KSPED, LLC v. Virginia Surety Company, Inc.

567 F. App'x 377
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJune 2, 2014
Docket12-6618, 13-5015
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 567 F. App'x 377 (KSPED, LLC v. Virginia Surety Company, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
KSPED, LLC v. Virginia Surety Company, Inc., 567 F. App'x 377 (6th Cir. 2014).

Opinions

OPINION

EDWARD R. KORMAN, District Judge.

On August 15, 2004, Cynthia Bivens, along with five other individuals including John Marsh, attended an event at the Kentucky Speedway, a race car track in Sparta, Kentucky. R. 24-1, Tr. of Keith Henry Dep. at 3-5 (Page ID # 145-47); R. 61, District Ct. Op. at 1 (Page ID # 1792). While there, Marsh was served alcohol by a food and beverage concessionaire employee. R. 57-5, K & K Loss Report at 19 (Page ID # 1598). Later that day, Bivens sustained fatal injuries when, while riding in a vehicle driven by Marsh, he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to overturn. R. 24-1, Tr. of Keith Henry Dep. at 4-5 (Page ID # 146-47).

On August 12, 2005, the Estate of Cynthia Bivens commenced a wrongful death lawsuit against Kentucky Speedway (“Speedway”), which owned the racetrack, and DJ’s Food Service Management Group, Inc. (“DJ’s”), the concessionaire that employed the individual who served Marsh at the racetrack. R. 28-2, Bivens Compl. at 1 (Page ID # 511). That action was consolidated with a previous lawsuit brought by the Estate on May 12, 2005 against OS Speedway, LLC (“OS”), a concessionaire that had subcontracted to DJ’s the right to sell food and beverages at the [379]*379Speedway. Appellee Br. 2 at 13. As relevant to Speedway, the Estate’s complaint alleged:

5. At the time and place stated above the persons selling alcohol and or serving alcoholic beverages to John D. Marsh were agents and or servants of the Defendants, and/or the Defendants were operating a joint venture at the time of selling and or serving alcoholic beverages to John D. Marsh a reasonable person under the same or similar circumstances should have known that John D. Marsh was already intoxicated.
6. The Defendants, acting by and through their agents and/or servants and/or independently of them, had a duty not to serve John D. Marsh alcoholic beverages under such circumstances, and the conduct aforesaid was in breach of that duty.
7. At the time and place stated above the DEFENDANT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY LLC had a duty to so control the conduct of those serving alcoholic beverages so as to prevent them [from] creating an unreasonable risk of harm to others, including Cynthia Bivens.
8. At the time and place stated above the DEFENDANT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY LLC had undertaken and represented to the public their power and duty to refuse the sale of alcoholic beverages to anyone which duty they should have recognized as necessary for the protection of third persons, including Cynthia Bivens, and its failure to exercise reasonable care in the discharge of that duty increased the risk of harm to Cynthia Bivens.
9. At the time and place and under the circumstances above the Defendant, DJ’S FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC., acting as concessionaire, had a duty to not serve alcoholic beverages to John D. Marsh which duty extended to KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY LLC.
10. THE DEFENDANT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY LLC, retained control of alcohol sales at its facility in Gallatin County Kentucky and as such any breach of duty by DJ’S FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC. is imputed to KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY LLC.
11. At the time and place stated above the DEFENDANT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY LLC was the possessor of the facility known as The Kentucky Speedway which facility was open to the public. As such it had a duty to Cynthia Bivens, its invitee, to protect her against the unreasonably dangerous activities of its concessionaire, DJ’S FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC., as stated above, which it permitted to engage in the activity of selling and or dispensing alcoholic beverages.
12. Selling and or serving alcoholic beverages to John D. Marsh under the circumstances stated above created an unreasonable and unjustifiable risk [of] harm to others including Cynthia Bivens and was in breach of the duties of the Defendants aforesaid.

R. 28-2, Bivens Compl. ¶¶ 6-12 at 2-3 (Page ID # 512-13). The complaint further alleged that as a direct and proximate cause of the Defendants’ breaches of these duties, Bivens died and the Estate was damaged by the loss of her power to earn money. Id. ¶¶ 14-16 at 3 (Page ID # 513). The parties in the Bivens litigation ultimately settled. Liability insurers for OS and DJ’s paid the Estate about $350,000, and Speedway settled its portion for $10,000. In addition, Speedway incurred approximately $74,000 in defense fees.

In the present case, Speedway claims that the Virginia Surety Company, Inc. [380]*380(“Virginia Surety”) wrongfully refused to defend and indemnify Speedway pursuant to the Commercial General Liability Coverage policy (the “CGL Policy”) that Virginia Surety had issued to Speedway. The district court granted Speedway’s motion for summary judgment on its claim that Virginia Surety’s failure to defend and indemnify constituted a breach of contract. It granted Virginia Surety’s motion for summary judgment on Speedway’s claim that the refusal to defend and indemnify was made in bad faith in violation of the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act, Ky.Rev.Stat. § 304.12-230. Virginia Surety appeals the breach of contract decision, and Speedway cross-appeals the bad faith decision.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Speedway Insurance Agreement with Virginia Surety

Speedway applied for the insurance policy at issue on July 22, 2003. R. 57-3, K & K Ins. Appl. at 30-34 (Page ID # 1506-10). In turn, Virginia Surety issued the CGL Policy, which provided that Virginia Surety “will pay those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of ‘bodily injury' ... to which this insurance applies. [Virginia Surety] will have the right and duty to defend the insured against any ‘suit’ seeking those damages.” R. 28-3, CGL Policy at 14 (Page ID # 528). The parties do not dispute that the underlying action was a suit seeking damages because of bodily injury. Nevertheless, they disagree over the applicability of the liquor liability exclusion in the CGL Policy, which excludes coverage for liability arising out of the sale of alcoholic beverages if the insured is “in the business of manufacturing, distributing, selling, serving or furnishing alcoholic beverages.” Id. at 14-15 (Page ID # 528-29). Virginia Surety argues that this exclusion applies to Speedway.

B. Relationship between Speedway and Concessionaires

1. Concession Agreement

In an agreement dated June 5, 2000 (“Concession Agreement”), Speedway granted OS “the sole and exclusive right ... to sell food and alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages ... at the Speedway at any and all events held at the Speedway.” R. 28-8, Concession Agreement § 1.1 at 1 (Page ID # 583). OS would provide “the concession, catering and restaurant services for and on behalf of’ Speedway. Id. at 1 (Page ID # 583).1 OS was responsible for retaining, training, monitoring, evaluating, disciplining, and dismissing employees, as appropriate, and it was “solely responsible ... for the employees and their actions.” Id. § 2.1 at 2 (Page ID # 584). Nevertheless, Speedway had “the right to approve management personnel to be used by” OS at the racetrack, id.

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Bluebook (online)
567 F. App'x 377, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ksped-llc-v-virginia-surety-company-inc-ca6-2014.