Divine Motel Group, LLC v. Rockhill Insurance Company

655 F. App'x 779
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 19, 2016
Docket15-13020
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 655 F. App'x 779 (Divine Motel Group, LLC v. Rockhill Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Divine Motel Group, LLC v. Rockhill Insurance Company, 655 F. App'x 779 (11th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Divine Motel Group, LLC (“Divine”) appeals the district court’s grant of Rockhill Insurance Company’s (“Rockhill”) motion for summary judgment on Divine’s complaint raising one count of breach of contract. On appeal, Divine argues that the district court (1) misinterpreted its insurance contract, and (2) erred by discounting its proffered evidence. After careful review, we affirm.

A.

The relevant factual background is this. On June 20, 2012, Divine purchased the Royal Inn, a two-building property in Live Oak, Florida. The property had previously been run as a motel, until the previous owner defaulted on its mortgage and then ceased operations in November 2011. Rockhill issued an insurance policy to Divine, Insuring the Royal Inn against the risk of physical loss for the period from June 20, 2012, through June 20, 2013. The policy contained a coverage exclusion for rain damage to the building interiors (“the interior-rain-damage exclusion”), which said: “[Rockhill] will not pay for loss of or damage to ... [t]he interior of any building or structure, or to personal property in the building or structure, caused by or resulting from rain, ... whether driven by wind or not.” The policy contained an exception to this exclusion, providing that Rockhill would pay for damage to the interiors caused by rain if “[t]he building or structure first sustains damage by a Covered Cause of Loss to its roof or walls through which the rain ... enters.” The policy listed “windstorm” as a covered cause of loss.

On June 25, 2012, Tropical Storm Debby struck the Live Oak area. During the storm, a significant amount of rainwater entered the Royal Inn buildings, causing damage to the carpeting, drywall, and furnishings. Divine filed a claim under the insurance policy, which Rockhill denied based on the interior-rain-damage exclusion. Divine then sued Rockhill for breach of contract in state court, and Rockhill removed the case to federal district court. In district court, Divine argued that the exception to the interior-rain-damage exclusion applied because rainwater from Tropical Storm Debby. entered the Royal *781 Inn through portions of the roofs and walls that had been damaged by the storm. Rockhill moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted, concluding that Divine faded to proffer sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that the exception applied. Divine filed this timely appeal.

B.

We review a district court order granting summary judgment de novo, applying the same legal standard as the district court. Nat’l Parks Conservation Ass’n v. Norton, 324 F.3d 1229, 1236 (11th Cir. 2003). We also review de novo legal questions, including a district court’s interpretation of an insurance contract. Stephens v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., 749 F.3d 1318, 1321 (11th Cir. 2014).

At the summary-judgment stage, we view the material presented and draw all factual inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Animal Legal Def. Fund v. U.S. Dep’t of Agric., 789 F.3d 1206, 1213-14 (11th Cir. 2015). Summary judgment is appropriate if the movant demonstrates that “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The substantive law applicable to the case determines which facts are material. United States v. Four Parcels of Real Prop., 941 F.2d 1428, 1437 (11th Cir. 1991).

If the burden of proof is on the nonmov-ant, the movant must either: (1) demonstrate that the nonmovant has failed to proffer sufficient evidence to support an essential element of its case; or (2) proffer affirmative evidence demonstrating that the nonmovant will be unable to prove an essential element at trial. Id. at 1437-38. If the movant demonstrates the absence of a genuine factual dispute by either method, the burden then shifts to the nonmovant, which must show that a genuine issue remains for trial. Id. at 1438. To discharge this burden, the nonmovant “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007) (quotation omitted). “Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue for trial” and the moving party is entitled to summary judgment. Id. (quotations omitted). “An issue is not ‘genuine’ if it is unsupported by the evidence or is created by evidence that is ‘merely colorable’ or ‘not significantly probative.’” Baloco v. Drummond Co., Inc., 767 F.3d 1229, 1246 (11th Cir. 2014) (quotation omitted), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 136 S.Ct. 410, 193 L.Ed.2d 317 (2015). In other words, “[a] mere scintilla of evidence in support of the nonmoving party’s position is insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment; there must be evidence from which a jury could reasonably find for the [nonmoving] party.” Id.

C.

This diversity ease arises in Florida, and it is undisputed that the substantive law of Florida applies. Under Florida law, courts must construe insurance policies according to their plain meaning and resolve ambiguities in favor of the insured. Intervest Constr. of Jax, Inc. v. Gen. Fid. Ins. Co., 133 So.3d 494, 497 (Fla. 2014). However, the insured has the burden to prove its claim is covered under the policy. E. Fla. Hauling, Inc. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 913 So.2d 673, 678 (Fla. 3d Dist. Ct. App. 2005). Where, as here, the policy is an “all-risk” policy, “recovery ... will as a rule be allowed for all fortuitous losses not resulting from misconduct or fraud unless the policy contains' a specific provision ex *782 pressly excluding the loss from coverage.” Phoenix Ins. Co. v. Branch, 234 So.2d 396, 398 (Fla. 4th Dist. Ct. App. 1970). Once the insured establishes “a loss apparently witliin the terms of the policy,” the burden shifts to the insurer to prove an exclusion applies. Id. If an exception to the exclusion exists, the burden shifts back to the insured to prove the exception applies. E. Fla. Hauling, 913 So.2d at 678; see La-Farge Corp. v. Travelers Indem. Co., 118 F.3d 1511, 1516 (11th Cir. 1997).

The operative issue in this case is whether Divine satisfied its burden—at the summary-judgment stage—to prove that the exception to the interior-rain-damage exclusion applied, by showing that Tropical Storm' Debby damaged parts of the Royal Inn’s roofs or walls through which rainwater entered.

D.

Divine first argues that the district court erred by relying on Florida Windstorm Underwriting v. Gajwani, 934 So.2d 501 (Fla. 3d Dist. Ct. App.

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655 F. App'x 779, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/divine-motel-group-llc-v-rockhill-insurance-company-ca11-2016.