Hallums v. Infinity Ins. Co.

309 F. Supp. 3d 1333
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedApril 19, 2018
DocketCase Number: 16–24507–CIV–MORENO
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 309 F. Supp. 3d 1333 (Hallums v. Infinity Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hallums v. Infinity Ins. Co., 309 F. Supp. 3d 1333 (S.D. Fla. 2018).

Opinion

FEDERICO A. MORENO, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

I. Background

This case presents the following question: whether the Lessor Liability Endorsements in Plaintiffs' automobile insurance policies provide insurance at all, or whether they are illusory. Plaintiffs maintain that the Graves Amendment, 29 U.S.C. § 30106, forecloses the possibility of lessor liability, and therefore, the Endorsement constitutes no insurance coverage. Before the Court are the Parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. See D.E. 68 and 83.

Infinity moves for summary judgment on the issue of whether the Endorsement provides insurance. See D.E. 68. In support, Infinity advances six arguments: (I) Plaintiffs lack Article III standing; (II) even if the Endorsement is ambiguous, coverage exists under Florida law; (III) even under Plaintiffs' theory, coverage exists for accidents occurring in other states; (IV) Infinity has a duty to defend lessors, even against claims barred by the Graves Amendment; (V) even under Plaintiffs' theory, the remedy is not to void the Endorsement, but to ignore the exclusion or limitation that renders it illusory and find coverage; and (VI) the filed-rate doctrine bars Plaintiffs' claims.

Plaintiffs move for partial summary judgment regarding Infinity's affirmative defenses on standing (defenses nos. 32, 35, 61), the filed-rate doctrine (defense no. 20), and fraudulent concealment (defense no. 9). See D.E. 56. Additionally, Plaintiffs *1336move for summary judgment on whether the Endorsement provides insurance. For the following reasons, the Court finds that the Endorsement is not illusory because Plaintiffs' interpretation of the Endorsement would render the Graves Amendment's savings clause a nullity. Moreover, the Court finds that the Endorsement imposes a duty to defend. Therefore, summary judgment is granted in Infinity's favor because there is no genuine dispute of a material fact and Infinity is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

II. Legal Standard

Summary judgment is authorized where there is no genuine issue of material fact. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co. , 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). The party opposing the motion for summary judgment may not simply rest upon mere allegations or denials of the pleadings; the non-moving party must establish the essential elements of its case on which it will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The non-movant must present more than a scintilla of evidence in support of the non-movant's position. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A jury must be able to reasonably find for the non-movant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Id.

III. Analysis

Standing

Infinity argues that Plaintiffs lack standing in the absence of a denied claim. Article III limits federal "judicial power" to the resolution of actual "cases and controversies." See U.S. Const. art. III § 2. To construe an Article III case or controversy, the plaintiff must have standing. "[T]he irreducible constitutional minimum of standing contains three elements:" (1) the plaintiff must have suffered an "injury in fact;" (2) there must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of; and (3) it must be "likely" that the injury will be "redressed by a favorable decision." Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife , 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) (citations omitted).

The crux of Infinity's argument is that Plaintiffs cannot be injured by an Endorsement that indemnifies a third party-Plaintiffs' lessors-not Plaintiffs. See D.E. 44 at ¶ 11 ("The [E]ndorsement provides the following additional Liability Coverage for your lessor."); see also D.E.

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Bluebook (online)
309 F. Supp. 3d 1333, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hallums-v-infinity-ins-co-flsd-2018.