Hoban v. Nova Cas. Co.

335 F. Supp. 3d 1192
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedAugust 15, 2018
DocketNo. 1:17-cv-00286-DAD-SKO
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 335 F. Supp. 3d 1192 (Hoban v. Nova Cas. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoban v. Nova Cas. Co., 335 F. Supp. 3d 1192 (E.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

Dale A. Drozd, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

*1196This matter comes before the court on the parties' cross motions for summary judgment. A hearing on the motions was held on June 19, 2018.1 Attorney Kevin Pollack appeared on behalf of plaintiffs while attorney Stephen Ellingson appeared on behalf of defendant. Following oral argument, the matter was taken under submission. For the reasons given below, the court will grant plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, and will deny in part and grant in part defendant's motion for summary judgment.

BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are essentially undisputed.2 Plaintiffs own and operate Valley Bowl, a bowling center located at 12829 Highway 145, Madera, California. (Doc. No. 35-1 at 1.) On June 3, 2016, two roof trusses that helped support the roof of Valley Bowl (Truss Line 2 and Truss Line 5) failed. (Id. at 2.) These truss failures caused the building ceiling, overhead monitors, and disco ball to drop approximately six to ten inches, and also caused ceiling tiles and a layer of insulation to fall to the tabletops and counters below. (Id .) As a result of the truss failures, the ceiling fell to a height lower than it was originally constructed. (Id. ) Additionally, the truss failures caused damages to at least one of Valley Bowl's exterior walls. (Id. at 3.) A general contractor named Tom Powers and Madera County Building Inspector Harry Hinton inspected the damage to Valley Bowl on the same day the trusses failed, June 3, 2016. (Id. ) Madera County immediately ordered the business closed for public safety reasons until the necessary repairs could be completed. (Id. at 3-4.) Plaintiffs hired Powers to shore up the roof support system and prevent a complete collapse. (Id. at 4.) Following Powers' direction, the plaintiffs installed temporary braces that same day in order to prevent a complete collapse. (Id. at 5.) Powers performed interim repairs between late June 2016 and July 2016 to shore up the building's roof. (Id. ) Following the shoring by Powers, plaintiffs were able to re-open the bowling alley to the public. (Doc. No. 37 at 7.)

Plaintiffs had a commercial insurance policy with defendant in place on June 3, 2016. (Doc. No. 35-1 at 5.) The policy affords coverage for all direct physical losses unless excluded or limited. (Id. at 5-6.)

*1197While damages caused by collapse are typically excluded from coverage, plaintiffs purchased additional coverage specifically to provide protection in the event of collapse. (Id. at 6.) The relevant part of the "Additional Coverage - Collapse" provision reads as follows:

D. Additional Coverage - Collapse
The coverage provided under this Additional Coverage, Collapse, applies only to an abrupt collapse as described and limited in D.1. through D.7.
1. For the purpose of this Additional Coverage, Collapse, abrupt collapse means an abrupt falling down or caving in of a building or any part of a building with the result that the building or part of the building cannot be occupied for its intended purpose.
2. We will pay for direct physical loss or damage to Covered Property, caused by abrupt collapse of a building or any part of a building that is insured under this Coverage Form or that contains Covered Property insured under this Coverage Form, if such collapse is caused by one or more of the following:
a. Building decay that is hidden from view, unless the presence of such decay is known to an insured prior to collapse;
b. Insect or vermin damage that is hidden from view, unless the presence of such damage is known to an insured prior to collapse;
c. Use of defective material or methods in construction, remodeling or renovation if the abrupt collapse occurs during the course of the construction, remodeling or renovation.
d. Use of defective material or methods in construction, remodeling or renovation if the abrupt collapse occurs after the construction, remodeling or renovation is complete, but only if the collapse is caused in part by:
(1) A cause of loss listed in 2.a. or 2.b;
(2) One or more of the "specified causes of loss";
(3) Breakage of building glass;
(4) Weight of people or personal property; or
(5) Weight of rain that collects on a roof.
* * *
3. This Additional Coverage - Collapse does not apply to:
a. A building or any part of a building that is in danger of falling down or caving in;
b. A part of a building that is standing, even if it has separated from another part of the building; or
c. A building that is standing or any part of a building that is standing, even if it shows evidence of cracking, bulging, sagging, bending, leaning, settling, shrinkage or expansion.

(Doc. No. 35-1 at 7.)

Plaintiffs submitted their insurance claim on June 3, 2016. (Id. ) Defendant retained structural engineer Mike Jundt to investigate the causes of the structural damage. (Id. at 8.) On June 17, 2016, Jundt concluded Truss Line 2 failed "as the result of a hidden anomaly present in the natural occurring wood member material and the degradation of the wood fibers due to the daily and seasonal cycling of temperature and humidity." (Id. ) Jundt concluded, meanwhile, that Truss Line 5 failed "as a result of the combination of a defective method of construction and the degradation of the wood fibers due to the daily and seasonal cycling of temperature and humidity." (Id. ) Specifically, Jundt concluded that the most likely reason for Truss Line 5's failure was the method of construction used to create the steel side plate connection.

*1198(Doc. No. 37 at 30-31.) According to Jundt, welding side plates to connect bolts to the wooden beams is a common practice in the construction industry but it creates a connection that is "unable to adapt to the changing geometry of a large wood timber truss exposed to gravity loads over it[ ]s anticipated life." (Id. at 32.) Additionally, Jundt concluded that plaintiffs' efforts to shore up the trusses prevented further failures in the roof trusses which could have led to complete collapse with little further warning. (See id. at 15, 29.)

In a letter dated June 13, 2016, defendant's third party claims administrator advised plaintiffs that it had assigned Jundt to investigate the loss, but noted that "since the roof did not collapse the additional coverage under your policy for collapse does not apply." (Id. at 42.) Over the next several months, defendant continued to investigate the causes of the truss failures, communicating this to plaintiffs in July and August 2016. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
335 F. Supp. 3d 1192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoban-v-nova-cas-co-caed-2018.