IUI v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co.

87 P.3d 774
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedApril 5, 2004
Docket51497-1-I
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 87 P.3d 774 (IUI v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
IUI v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 87 P.3d 774 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

87 P.3d 774 (2004)

INTERNATIONAL ULTIMATE, INC., Appellant,
v.
ST. PAUL FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY, a foreign insurance corporation; Compagnie D'Assurance Maritimes Aeriennes et Terrestres, a foreign insurance corporation; Protector Insurance Co., Ltd, a foreign insurance corporation; Donna R. Zeller and John Doe Zeller, wife and husband and marital community composed thereof; Sea-Pac Insurance Managers, Inc., a Washington corporation, Respondents.

No. 51497-1-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

April 5, 2004.

*778 Gregory Mann Miller, Robert G. Nylander, Seattle, WA, Charles A. Kimbrough, Attorney at Law, Bellevue, WA, for Appellant.

Mark Edward Mills, Clarke Bovingdon Et Al, Seattle, WA, for Respondent Compagnie D'Assurance.

John Patrick Hayes, Kenneth M. Roessler, Seattle, WA, for Respondent St. Paul et al. *775 *776

*777 BAKER, J.

International Ultimate, Inc. (IUI) brought this suit after its insurers denied coverage for a fishing vessel and its cargo. IUI appeals the trial court's decision granting the defendants' summary judgment, arguing that its loss arose because of barratry—a covered peril. In the alternative, IUI claims that had its insurance broker obtained a war risk policy as directed, the amended policy would have covered IUI's loss. IUI also argues that the trial court improperly considered inadmissible documents when granting summary judgment. Finally, IUI claims that the insurer and one of its employees are liable *779 under the Consumer Protection Act[1] (CPA) for negligently investigating and denying its claim.

We hold that any alleged error admitting documents is harmless, and that although the master's actions may have been barratrous, barratry was not the efficient proximate cause of IUI's eventual loss. Because IUI has failed to show that a war risk policy would have covered its loss, we dismiss its claim against the insurance broker. IUI fails to present any evidence that its insurers acted negligently or in bad faith when denying its claim. Accordingly, we reject IUI's CPA claim against the insurers. Finally, we conclude that the CPA is not a vehicle for insureds to sue adjusters in their individual capacity.

I

IUI purchased three fishing vessels in early 1995 and wrote its insurance broker, Sea-Pac, requesting coverage. Sea-Pac obtained hull and machinery insurance and cargo insurance for IUI through several underwriters (St.Paul). The hull policy covered vessel losses arising from certain named perils. The policy did not insure against all risks, and contained a "war strikes and related exclusions" section excluding losses due to "[c]apture, seizure, arrest, restraint or detainment [of a vessel], or any attempt threat." The policy specifically covered losses arising from barratry. Both the hull and cargo policies were in effect at the time of the alleged loss.

IUI wished to fish in Russian economic territorial waters. To facilitate this, IUI entered into several interrelated agreements with a Russian corporation, Moskam.[2] The first contract, titled "Bareboat Charter," transferred possession and control of the three vessels to Moskam. The agreement required Moskam to pay for maintenance and supplies for the three ships, including fuel and oil. The agreement also required that Moskam procure, manage, and pay for the crew. At the end of the charter period Moskam would then own the three boats. The agreement required that Moskam and IUI resolve any disputes by submitting the claim to the Sea Arbitration Commission of the Russian Federation, whose decision would be final and binding on both parties.

The second contract, titled "Vessel Management Agreement," appointed IUI as the exclusive manager for operating the ships under the bareboat charter agreement. Under the agreement, IUI operated the ships and coordinated "delivery, distribution, and sale of all seafood and seafood products harvested by the Vessels." The agreement also required IUI to pay all operating expenses, including wages, out of proceeds from selling the seafood products.

From the start, IUI and Moskam had a difficult business relationship. By early summer 1997, Moskam and IUI disagreed about disbursements due under the agreements. IUI contended that Moskam had breached the agreements and owed it over $12 million. Moskam claimed that IUI owed it money for past crab and flatfish catches, and that IUI was not making timely payments on invoices from fish sales. In June 1997, IUI withheld vessel regulatory documents because it had not received bareboat charter payments from Moskam.

In mid-July, the salmon season ended and the three boats began their journey back to South Korea, fully loaded with product. Moskam instructed all three vessels to go to a neutral control point to await IUI's payment of the back invoices. IUI then sent a communication to the vessels demanding that they return to South Korea. Moskam sent a contradictory notice that they should proceed to the Russian port of Petropavlovsk. The Ultimate I and II returned to Pusan, and the Ultimate III went to Petropavlovsk.

The Ultimate III remained at Petropavlovsk from July 1997. IUI and the insurers disagree about whether the ship was arrested by Moskam or detained by the Russian government.

At the end of July, IUI apparently notified Sea-Pac, its insurance broker, that one of its *780 boats "had been taken." IUI did not formally present a claim until mid-march 1998— nearly nine months after Moskam diverted the Ultimate III to Petropavlovsk. At that time, IUI explained to Sea-Pac that "we ... request that you notify the hull insurers of the ULIMATE NO. 3 and its cargo insurers of possible claims arising from barratry of its master and crew." The letter does not mention any arrest by Moskam or seizure by Russian authorities, stating only that "Moskam has refused to redeliver the vessel to us," and that "we have lost possession and control of the vessel."

Following an investigation, St. Paul concluded that the hull policy did not cover IUI's loss. St. Paul took the position that the loss had been due to a business dispute, not barratry. IUI then brought suit against the underwriters, Donna Zeller (an employee of St. Paul) in her personal capacity, and Sea-Pac Insurance Managers, Inc. The complaint alleged breach of contract, insurer bad faith, CPA violations, fault or negligence, and requested a declaratory judgment establishing coverage under the hull and cargo policies.

During discovery, IUI provided a number of documents, including the vessel management agreement, contracts for purchasing seafood product, ledger sheets, copies of the Russian arbitration decision and affiliated documents, letters exchanged between IUI and Moskam, and the assignment of the Ultimate III to Moskam. The defendants submitted these documents in support of their motions for summary judgment. Before the hearing, IUI moved to strike all of these documents, arguing that the defendants had not properly authenticated the documents and that the defendants did not have personal knowledge of the matters contained in them.

After extensive briefing and argument, the trial court admitted all of the challenged documents. The court then granted the summary judgment motions.

II

When reviewing an order granting summary judgment, we engage in the same inquiry as the trial court.[3]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Royal Caribbean Cruises v. Swedish Health Services
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
87 P.3d 774, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/iui-v-st-paul-fire-marine-ins-co-washctapp-2004.