Kelly Godwin, V. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided May 16, 2022·No. 83463-1·Published

Opinion

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THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON KELLY GODWIN, an Individual, No. 83463-1-I Appellant, DIVISION ONE v. UNPUBLISHED OPINION

STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY, an Illinois Corporation doing business in Washington,

Respondent.

ANDRUS, C.J. — Kelly Godwin filed a claim with State Farm under her homeowner’s insurance policy after her roof was damaged by a windstorm. State Farm agreed to cover repairs to the portion of the roof damaged by the storm. Godwin sued State Farm for breach of contract, arguing that her policy required the insurer to pay to replace the entire roof. The trial court granted summary judgment for State Farm and Godwin appealed. Because the policy at issue is unambiguous and does not obligate State Farm to pay to replace the undamaged portion of Godwin’s roof, we affirm.

FACTS

In August 2015, Kelly Godwin purchased a Tudor-style house built in 1934 in Port Orchard, Washington. She insured the house with a homeowner’s policy

Citations and pin cites are based on the Westlaw online version of the cited material.

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issued by State Farm. In December 2018, a windstorm blew some shingles off of Godwin’s roof. She reported the damage to State Farm in March 2019.

Godwin hired Keith Delgado of Patriot Roofing to perform the repairs.

Delgado testified that he inspected the roof and determined that it had sustained wind damage on the ridge and front half of the house, but not on the back slope. Delgado prepared a report in which he opined that “[t]he existing [shingles] on the house are at their end of life and need[] to be replaced.” He prepared a proposal for a full roof replacement, including replacing all of the old asphalt composite shingles with comparable “Certainteed Landmark” asphalt shingles; installing a new underlayment and ice and water shield in the valleys, roof penetrations, and chimney; installing a new baffled ridge vent system to generate airflow from the attic; removing old roof vents no longer needed; removing roof sheeting in places to install baffles to ensure the attic insulation was not blocking airflow in the attic; installing double insulated hoses in the bath fan exhausts and flapper vents, new chimney flashing and counter-flashing; new safety roof anchors and all new steel drip edges on the eaves to facilitate water runoff; and replacing old neoprene boots around plumbing vents with new metal ones. Delgado’s cost estimate for this work was $20,628.08. Godwin accepted Delgado’s proposal and his company replaced her roof consistent with it.

On March 21, 2019, Godwin filed a claim with State Farm and Delgado sent his report and cost proposal to the insurer to support her claim. According to State Farm, it agreed to pay to replace “all of the shingles on the [roof] slope that had

No. 83463-1-I/3

been damaged.” It refused to pay to replace the entire roof because the back slope had not lost any shingles. 1 Godwin filed this suit for insurance bad faith, breach of contract, and a violation of the Consumer Protection Act. 2 State Farm moved for summary judgment, arguing that Godwin’s homeowners’ policy was unambiguous and required it to cover only repairs to the damaged portion of her roof. In response, Godwin submitted a declaration from Delgado who testified that the shingles on Godwin’s roof “were at the end of their useful life and could not be matched for color or condition due to age and fading.” 3 Delgado confirmed that no permit was required for his replacement work because Kitsap County does not require a permit when less than 2,100 square feet of roofing materials are being replaced on a single family residence.

The trial court granted State Farm’s motion for summary judgment. Godwin appeals.

ANALYSIS

Godwin argues the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for State Farm because the policy provision requiring the insurer to repair or replace the “damaged part of the property,” extends to the entire roof. Godwin separately

1 We do not have any evidence in the record to indicate what portion of the cost estimate State

Farm paid, but it appears undisputed that State Farm reimbursed Godwin for a portion of Delgado’s work attributable to replacing shingles along the roof ridge and front slope of the roof. 2 RCW ch. 19.86. 3 Delgado also testified that replacing the entire roof was “necessary due to wind damage,” and

that all roofing material manufacturers recommend that roof ventilation comply with the International Residential Code, the building code adopted in Washington. He further opined that the failure to properly ventilate and balance ventilation can reduce or eliminate warranties for a roof replacement. State Farm moved to strike these paragraphs of Delgado’s declaration as inconsistent with his deposition testimony, conclusory, or inadmissible legal opinion. The court granted this motion to strike. Godwin does not challenge that decision on appeal.

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argues that the policy language requiring State Farm make repairs with “similar construction” obligated it to match new shingles with the old, and if no shingles exist to provide a uniform appearance, the insurer had to replace the entire roof. Finally, Godwin contends there are genuine issue of material fact as to whether the policy required State Farm to pay to replace the entire roof to comply with building code requirements under a separate provision of the policy.

We conclude the State Farm policy is unambiguous and only required State Farm to pay to repair the portion of the roof that sustained wind damage and did not require it to replace Godwin’s entire roof.

Appellate courts review a summary judgment order de novo and perform the same inquiry as the trial court. Kut Suen Lui v. Essex Ins. Co., 185 Wn.2d 703, 709-10, 375 P.3d 596 (2016). Interpretation of an insurance contract is also a question of law we review de novo. Id. at 710. When we interpret an insurance policy, we consider it as a whole, giving it a fair, reasonable, and sensible construction as would be given to the contract by the average person purchasing insurance. Id. Where a term is undefined, we assigned it its ordinary meaning. Vision One, LLC v. Philadelphia Indem. Ins. Co., 174 Wn.2d 501, 512, 276 P.3d 300 (2012). Ambiguities and exclusions are construed against the insurer. Id. We harmonize clauses that seem to conflict in order to give effect to all of the contract's provisions. Kut Suen Lui, 185 Wn.2d at 710.

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