Harvey Canal Ltd. Partnership v. Lafayette Insurance Co.

39 So. 3d 619, 9 La.App. 5 Cir. 605, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 321, 2010 WL 785937
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 9, 2010
DocketNo. 09-CA-605
StatusPublished

This text of 39 So. 3d 619 (Harvey Canal Ltd. Partnership v. Lafayette Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Harvey Canal Ltd. Partnership v. Lafayette Insurance Co., 39 So. 3d 619, 9 La.App. 5 Cir. 605, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 321, 2010 WL 785937 (La. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

MARION F. EDWARDS, Judge.

The defendant/appellant, Lafayette Insurance Company (“Lafayette”), appeals a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff/appellee, Harvey Canal Limited Partnership (“HCLP”), in the amount of $3,640,000 as actual damages plus $5,000 in penalties. HCLP is the owner of a large commercial warehouse on Airline Drive in Kenner, [622]*622Louisiana. Lafayette insured the premises by a policy issued on November 1, 2004 and extended through November 1, 2005. Due to the landfall of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, the warehouse was damaged. On August 26, 2006, HCLP filed suit against Lafayette, alleging that Lafayette’s tender of $467,218.88 was grossly insufficient to cover the losses sustained. HCLP averred the premises, specifically the building’s roof, suffered damages in the amount of $2,795,075 and that Lafayette had denied its claim. HCLP urged that Lafayette was in bad faith and that its failure to pay was arbitrary and capricious and requested damages as well as penalties and attorney’s fees.

A jury trial was held in February 2009, following which the jury returned a verdict in favor of HCLP and against Lafayette in the amount of $3,640,000 as actual damages plus $5,000 in penalties. The verdict was made a judgment of the trial court. From this judgment, Lafayette has appealed.

hRay Fuenzalida, general manager of HCLP, testified that the property is a “high cube distribution facility” leased to one tenant, Crossroads Centers, for public warehousing. “High cube” means the building is high to accommodate racks of shelving for storage. The building footprint is 230,325 square feet, with the roof being about 232,000 square feet. It is 1,450 feet long on one side and 1,325 feet on the other — about twice as long as One Shell Square is tall. There are five firewalls in the building so that the sections are referred to as buildings one through five. The building is a food-grade facility, meaning it is FDA certified and must meet higher standards than most for cleanliness. The tenant of the building stored food products. In 2002, the roof required repairs in the amount of $1,600 to repair leaks. In 2003, there were no reported leaks. Through April of 2004, $2,350 was spent for roof repair. In April of that year, a hailstorm occurred and leaks began to appear in building five. It was determined that the roof, which consists of 20-gauge aluminum panels, was dented but not damaged, and HCLP applied an elas-tomeric coating, a rubberized top coat which is a common repair for metal roofs. Those repairs cost $55,000. There were no further leaks until Hurricane Katrina.

Due to that hurricane, a number of roof panels were blown off. Most of the damage was in the northeast, northwest, and southwest corners. There were many dents, cuts, and holes in the roof as well. The four firewalls became detached, and one had to be replaced completely. There was damage to the sprinkler system. Mr. Fuenzalida told Mr. Hugh Sparks, the Lafayette adjuster, that he thought a new roof was needed. Mr. Sparks told him to patch the roof. HCLP was able to obtain some roofing materials to make some emergency repairs, but those materials were not aluminum as was the original roof. Mr. Sparks’ report allocated $296,000 for roof repair at that time. The amount of $2,500 was allocated for gutter | replacement but cost HCLP $20,930. Since the emergency repairs, there are numerous leaks.

HCLP hired Guardian Roofing Systems to make repairs immediately after Hurricane Katrina. Robert Lewis of Guardian testified that, after that event, the company had to make repairs about once a month. The Bayer coating system would address all the leaks in the building but does not supply structural support. However, he would defer to the architect as to a decision on the necessity of a new roof.

Murray Architects (“Murray”) was hired to evaluate the roof damage. Murray determined that a new roof was needed and would cost approximately $2.8 million. [623]*623Other companies have estimated the new roof to cost over three million dollars. After receiving Murray’s report, Lafayette sent Haag Engineering Company (“Haag”) to check the roof. A report received from the independent adjuster hired by Lafayette, Property Loss Consulting (“PLC”), estimated damages to the roof in the amount of $467,218.88.

In 2008, Hurricane Gustav caused more damage to the property, even more than Katrina. Most of the damage from that storm was in the area of building five. Mr. Fuenzalida testified that, in his estimation, if a milder storm such as Gustav could damage twice as much square footage as Hurricane Katrina, then Katrina weakened the property to the point where it was no longer a viable roof. HCLP received $817,000 for repairs after Gustav.

Paul Murray, Jr. testified on behalf of Murray. Mr. Murray himself is not an architect but is a licensed, general contractor for building construction. He has designed approximately ten buildings with metal roofs similar to. the one in question but has been involved in every inspection the firm has done. He initially inspected the roof with an intern architect and took photos for his report. They | ^walked on the roof and found there was catastrophic damage in three corners of the building. Near the metal fasteners at the points of attachment, the roof had moved many times weakening it. From inside the building, light came through at every area where the roof had become unstable. One firewall had moved and needed repair while another was in danger of falling. Because there were dry goods stored inside that were not waterproof, a watertight covering was needed immediately.

Paul Murray, Sr. was qualified as an expert in architecture. He testified that movement of the metal panels in the roof against the rivets caused a weakening of the roof panels. The holes where the roof fasteners are inserted were stretched due to the roof movement. He recommended a new roof because a subsequent storm, such as Hurricane Gustav, would cause more damage. The estimate for a new roof given in 2005 would be increased in the current market at three-and-a half to four million dollars. Mr. Murray had not himself inspected the property.

Ronald Maines works for Crossroads Centers (“CRG”), a transportation and warehousing company and the tenants of HCLP. After the hailstorm, the roof continued to perform well once the elastomeric coating was used. After Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Maines told Mr. Fuenzalida about the problems with the roof. There were leaks all over the building. After a tarp was put on the roof, a lot of moisture still got in. Still, after patch work was done, they continued to chase leaks and are still doing so. There are leaks after any rain. After Gustav, huge sections of the roof were in the parking lot. If the roof is not replaced, CRC would have to find another building.

Kelly Spence, a construction consultant for a public adjusting firm, was qualified as an expert in the field of "public adjusting. He inspected the property in 2008. He walked the roof in the building and found debris hit impact marks, dimpling, and uplift throughout the roof. The stretching of the holes where the | fasteners were inserted was damage, rather than wear and tear. After Gustav, Mr. Spence again inspected the property and found that roof material had peeled away. According to the Lafayette policy, if the roof is damaged to the extent of not being repairable, the insured is entitled to a replacement roof. With a replacement-cost policy, the insurer is not entitled to subtract depreciation. With cash-replacement value, the insurer must pay the cash [624]

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39 So. 3d 619, 9 La.App. 5 Cir. 605, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 321, 2010 WL 785937, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harvey-canal-ltd-partnership-v-lafayette-insurance-co-lactapp-2010.