Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. of Ark., Inc. v. Hopkins

545 S.W.3d 257
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedMarch 7, 2018
DocketNo. CV–17–406
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 545 S.W.3d 257 (Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. of Ark., Inc. v. Hopkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. of Ark., Inc. v. Hopkins, 545 S.W.3d 257 (Ark. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

8. Collapse of buildings or any part of a building. Collapse does not include settling, cracking, shrinkage, bulging, or expansion. This peril is limited to damage caused by:
a. a named peril insured against in the policy; or
b. the weight of contents, equipment, animals, or people; or
c. the weight of rain, ice, snow, or sleet on a roof
....
PLEASE NOTE: The peril "Collapse of Buildings" may be excluded and not apply to some of the farm building(s) and/or farm building contents insured on your policy. Please check your latest policy Declaration to determine if coverage is excluded.

(Emphasis in the original.)

On July 6, 2015, Farm Bureau filed a complaint for declaratory judgment requesting that the circuit court declare that Hopkins's insurance policy does not cover his loss. Farm Bureau asserted that although "collapse" is the eighth of the nine named perils covered by the insurance policy, it denied Hopkins's claim based on the clear language in the policy that limits the collapse coverage to damage caused by "a.

*260a named peril insured against in the policy; or b. the weight of contents, equipment, animals, or people; or c. the weight of rain, ice, snow, or sleet on a roof." None of these causes were the cause of the collapse; thus, Farm Bureau argued, the loss was not covered by the policy.3 Alternatively, Farm Bureau argued that exclusions in the policy preclude coverage of certain water-damage related loss. The policy sets forth that

we do not cover loss resulting directly or indirectly from the following causes, and such loss is excluded regardless of any other cause or event contributing concurrently or in any sequence to the loss.
1. Water damage, meaning:
a. flood, surface water, waves, tidal water, or overflow of a body of water.
....
c. water on or below the surface of the ground, regardless of its source. This includes water which exerts pressure on or flows, seeps, or leaks through any part of a building or any other structure....
2. [L]andslide, mud slide or any other earth movement resulting from natural or artificial causes.
....
4. [P]ressure of water ... to pavement, patio, foundation, or retaining wall....

Hopkins answered and counterclaimed that Farm Bureau breached its contract by refusing to cover the loss. Hopkins asserted that he obtained collapse coverage on his hunting lodge because of the structure's close proximity to the Arkansas River, and he had been aware that the bank could recede, which could cause the structure to collapse. Hopkins explained that he contacted Farm Bureau agent, Chris Lane, discussed the risk of collapse with him, and obtained an insurance policy from him that covered "all risks to the Insured Structure, especially collapse for any reason." Hopkins points to the notation on the declaration page that collapse coverage is included in the policy, and he argues that this indicates that collapse for any reason is covered pursuant to his agreement with Lane.

Hopkins also argued that, to the extent the policy does not cover his loss, the policy should be reformed to reflect Lane's representation that collapse for any reason is covered and that Farm Bureau is bound by Lane's agreement. Hopkins requested that the circuit court dismiss Farm Bureau's request for declaratory judgment, declare coverage in his favor, award him any related interest and penalties, and award him attorneys' fees.

Farm Bureau responded to the counterclaim by denying Hopkins's allegations asserting that Lane is an independent contractor and not an employee of Farm Bureau.4

Hopkins filed a motion for partial summary judgment in which he argued that the insurance policy unambiguously covers the loss of the hunting lodge. Alternatively, he asserted that the language in the policy is ambiguous, and the policy must be construed in his favor. Hopkins stated that there are no genuine issues of material *261fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Farm Bureau responded that Hopkins had not made a prima facie showing that his loss fell within the coverage of the policy, and Farm Bureau also asserted that Hopkins's loss was precluded from coverage by exclusions in the policy. Farm Bureau stated that the cause of collapse was undisputed by the parties, and it attached Harris's written assessment that the flow of the river eroded the ground in front of and under the lodge's foundation, which caused the collapse. Hopkins denied that the exclusions in the policy applied in this case.

At the hearing on the motion, Hopkins argued that the policy limits collapse coverage to perils that are named in the policy and that "collapse" is one of them; thus, collapse for any reason is covered. Alternatively, Hopkins argued that the policy is ambiguous because "there is a section that defines what collapse is and then another section that attempts to limit that definition. But in stating that collapse is a named peril, it provides coverage for all collapses and does not limit anything." In short, Hopkins argued that if Farm Bureau wanted to exclude certain types or causes of collapse, it should have done so in unambiguous language.

In addition to its assertion that the language of the policy regarding collapse coverage unambiguously does not cover Hopkins's type of collapse, Farm Bureau argued that even if the collapse had been due to the weight of the contents of the building, the weight of precipitation on the roof, or one of the other named perils, the insured still has to make it through all of the exclusions before coverage applies. Farm Bureau explained that it was unrebutted that the collapse was caused by the "water damage" exclusion to the policy:

In fact, it [the collapse] was caused by landslide, earth movement resulting from natural causes, pressure of water to the foundation-and that's exactly what Al Harris found-that the flow of the river cut into the concrete foundation and caused the structure to fall in the river.

Hopkins responded that the engineer's report was hearsay, that Farm Bureau had not shown that any exclusions apply, and that the exclusions set forth in the policy are ambiguous. Farm Bureau asserted that Harris's findings had been properly included in the record. The court did not rule on whether the report was hearsay.

After the hearing, the circuit court entered an order awarding partial summary judgment to Hopkins and found the following:

Building collapse is one of the named perils in the policy, and the Declaration Page of the insurance policy states that collapse coverage is included. The policy does not clearly exclude the collapse of the Defendant's hunting lodge. If the language of a policy is ambiguous, then it must be strictly construed against the insurer. Tri-Eagle Enterprises v. Regions Bank , 2010 Ark. App. 64

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
545 S.W.3d 257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farm-bureau-mut-ins-co-of-ark-inc-v-hopkins-arkctapp-2018.