Lift-A-Loft Corp. v. Rodes-Roper-Love Insurance Agency

975 F.2d 1305, 1992 WL 232306
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedSeptember 22, 1992
DocketNos. 91-3287, 91-3392
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 975 F.2d 1305 (Lift-A-Loft Corp. v. Rodes-Roper-Love Insurance Agency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lift-A-Loft Corp. v. Rodes-Roper-Love Insurance Agency, 975 F.2d 1305, 1992 WL 232306 (7th Cir. 1992).

Opinion

HARLINGTON WOOD, Jr., Senior Circuit Judge.

Lift-A-Loft Corporation and Lift-A-Loft Manufacturing, Incorporated appeal the district court’s entry of summary judgment against them on all counts of their complaint against Rodes-Roper-Love Insurance Agency, Incorporated. Additionally, Rodes-Roper-Love asserts a cross-appeal against Fogelman-Oseman Insurance Agency, Incorporated and Stephen Ose-man, requesting that this court reverse the district court’s entry of summary judgment against them on their indemnification claim against the third-party defendants. For the following reasons we affirm the disposition of this case with regard to the Appellants’ negligence and breach of contract counts against the Appellees. However, we reverse the district court’s summary judgment disposition of the Appellants’ fraud claim and remand that claim for further proceedings. Because the Appellant's fraud claim still stands, we reverse the district court’s decision regarding the third party defendant’s liability to the Appellee.

[1307]*1307BACKGROUND FACTS

Lift-A-Loft Corporation, an Indiana Corporation, and Lift-A-Loft Manufacturing, Incorporated, an Illinois corporation, are in the business of manufacturing industrial commercial lifting equipment and work platforms. Rodes-Roper-Love Insurance Agency, Incorporated (“RRL”) is a Florida corporation. Steve Oseman was, at all times relevant to this case, Executive Vice-President of RRL. In February 1985 Lift-A-Loft Corporation and Lift-A-Loft Manufacturing, Incorporated (collectively referred to as “Lift-A-Loft”) were insured under a general liability policy issued by Reliance Insurance Company. The policy was to expire the last day in February, and Reliance was unwilling to renew it, so Lift-A-Loft sought replacement general liability insurance coverage. Oseman, Lift-ALoft’s insurance agent, solicited quotations from various companies. Oseman received a quotation from American Interinsurance Group (“American”) for $1,000,000 dollars of products liability coverage for a premium ranging from $199,260 to $292,498. Before delivering this quote to Lift-ALoft, Oseman spoke with another RRL employee, David Tooley, who was RRL’s chief underwriter. Tooley offered to contact Allied Fidelity Insurance Company (“Allied”). RRL was a Managing General Agent of Allied, and this status gave RRL special authority to underwrite and bind certain risks. Oseman testified that Tooley told him Allied had a B rating in the Best’s Key Rating Guide to insurers. Tooley then contacted Allied, and Allied agreed to provide a policy for Lift-A-Loft for $500,000.

After receiving the quote from Allied, Oseman testified he learned that Allied was going to be nonrated in the upcoming edition of Best’s. He also testified that Too-ley told him the reason for the nonrating was that Allied requested not to be rated because of a dispute as to the interpretation of Allied’s financial statements. Too-ley, however, denied discussing Allied’s Best’s rating with Oseman either before contacting Allied to get the quote or after Tooley obtained the quote.

Oseman then prepared a written proposal for Lift-A-Loft’s general liability coverage from March 1, 1985, to March 1, 1986, and he presented it to Francis Clarke, Lift-ALoft’s Vice-President at that time. Clarke testified Oseman showed him only the premium summary page of the proposal which provided general liability coverage for a premium of $152,000. This number was in fact the quoted premium for the Allied policy. Clarke testified that Oseman also told him another company would provide coverage for $100,000 above the Allied quote, but Oseman did not tell Clarke the other company's name (American), nor did Oseman tell Clarke that the Allied policy provided only $500,000 of coverage. Clarke believed both policies were for $1,000,000. Clarke testified further that Oseman told him Allied was a good company and that Oseman did not tell him that Allied was to be nonrated in the upcoming issue of Best’s Key Rating Guide to Insurers.

There was additional testimony by Ralph Dennis, Lift-A-Loft’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, that Oseman discussed the Allied quote and a quote from another company (American) in a meeting with Dennis, Clarke and Lift-A-Loft President, William Barefoot. Dennis stated that Ose-man never told him that the quote from the other company was for $1,000,000 coverage as opposed to Allied’s quote for $500,000. Dennis also stated that Oseman told the group that the two insurance companies were of comparable standing and that Allied was a good company. Dennis also stated that neither Oseman nor RRL ever mentioned to Lift-A-Loft the Best rating of either Allied or American.

Oseman’s testimony differs somewhat from the Lift-A-Loft representatives’. Oseman stated he went over the entire written insurance proposal with Clarke, not just the premium summary page. Oseman also stated he informed Clarke of the American quote and the Allied quote and their respective limits, $1,000,000 and $500,000. Oseman also testified he told Clarke he was unfamiliar with Allied and that Allied was going to be nonrated by Best, but Clarke responded he was familiar [1308]*1308with the company and there was no further conversation on that point.

Lift-A-Loft decided to take the Allied policy, and on July 17, 1985, Oseman delivered it to Lift-A-Loft. The policy provided coverage until March 1, 1986.

On March 6, 1986, the Marion County Circuit Court of Indianapolis, Indiana, entered an order placing Allied in rehabilitation. Lift-A-Loft learned of this shortly after the order was entered. In July 1986, about three months after the policy ended, the Marion County Circuit Court entered an order of liquidation in Allied’s case. At this point, Lift-A-Loft no longer had any general liability insurance coverage. And prior to the policy’s end on March 1, 1986, several claims arose under the policy. The briefs in this case discuss five of them. There was testimony that guaranty funds handled three of these five claims that arose under the Allied policy. Because the claims that arose under the policy’s coverage were referred to various guaranty funds for defense, Lift-A-Loft was not fully aware of the extent of its damage.

Lift-A-Loft received notice of the latest claim on November 6, 1986. That claim, the Doman claim, was filed in Illinois state court. At all times relevant to this case, Allied was not admitted to do business in Illinois, but Lift-A-Loft was not aware of this fact. Lift-A-Loft was informed that Allied was not admitted to do business in Illinois via a letter from the Indiana Insurance Guaranty Association dated January 21, 1987. The letter states that since Lift-A-Loft Manufacturing, Incorporated is an Illinois corporation, the Doman claim was not a “covered claim” as defined within Indiana Guaranty Association law. The letter further states that the Illinois Guaranty Association was not handling any of the Allied insolvency cases because Allied was not admitted to do business in Illinois. The letter finally states that the Indiana Insurance Guaranty Association was closing its file on the Doman claim.

Lift-A-Loft continued to correspond over the next two years with the Indiana Guaranty Insurance Association regarding the Doman claim. According to Ralph Dennis’s affidavit, Lift-A-Loft first incurred a loss and expense as a result of not having any general liability insurance for the period from March 1, 1985, to March 1, 1986, when it paid an attorney to defend a claim which occurred during the covered period. The date of this payment was May 28, 1987.

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975 F.2d 1305, 1992 WL 232306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lift-a-loft-corp-v-rodes-roper-love-insurance-agency-ca7-1992.