Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Westchester Fire Insurance

587 F. App'x 170
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedNovember 11, 2014
Docket13-30541
StatusUnpublished

This text of 587 F. App'x 170 (Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Westchester Fire Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Westchester Fire Insurance, 587 F. App'x 170 (5th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

JAMES L. DENNIS, Circuit Judge: *

This case involves an insurance-coverage dispute. Fluor Enterprises, Inc. (“Fluor”) contracted with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) to manage the delivery and installation of FEMA trailers following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Fluor subcontracted with MMR Constructors, Inc. (“MMR”) to haul and install the trailers. As part of the agreement between Fluor and MMR, MMR agreed to indemnify Fluor for any injuries arising, directly or indirectly, out of the parties’ contract itself or out of MMR’s acts or omissions. As relevant here, Fluor insured its liabilities through Westchester Fire Insurance Co. (“Westchester”) and *172 MMR insured its liabilities through Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. (“Liberty”).

A flash fire occurred in one of the trailers that MMR had hauled and installed, injuring the trailer’s inhabitant and killing her friend. The fire was caused in part by the failure of the trailer’s liquid-propane (“LP”) detector to alarm. The injured parties sued Fluor, MMR, and their insurers. Those suits settled. Now, in this case, Liberty seeks reimbursement for its settlement payments from Westchester, arguing that MMR was not responsible for any of the injuries. The issue before us is whether MMR was required, as part of its contract with Fluor, to test the LP detector and whether its failure to do so was a but-for cause of the injuries.

Following a bench trial, the district court concluded that MMR was under no such obligation. Consequently, the district court determined that MMR was under no obligation to indemnify Fluor, defeating coverage, and that Fluor was not covered under an additional-insured provision contained in MMR’s insurance policies with Liberty. We conclude that MMR was not obligated to test any trailer’s LP detector and the record supports the conclusion that Fluor did not in fact direct MMR to do so with respect to the particular trailer in which the fire occurred. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Fluor’s Contracts with MMR

In July 2005, Fluor contracted with FEMA to provide emergency housing assistance following natural disasters. Pursuant to its contract with FEMA, Fluor contracted with various subcontractors, including MMR, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The general terms of the agreement between Fluor and MMR were contained in a document titled the “Blanket Ordering Agreement” (the “BOA”), which went into effect on September 16, 2006. Under the BOA, MMR agreed to haul and install FEMA trailers for Fluor.

The BOA provided that “[performance of the Work under this Contract will be authorized and funded through Individual Task Order Releases (hereinafter ‘Releases’).” The BOA described the “scope of work” as supplying “all services, things, and items of expense necessary to perform the Work” but noted that “[ejach Release will contain a specific Scope.” Under Part III of the BOA, which described the “general terms” of the BOA — but not under Part I, which described the scope of work — MMR was obligated to “inspect all materials, supplies and equipment which are to be incorporated in the Work.” Additionally, Part III permitted Fluor to “require additional inspections and tests.” 1

The BOA also included an indemnity provision, which is at issue in this case, under which MMR agreed to defend and indemnify Fluor for injuries “arising directly or indirectly out of [the BOA] or out of any acts or omissions of [MMR]”:

28.1 [MMR] agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless [Fluor] and Owner, the affiliated companies of each, and all of their directors, officers, employees, agents and *173 representatives, from and against any claim, demand, cause of action, liability, loss or expense arising: ...
28.1.3 From injury to or death of persons (including employees of [Fluor], Owner, [MMR] and [MMR]’s subcontractors) or from damage to or loss of property (including the prop- . erty of [Fluor] or Owner) arising directly or indirectly out of this Contract or out of any acts or omissions of [MMR] or its subcontractors. [MMR]’s defense and indemnity obligations hereunder include claims and damages arising from non-delegable duties of [Fluor] or Owner or arising from use by [MMR] of construction equipment, tools, scaffolding or facilities furnished to [MMR] by [Fluor] or Owner

The indemnity provisions were to apply “regardless of whether the party to be indemnified was concurrently negligent.” The BOA also obligated MMR to obtain several different types of insurance naming Fluor as an additional insured. The BOA’s choice-of-law provision stated that the BOA must be interpreted in accordance with California law.

Although the BOA was the overarching base contract defining the rights and obligations of the parties with respect to MMR’s work, MMR was neither authorized nor required to perform specific work until Fluor issued an Individual Release that contained a specific scope. On January 7, 2006, Fluor issued the Release describing MMR’s haul-and-install work:

[MMR] shall supply all supervision, labor, equipment, tools, materials, protective equipment and all items of expense necessary to perform the Work described below:
1.1 Hauling and Installation services of Manufactured Homes, Travel Trailers, and Park Models as directed by [Fluor]’s representative throughout the state of Louisiana.

The Release incorporated certain exhibits, which set forth the specific tasks that MMR was required to complete. Those tasks included exterior installation, such as blocking and leveling the trailer, anchoring and strapping it, and installing it to sewer lines and gas lines. Additionally, MMR was required to make the trailer ready for occupancy, which included a duty to test certain appliances and appurtenances:

(a) Activate, test and make any necessary minor repairs to the refrigerator, range, furnace, air conditioner, and water heater for proper operations. Adjust pilots and burners, change orifices, water heater elements, etc., as needed;
(b) Test smoke detector and replace if faulty. Defective smoke detectors provided by FEMA or manufacturer upon receipt of damaged one; and
(c) Test exhaust fans for proper operation, repair as need.

B. MMR’s Insurance Contracts

MMR insured its liabilities under the BOA by acquiring contractual-liability insurance under a commercial general-liability policy and an umbrella excess-liability policy with Liberty. The general-liability policy defined as an insured any person or organization for whom MMR agreed to provide liability insurance, but only to the extent the insurance applies to personal injury or property damage arising out of MMR’s work. The excess-liability policy provided contractual-liability coverage only when “[a]ssumed in a contract or agree *174

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

Related

White v. Western Title Insurance
710 P.2d 309 (California Supreme Court, 1985)
Tunstall v. Stierwald
809 So. 2d 916 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2002)
St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance v. American Dynasty Surplus Lines Insurance
124 Cal. Rptr. 2d 818 (California Court of Appeal, 2002)
Transcontinental Insurance v. Insurance Co. of the State of Pennsylvania
56 Cal. Rptr. 3d 491 (California Court of Appeal, 2007)
Centex Golden Construction Co. v. Dale Tile Co.
93 Cal. Rptr. 2d 259 (California Court of Appeal, 2000)
Four Star Electric, Inc. v. F & H CONSTRUCTION
7 Cal. App. 4th 1375 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
Continental Heller v. AMTECH MECHANICAL SERV.
53 Cal. App. 4th 500 (California Court of Appeal, 1997)
Driscoll v. City of Los Angeles
431 P.2d 245 (California Supreme Court, 1967)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
587 F. App'x 170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/liberty-mutual-insurance-v-westchester-fire-insurance-ca5-2014.