Latex Construction Co. v. Everest National Insurance

11 F. Supp. 3d 1193, 2014 WL 1292841, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42976
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMarch 31, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 1:12-CV-892-RWS
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 11 F. Supp. 3d 1193 (Latex Construction Co. v. Everest National Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Latex Construction Co. v. Everest National Insurance, 11 F. Supp. 3d 1193, 2014 WL 1292841, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42976 (N.D. Ga. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

RICHARD W. STORY, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on Everest’s Motions for Summary Judgment ( [54], [70])1 and Latex’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [74]. After reviewing the record, the Court enters the following Order.

Background

The Everest Policy

Latex Construction Company has been in the business of welding and laying pipes for over sixty years. According to its 2009 insurance renewal application, in 2007, Latex had revenues of $272,464,000. Latex procures various lines of insurance for its business, including: general liability, excess general liability, workers compensation, automobile, pollution, and others. Willis Insurance Services of Georgia, Inc. (“Willis”) is the insurance broker of record for Latex. Everest issued Policy No. 71G7000031-071, an excess general liability policy, to Latex for the period of January 1, 2007, to January 1, 2008 (“Everest Policy” or “Policy”).2 Zurich American Insurance Company (“Zurich”) provided Latex’s underlying general liability insurance for the same policy period (“Zurich Policy”). The Zurich Policy has a one million dollar per-occurrence limit of liability.

The Everest Policy applies to “injury or damage covered by the ‘first underlying insurance’ ” and obligates Everest to “pay on behalf of any insured those sums in excess of ‘underlying insurance’ or ‘other insurance’ that any insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages to which this insurance applies.” (Everest Policy, [70-2] I.A.I., I.A.2.) The Policy further obligates Everest to “defend any ‘suit’ against any insured seeking damages to which this insurance applies when ‘underlying insurance’ or ‘other insurance’ ... [c]ease to apply because of exhaustion of their limits of insurance solely by the pay[1195]*1195ment of claims, settlements, judgments or ‘defense expenses’ for an ‘occurrence’ to which this insurance also applies.” (Everest Policy, [70-2] VI.A.3.b.)

The Everest Policy’s notice provisions read:

Duties in the Event of ‘Occurrence’, Claim or ‘Suit’

a. In the event of an ‘occurrence’, claim, or ‘suit’ or ‘loss’, we or our representative must receive prompt notice of the ‘occurrence’ or ‘loss’....

b. If a claim is made or a ‘suit’ is brought against any insured you must:

(2) Notify us as soon as practicable. (Everest Policy [70-2] IV.3.a. (as amended and replaced by Georgia Changes, p. 32 of 38), IV.3.b.2.) The Zurich Policy contains similar notice provisions. The Everest Policy also provides: “No person or organization has a right under this Coverage Part ... to sue us on this Coverage Part unless all of its terms have been fully complied with.” (Everest Policy [70-2] IV.4.b.)

Along with the Policy, Everest provided Latex with Claim Reporting Guidelines (“Guidelines”). The Guidelines specify that they are “merely for illustrative purposes” and are not “intended to replace, modify or waive any terms, conditions or warranties contained in the policy.” (Guidelines [70-2] at 4 of 38.) The first page of the Guidelines provides contact information for sending excess liability loss notices to Everest. The Guidelines also address when the insured should report a claim to Everest. (Guidelines [70-2] at 5-6 of 38.)

The Panhandle Lawsuit

Latex was hired to work on Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company’s (“Panhan-die”) Tuscolusa East End Enhancement Project (“Project”). Latex’s responsibilities on the Project included welding the pipeline, hydrostatic testing the pipeline and getting it ready to be placed into service, and burying pipe. On October 23, 2007, a pipe section failed hydrostatic testing. During the test, the pipe ruptured near a weld. Three days later, after the pipe section was put back together, it failed another hydrostatic test, this time within an inch or so of a different weld. Dave Stotz, then-Vice President at Latex, testified that he believed he heard about the test failures immediately and recalled telling Latex’s President Bill Honey about the failures “on or about the time that the hydrostatic failures occurred.”

By November 2007, Panhandle communicated to Latex that it was “concerned” that the Project’s x-ray company (Acuren) had, for a variety of reasons, missed flaws in the welds and that some of the welds that had been accepted were no longer acceptable. Panhandle hired a third party to review the welds and audit the x-ray film. Ultimately, Panhandle had concerns about 200 to 300 welds. According to Stotz, as a result of the two pipe failures in October 2007, Panhandle shut the whole job down and spent millions of dollars investigating the remainder of the welds. (Stotz Depo. [70-1] at 20 of 47:4-12.)

On December 1, 2007, after reviewing lab reports and weld cross-sections related to the October 2007 test failures, National Welding sent a one-page letter to Latex. The letter indicated that the electrode specified by the welding procedures (established by Panhandle) for the Project was “asking for a cracking problem.” By the end of 2007, Latex acknowledged that there was a high repair rate on the welds, but the rate was not inconsistent with repair rates on other jobs. In a November 2007 meeting, a Panhandle project manag[1196]*1196er mentioned to Stotz that Panhandle may hold Latex accountable for some of the costs associated with the test failures. However, Stotz testified, “everybody else indicated that it wasn’t anything that Latex had done wrong,” and other than the project manager’s comment, “[Latex] didn’t think it was any issue.”

During a conference call on January 4, 2008, between Stotz and Panhandle representatives Dave Owen and Dan Pribble, Latex attempted to find ways to “appease” Everest so that they could continue their business relationship. (Stotz Depo. [70-1] at 32 of 47: 16-23.) On January 21, 2008, Pribble sent Bill Honey a proposed Agreement Letter “regarding [the] conversation on 1/4/08 ... concerning the settlement meeting for the repairs for our East End Pipeline.” (Proposed Agreement Letter [70-6] at 2 of 9.) According to the letter, it “captured the essence” of the January 4 conference. The letter reads, in pertinent part:

[T]he Parties acknowledged that the Project pipeline requires significant remedial evaluation and repair work before it can be placed into service. A comprehensive, independent review of the x-ray film has indicated many welds need to be cut out or repaired.... Latex will provide, at its sole cost and without any remuneration under the Construction Agreement, construction labor and equipment in support of repair and replacement of the defective welds above and below ground.... Latex will be responsible for the cost of repairs resulting from substandard installation practices and failure to comply with engineering and construction standards and specifications incorporated into the Construction Agreement....
In addition, the Parties agree to continue discussion with Acuren focusing on the financial impact as a result of Aeu-ren’s failure to timely detect the original weld anomalies.
So long as Latex faithfully performs its obligations as set forth above and is not in breach of any such obligations, Panhandle agrees that it will refrain from pursuing any legal action against Latex with respect to any matters that are subject to this Agreement.

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11 F. Supp. 3d 1193, 2014 WL 1292841, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42976, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/latex-construction-co-v-everest-national-insurance-gand-2014.