Indiana Insurance v. CE Design Ltd.

6 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2013 WL 6730772, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179372
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 20, 2013
DocketCase No. 12 C 8839
StatusPublished

This text of 6 F. Supp. 3d 858 (Indiana Insurance v. CE Design Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Indiana Insurance v. CE Design Ltd., 6 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2013 WL 6730772, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179372 (N.D. Ill. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Harry D. Leinenweber, Judge

Before the Court are the parties’ Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment. For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiff Indiana Insurance Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted in part and denied in part, and Defendant CE Design Ltd.’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Indiana Insurance Company (“Indiana”) is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business in Boston, Massachusetts. Defendant CE Design Ltd. (“CE Design”) is an Illinois limited [861]*861liability company. They dispute several coverage issues related to an insurance policy purchased from Indiana by non-party Matrix LS Inc. (“Matrix”).

On September 29, 2004, Matrix applied for business insurance from Indiana, with a combined single limit of $1,000,000. In its application, Matrix described its business as “lead generating office for mortgage brokers.” Pl.’s. Rule 56.1 Statement of Facts ¶ 14. Indiana sold Matrix Commercial Protector Policy No. BOP9894530 (the “Policy”), which had an effective date of September 28, 2004 and a termination date of September 28, 2005. The total policy premium charged by Indiana for the Policy was $501.00.

The Policy has several provisions that are relevant to this litigation. Under Section A for “COVERAGES,” the Policy provides:

1. Business Liability
a. We will pay those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of “bodily injury,” “property damage,” “personal injury” or “advertising injury” to which this insurance applies. We will have the right and duty to defend the insured against any “suit” seeking those damages. However, we will have no duty to defend the insured against any “suit” seeking damages for “bodily injury,” “property damage,” “personal injury” or “advertising injury” to which this insurance does not apply ....
b. This insurance applies:
(1) To “bodily injury” and “property damage” only if:
(a) The “bodily injury” or “property damage” is caused by an “occurrence” that takes place in the “coverage territory”; and
(b) The “bodily injury” or “property damage” occurs during the policy period.
(2) To:
(b) “Advertising injury” caused by an offense committed in the course of advertising your goods, products or services;
but only if the offense was committed in the “coverage territory” during the policy period.

Id. ¶ 38. Section F of the Policy provides various definitions with respect to several key terms related to “Liability and Medical Expenses,” including:

1. “Advertising injury” means injury rising out of one or more of the following offenses:
b. Oral or written publication of material that violates a person’s right of privacy;

Id. ¶ 30. The declarations page of the Policy provides coverage with limits of $1 million in liability and medical expenses and aggregate limits of $2 million for all non-product injury or damage. Id. ¶ 27.

CE Design initiated a class action lawsuit against Matrix in Lake County, Illinois on March 14, 2006 captioned CE Design Ltd. v. Matrix, Case No. 05 L 269 (the “Underlying Action”). In the Complaint filed in that action (the “Underlying Complaint”), CE Design alleges that Matrix violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (the “TCPA”), engaged in common law conversion and violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act, 815 Ill. Comp. Stat. 505/2, by sending unsolicited junk fax advertisements to Plaintiff and hundreds of others. It alleges that Matrix is responsible for sending more than 9.36 million unauthorized fax advertisements, including two specific faxes to CE Design without its [862]*862permission on February 16, 2005 and February 24, 2005.

On April 16, 2010, the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois, certified a class in the Underlying Action consisting of all persons who, on or after July 22, 2004, “were sent telephone facsimile messages of material advertising the commercial availability of any property, goods, or services by or on behalf of [Matrix].” Pl.’s L.R. 56.1 Statement of Facts ¶ 43. CE Design has moved for summary judgment in the Underlying Action for damages of more than $318 million.

Indiana filed the present action seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify Matrix with respect to the Underlying Action. Before the Court are the parties’ Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 requires this Court to enter summary judgment “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The inquiry is “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The court must review the record and draw all inferences from it in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Sharer v. Atchison, T. & S.F.R. Co., No. 91 C 3585, 1992 WL 107298 at *5, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7224 at *14 (N.D.Ill. May 14, 1992).

III. ANALYSIS

The parties agree that, with the exception of CE Design’s estoppel argument, Michigan law should apply to this dispute. With respect to the estoppel argument, the parties both analyze the issue under Illinois law. Courts in this Circuit honor reasonable choice-of-law stipulations in contract cases, and do not worry about conflict of laws unless the parties disagree on which state’s law’s apply. See, Lloyd v. Loeffler, 694 F.2d 489, 495 (7th Cir.1982); Wood v. Mid-Valley Inc., 942 F.2d 425, 427 (7th Cir.1991). As such, the Court will apply the law of the states chosen by the parties.

A. CE Design’s Estoppel Argument

CE Design claims that Indiana failed to disclose to Matrix conflicts of interest prior to appointing counsel to represent Matrix in the Underlying Action. Under Illinois law, failure to disclose such conflicts can lead to an insurer being es-topped from contesting coverage. See, Royal Ins. Co. v. Process Design

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
6 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2013 WL 6730772, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179372, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/indiana-insurance-v-ce-design-ltd-ilnd-2013.