Hennessy v. Infinity Ins. Co.

358 F. Supp. 3d 1074
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedJanuary 28, 2019
DocketCASE NO. CV 18-9323-R
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 358 F. Supp. 3d 1074 (Hennessy v. Infinity Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hennessy v. Infinity Ins. Co., 358 F. Supp. 3d 1074 (C.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

MANUEL L. REAL, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendant Infinity Insurance Company's ("Defendant") Motion to Dismiss, filed on December 6, 2018. (Dkt. No. 14). Having been thoroughly *1078briefed by the parties, this Court took the matter under submission on January 2, 2019.

Plaintiff William Leroy Hennessy ("Plaintiff") alleges that Defendant issued to him an automobile insurance policy. The policy provided liability coverage for "property damage," defined under the contract as "physical damage to tangible property, including destruction or loss of its use, which is caused solely by an accident covered under this policy and occurring while the policy is in force." The contract goes on to state that Defendant will pay damages up to the policy limits for "property damage for which an insured person is legally liable because of an accident originating from the operation of the insured auto." On May 22, 2016, Plaintiff struck the vehicle of non-party Jay Photoglou, resulting in damage to Photoglou's vehicle. Photoglou made a claim for the damages to his vehicle. Defendant paid to repair the physical damage to Photoglou's vehicle but refused to pay for the alleged additional decrease in market value to his car due to non-physical "stigma damages." Photoglou sued Plaintiff in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Orange, Small Claims Division seeking those additional damages, which Photoglou labeled as "[d]iminished value to vehicle due to 'stigma/diminished value' as a result of the hit and run police report and its affect [sic] on public records such as 'CarFax' but not limited to 'CarFax.' " On June 22, 2017, Plaintiff and Photoglou stipulated to the entry of judgment against Plaintiff in the amount of $ 10,000 "for diminished value." Plaintiff sought to have the judgment paid by Defendant, which refused on the ground that inherent diminished value, or "stigma damages," were not covered by Plaintiff's policy. Plaintiff then filed the instant action asserting seven causes of action: (1) breach of contract; (2) fraud, misrepresentation and deceit, including relief under California Penal Code Section 496(c) ; (3) consumer legal remedies action, California Civil Code Sections 1770, et seq. ; (4) violation of California Business and Professions Code Sections 17203 and 17204 ; (5) violation of RICO; (6) triple damages and attorneys' fees under Penal Code Section 496(c) ; and (7) class action claims. Defendant now moves for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) is proper when a complaint exhibits either "the lack of a cognizable legal theory or the absence of sufficient facts alleged under a cognizable legal theory." Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't , 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1988). Under the heightened pleading standards of Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), a plaintiff must allege "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face," so that the defendant receives "fair notice of what the...claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 547, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ; Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 698, 129 S.Ct. 1937. "All allegations of material fact are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors , 266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir. 2001).

First Cause of Action: Breach of Contract; Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

To state a claim for breach of contract, a plaintiff must identify some contractual provision that has been breached. See Reichert v. Gen. Ins. Co. , 68 Cal. 2d 822, 830-31, 69 Cal.Rptr. 321, 442 P.2d 377 (1968). Here, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant breached the duty to defend and *1079the duty to pay for damages to Photoglou's vehicle in connection with the accident between Photoglou and Plaintiff. In addition, Plaintiff takes the inconsistent position that the insurance contract is "void and unenforceable" because it was written using terms that would be confusing to the average consumer. The parties do not dispute that Photoglou's vehicle sustained "property damage for which an insured person is legally liable because of an accident originating from the operation of the insured auto," and which was covered under Plaintiff's policy in effect at the time of the accident. However, Defendant asserts that it paid all damages to Photoglou which were covered under the policy, while Plaintiff contends that it did not.

In support of this position, Plaintiff cites to California case law and Civil Jury Instructions regarding the calculation of damages, which are irrelevant to the enforceability and interpretation of the contract at issue, as well as to multiple sections of the California Insurance Code. Insurance Code Section 22 merely defines the term "Insurance," and the policy at issue here does not conflict with that definition. Section 530, titled "Proximate Cause," states that "[a]n insurer is liable for a loss of which a peril insured against

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358 F. Supp. 3d 1074, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hennessy-v-infinity-ins-co-cacd-2019.