J.C. Penney Life Insurance Company v. Christian J. Pilosi James C. Pilosi

393 F.3d 356
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedDecember 28, 2004
Docket02-4204, 02-4298
StatusPublished
Cited by159 cases

This text of 393 F.3d 356 (J.C. Penney Life Insurance Company v. Christian J. Pilosi James C. Pilosi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J.C. Penney Life Insurance Company v. Christian J. Pilosi James C. Pilosi, 393 F.3d 356 (3d Cir. 2004).

Opinions

ROSENN, Circuit Judge.

This litigation has its genesis in an optimistic gambling junket to Atlantic City and a return flight that ended tragically in death. The ill-fated flight was part of a biweekly shuttle operated by Executive Airlines (“EA”) on behalf of Caesars Casino (“Caesars”). Elaine Pilosi, a passenger on the junket, lost her life when the EA airplane in which she was traveling crashed. Mrs. Pilosi left two sons who were the beneficiaries of an accidental death insurance policy that she had purchased from the defendant, J.C. Penney Life Insurance Company (“J.C. Penney Life” or “the Insurer”). The policy had three categories of losses, two of which are pertinent in this litigation. Part I provided benefits of $1 million for accidental death in “a public conveyance ... operated by a duly licensed common carrier for regular passenger service.” Part II provided for payment of $100,000 for accidental death in a private passenger automobile. And Part III provided for the payment of $50,000 for all other injuries.

J.C. Penney Life paid $50,000 under Part III of the policy and rejected the claim of the Pilosi brothers (“Pilosis” or “Insured”) for $1 million under Part I. The Insurer sued for a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania seeking a determination that the Pilosis were not entitled to the $1 million benefit. The Pilosis re[360]*360sponded and also raised affirmative defenses asserting, inter alia, that J.C. Penney Life’s claim is barred by the doctrine of waiver and/or estoppel, by its own bad faith, and by the doctrine of frustration of the purpose of the contract. In addition, the Pilosis counterclaimed for breach of contract and bad faith denial of their claim under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8371.1 The District Court, in a carefully considered opinion of a difficult case, entered summary judgment for the Pilosis in the sum of $1 million but rejected their claim under Pennsylvania law for bad faith damages. The Pilosis timely appealed the entry of summary judgment in favor of J.C. Penney Life on the bad faith claim, and J.C. Penney Life cross-appealed the entry of summary judgment awarding $1 million coverage. We affirm in part and reverse the summary judgment against J.C. Penney Life.

I.

The District Court had subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), as the diversity and amount-in-controversy requirements were met.2 This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, as an appeal from a final judgment that disposed of all parties’ claims.

“Disposition of an insurance action on summary judgment is appropriate, when, as here, there are no material underlying facts in dispute.” McMillan v. State Mut. Life Assurance Co. of Am., 922 F.2d 1073, 1074 (3d Cir.1990). The only contested issue in the instant case involves the interpretation of the scope of coverage of the insurance contract. “The interpretation of the scope of coverage of an insurance contract is a question of law properly decided by the court, a question over which [this court] exercise[s] plenary review.” Med. Protective Co. v. Watkins, 198 F.3d 100, 103 (3d Cir.1999); McMillan, 922 F.2d at 1074.

Summary judgment is appropriate only where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). In reviewing the record, this Court must view the inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Haugh v. Allstate Ins. Co., 322 F.3d 227, 230 (3d Cir.2003).

Where federal jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship, as it is here, we apply the choice of law rules of the state in which the District Court sat. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Lewis, 935 F.2d 1428, 1431 n. 3 (3d Cir.1991) (citing Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Elec. Mfg. Co., 313 U.S. 487, 496, 61 S.Ct. 1020, 85 L.Ed. 1477 (1941)). This action was instituted in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Under Pennsylvania choice of law rules, an insurance contract is governed by the law of the state in which the contract was made. Crawford v. Manhattan Life [361]*361Ins. Co., 208 Pa.Super. 150, 221 A.2d 877, 880 (1966); McMillan, 922 F.2d at 1074. “An insurance contract is ‘made’ in the state in which the last act legally necessary to bring the contract into force takes place.” Crawford, 221 A.2d at 880. “In most cases, this last act is delivery of the policy to the insured and the payment of the first premium by him.” Ruhlin v. N.Y. Life Ins. Co., 106 F.2d 921, 923 (3d Cir.1939).

In the instant case the policy makes no mention of insurance coverage being contingent upon delivery of the policy. However, the policy provided that coverage “will become effective on the Certificate Effective Date shown on the Schedule Page provided [that J.C. Penney Life] receive[s] the initial premium within 21 days of the Certificate Effective Date and while you are alive.” The Certificate Effective Date was two days after Mrs. Pilosi orally accepted J.C. Penney Life’s telephone solicitation offering three months of coverage at no cost and no obligation to continue. Payment of the first three monthly premiums was made by Mrs. Pilosi’s credit card company as part of a promotion that it offered in conjunction with J.C. Penney Life. Because the first three premium payments were automatically triggered upon Mrs. Pilosi’s oral acceptance, the last act legally necessary to bring the contract into force was Mrs. Pilosi’s telephonic acceptance of the policy. This occurred at her residence in ' Pennsylvania. Therefore, Pennsylvania law governs construction of the terms of the insurance policy.

A. “Public Conveyance”

The threshold issue is whether the EA airplane in which Mrs. Pilosi died qualifies as a “public conveyance.” Counsel for the Pilosis strenuously argue that, much like a taxicab, the airplane was a public conveyance. Although Caesars controlled who was allowed to board this particular flight, the Pilosis assert that the airplane was available for any member of the public at-large to charter before and after the Caesars flight. On the other hand, the Insurer contends that the airplane was not a public conveyance because members of the public at-large were not free to purchase tickets for the flight.

Unfortunately, the policy does not define “public conveyance.” However, the record reveals that the carrier was, indeed, a public conveyance. The airplane in which Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
393 F.3d 356, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jc-penney-life-insurance-company-v-christian-j-pilosi-james-c-pilosi-ca3-2004.