; Parents Sur-Reply), filed October 22, 2015. Accordingly, this matter is ripe for review.2

1. Background

This is an action for declaratory relief pertaining to an insurance coverage dispute between Diamond State, the insurer, and Boys’ Home, its insured. See Complaint for Declaratory Relief and Demand for Jury Trial (Doc. 1-3; Complaint). Specifically, Diamond State issued a Commer[1330]*1330cial Insurance Policy to Boys’ Home for the policy period spanning July 23,2010, to July 23, 2011. See Complaint, Ex. B (Doc. 1-2; the Policy).3 The Policy consists of coverage parts for Commercial General Liability, and Professional Liability, and a retroactive coverage date >of July 23, 2004, See Policy at 3, 5, 7.4 Significantly, the Policy is a “claims-made” policy such that “[coverage is provided for liability if the claim for damages if [sic] FIRST MADE during the policy period on an event that occurred on or after the retroactive date, if any, and prior to the expiration date of the policy or Extended Reporting 'Period, if applicable.” See id. at 21, 31, 61. The Parents, on behalf of their Minor Children, initiated an action against Boys’ Home in Florida state court alleging that the Minor Children suffered damages as a result of Boys’ Home’s negligence. See Complaint, Ex. A: First Amended Complaint (Doc. 1-1; State Complaint); see also A.D. & S.T. ex. rel. J.D. & W.D. v. Family Support Servs. of N. Fla., Inc., Case No. 16-2011-CA-002567-XXXX-MA (Fla. 4th Cir.Ct. 2011) (Underlying Action).5 The State Complaint pertains to conduct allegedly occurring between October 21, .2004, and October 17, 2006. See State Complaint ¶¶46, 77. On April 26, 2013, Diamond State filed the instant lawsuit in which it seeks a declaratory judgment that the Policy provides no coverage as to both the duty- to defend and the duty to indemnify for the claims asserted against Boys’ Home in'the Underlying Action, See generally Complaint. The Parents filed a Counterclaim (Doc. 16) against Diamond State' on August 9, 2013, requesting a declaratory judgment that Diamond State has a duty to defend and indemnify Boys’ Home with respect to the state claims. See Counterclaim at 6.

A. The Underlying Action6

The Parents make the following allegations against Boys’ Home in the State [1331]*1331Complaint. Boys’ Home is “a licensed child-placing agency, authorized by [the Department of Children and Families (DCF)] to conduct licensing studies of family foster homes and to certify to DCF that the home met its licensing requirements.” See State Complaint ¶ 13. On October 21, 2004, Annette Smith f/k/a Annette Ross (Smith) “submitted an application to [Boys’ Home] to become a licensed foster parent.” Id; ¶46. Despite having the relevant information, Boys’ Home “failed to conduct an appropriate background screening, including criminal and abuse records history, on [Smith’s] married name, the name of her former husband, and the name[s] of all of her biological children.” Id ¶ 49. If Boys’ Home had conducted an appropriate background screening, it would have discovered that Smith’s biological children were removed from her custody in 1992 as a result of verified allegations of abuse, which resulted in criminal abuse charges. Id. ¶ 50. An appropriate background screening also would have revealed abuse allegations against Smith regarding her biological children in 2001 and 2002. Id. ¶ 51. Boys’ Home also failed to obtain written references from non-relatives and investigate Smith’s “claim that she home-schooled her biological child.” Id. ¶52. Because Boys’ Home failed to property screen Smith for the foregoing “disqualifying information,” it “licensed [Smith] to foster up to four (4) children on December 6, 2004.” Id. ¶ 53.

On March 24, 2005, an agency acting on behalf of DCF, removed the Minor Children from the’ care of their biological mother and placed them in Smith’s licensed foster home. See id. ¶¶ 14-16. On April 6, 2005, two- other foster children were removed from Smith’s home as a result of abuse allegations.- Id. ¶ 54. The new foster mother for those children reported to Boys’ Home on April 16, 2005, that one of the children had disclosed to her serious allegations of abuse perpetrated by Smith, but Boys’ Home continued to license the Smith home. Id. ¶¶ 55-56. Smith applied to renew her license in October of 2005, and Boys’ Home “again failed to conduct an appropriate background screening.” Id. ¶¶ 57-58. Notably, on October 26, 2005, Boys’ Home received results “on the Central Abuse Hotline Record Search that indicated the prior abuse reports involving [Smith’s] biological children,” which gave Boys’ Home “actual or constructive knowledge” that Smith had lied during her initial application for licen-sure. Id. ¶¶ 59-60. In addition, Smith lied about the reason the two children were removed from her home in April, but Boys’ Home failed to review the prior year’s abuse reports or its own file, and as such, failed to uncover the falsehoods..Id. ¶¶ 62-63. Thus, Boys’ Home did not take that report and the subsequent allegations into consideration during the re-licensure process! Id. ¶ 63. .On December 6, 2005, Boys’ Home re-licensed Smith to care for two foster children, it increased her licensing capacity to four children on January 11, 2006, and on May 20, 2006, Boys’ Home placed two additional foster children in the Smith home without conducting the assessments and obtaining the approvals .required by DCF procedures. Id. ¶¶ 65-69.

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172 F. Supp. 3d 1326, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37016, 2016 WL 1110422, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/diamond-state-insurance-v-boys-home-assn-flmd-2016.