Manor Care, Inc. v. FIRST SPECIALTY INS. CORP.

584 F. Supp. 2d 1006, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120334, 2008 WL 4775355
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedNovember 4, 2008
DocketCase 3:03 CV 7186
StatusPublished

This text of 584 F. Supp. 2d 1006 (Manor Care, Inc. v. FIRST SPECIALTY INS. CORP.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Manor Care, Inc. v. FIRST SPECIALTY INS. CORP., 584 F. Supp. 2d 1006, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120334, 2008 WL 4775355 (N.D. Ohio 2008).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KATZ, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant First Speciality Insurance Corporation’s (“First Specialty”) motion for summary judgment (Doc. 118) and Defendant Intervenor United National Insurance Company’s (“United”) motion for summary *1009 judgment (Doc. 120). This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. For the reasons discussed below, First Speciality’s motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part, and United’s Motion for summary judgment is granted.

I. Background

This dispute arises out of Plaintiff Man- or Care Inc.’s (“Manor Care”) claim to proceeds from First Specialty for the sums expended by Manor Care to settle professional liability claims asserted against it by or on behalf of former residents of Manor Care nursing homes. Specifically, the parties dispute whether First Speciality was obligated to, but did not, pay the sums required of it in sixteen separate cases that Manor Care argues were covered under their agreement with First Speciality.

A. Facts

Manor Care owns and operates a nationwide network of assisted living facilities. The instant case relates to Manor Care’s insurance plan from June 1, 1999 to June 1, 2000, which covered professional incident liability in the operation of its facilities throughout the country.

Manor Care provided primary insurance in the form of a $500,000 per occurrence self-insured retention (“SIR”). If Manor Care’s $500,000 per occurrence SIR was exhausted, an agreement between Manor Care and First Speciality provided that First Speciality would provide the first layer of excess insurance. First Speciality Exhibit A. The policy states that First Specialty will, subject to certain terms and exclusions, pay the excess sums that Man- or Care “becomes obligated to pay as damages for liability imposed on [Manor Care] by law or assumed under an insured contract provided such damages are caused by an occurrence which takes place during [the] policy period because of personal injury ...” 1 Id. at 2. First Speciality agreed to provide $25 million in coverage per occurrence, with an aggregate limit of • $25 million.

United provided the second layer of excess insurance. See Doc. 46; United Exhibit 1 at 1-3. United and Manor Care agreed that if First Specialty’s aggregate limit was exhausted, United would provide $25 million in coverage per occurrence, with an aggregate limit of $25 million.

B. Procedure

On March 18, 2002, Manor Care filed a complaint against First Specialty in an Ohio state court alleging that First Spe-ciality breached its contractual obligations. Thereafter, First Speciality removed the case and it has been litigated in federal court for the past five years. On September 20, 2005, United entered the litigation when its motion to intervene was granted pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 24. Doc. 45.

On July 17, 2006, after cross-motions for partial summary judgment, Chief Judge James G. Carr issued an opinion explaining the meaning of certain provisions of the professional liability agreement between Manor Care and First Speciality that were in dispute. Manor Care, Inc. v. First Specialty Ins. Corp., 2006 WL 2010782 (N.D.Ohio, July 17, 2006); see also Manor Care, Inc. v. First Specialty Ins. Corp., 2006 WL 2371999 (N.D.Ohio, August 14, 2006) (clarifying the effect of the July 17, 2006 order on United’s motion for summary judgment). On October 30, 2006, Judge Carr denied Manor Care’s motion for certification of an interlocutory appeal of the July 17, 2006 decision pursu *1010 ant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) or Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). Manor Care, Inc. v. First Specialty Ins. Corp., 2006 WL 3097193, *1 (N.D.Ohio October 30, 2006). On April 1, 2008, the case was reassigned to this Court. Doc. 110.

C. Judge Carr’s July 17, 2006 order

Judge Carr’s July 17, 2006 order interpreted key provisions in the agreement between Manor Care and First Speciality. These include: (1) what constitutes a triggering event under the policy; (2) whether multiple SIRs may apply to a single lawsuit; (3) the extent of First Speciality’s exposure once a triggering event occurs; and (4) how multiple injuries occurring during and outside of the covered period might be apportioned. See Manor Care, 2006 WL 2010782.

First, the court addressed what constitutes a triggering event. First Speciality becomes obligated to pay a sum in excess of Manor Care’s SIR when an “occurrence” takes place. The policy defines “occurrence” as “an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same harmful conditions, which results during the policy period in personal injury or property damage.” Thus, the court concluded, that “both the relevant conduct, and the injury for which the insured seeks coverage, must occur during the policy period.” Id. at *2.

Second, the court considered whether multiple SIRs may apply to a single lawsuit. The court explained that the policy imposes a $500,000 SIR before excess coverage applies and that the SIR applies to “$500,000 each occurrence.” Id. at *4. As a result, the court concluded that multiple SIRs may apply to a single lawsuit. 2 The court reasoned that this reading of “occurrence” is consistent with both the policy and interpretation by Ohio courts. Id.; see e.g. Progressive Preferred Ins. Co. v. Derby, 2001 WL 672177, *3 (Ohio App.). The court explained that “[wjhere there are multiple proximate causes, each is a separate occurrence under an insurance contract.” 2006 WL 2010782 at *4 (citing Mich. Chem. Corp. v. Amer. Home Assur. Co., 728 F.2d 374, 378-83 (6th Cir.1984)).

Third, the court considered whether First Speciality was ever obligated to cover all of Manor Care’s damages stemming from a continuous triggering event, even during periods when other liability insurance applies. The court concluded that First Speciality is not responsible for “all sums” incurred for any occurrence triggering its policy. Id. at *5. The policy here at issue requires First Specialty to pay “those” sums above the primary insurance for which Manor Care is liable for as a result of a covered occurrence. Id. Thus, the policy only extends to sums paid to settle claims arising out of conduct during the policy period that resulted in injury during the policy period.

Fourth, the court addressed the issue as to how, if it becomes necessary, to apportion settlement damages among the parties.

This is somewhat of an unusual situation.

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584 F. Supp. 2d 1006, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120334, 2008 WL 4775355, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/manor-care-inc-v-first-specialty-ins-corp-ohnd-2008.