Markel Insurance v. S.T.C.G., Inc.

737 F. Supp. 2d 626, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85539
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedAugust 19, 2010
DocketCivil Action No. 4:08-CV-758-Y
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 737 F. Supp. 2d 626 (Markel Insurance v. S.T.C.G., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Markel Insurance v. S.T.C.G., Inc., 737 F. Supp. 2d 626, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85539 (N.D. Tex. 2010).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT

TERRY R. MEANS, District Judge.

Before the Court are a Motion for Default Judgment (doc. # 35) and a Renewed [629]*629Motion for Summary Judgment (doc. # 58) filed by plaintiff Markel Insurance Company (“Markel”). By the latter motion, Markel seeks entry of a judgment declaring that it owes defendant S.T.C.G., Inc., neither a duty to defend nor a duty of indemnification in a lawsuit filed in a Texas state court (“the Underlying Suit”) by defendant Carriel Collins. After review, the Court concludes that Collins’s claim in the Underlying Suit against S.T.C.G. is excluded from coverage. Additionally, the Court concludes that, having ruled on Markel’s duty to defend and indemnify in the Underlying Suit, default judgment against Collins is now appropriate. Consequently, the Court will grant both the motion for summary judgment and the motion for default judgment.

I. Background

This declaratory-judgment action arises out of a lawsuit filed in a Texas state district court by Carriel Collins against S.T.C.G., a cheerleading and gymnastics facility. Collins also names Spieth Anderson International, Inc.; Spieth Anderson, U.S.A., LLC (together “the Spieth defendants”); and Ross Athletic Supply, Inc. (“Ross”), as defendants in the Underlying Suit. (Mot. App. at 99.) The factual allegations in Collins’s petition in the Underlying Suit are sparse: He seeks recovery “for personal injuries suffered by him while in the employ of [S.T.C.G.], on October 17, 2006.” (Id. at 102.) According to Collins, he

suffered an injury which was proximately caused by the Defendants. Plaintiff is now in a quadriplegic state. Defendant [S.T.C.G.] was a non-subscriber to the worker’s compensation laws, and [Collins] brings [the Underlying Suit] against [S.T.C.G.] under Tex. Lab.Code § 406.038. On or about October 17, 2006, [Collins] was injured while using equipment sold and manufactured by Defendants Spieth Anderson USA, Spieth Anderson International, and Ross. Namely Collins was using a Ross Tumble Trap and a Spieth Anderson resi-pit mat. Said equipment was defective ... to the point that it was unreasonably dangerous to [Collins]. Further, said defective equipment was a proximate cause of [Collins’s] injuries.”

(Id.) Collins goes on to allege that “[S.T.C.G.] was guilty of negligence and said negligence was a proximate cause of the occurrence in question.” (Id. at 106.) Collins also alleges strict products liability as to Ross and the Spieth defendants, contending that the equipment in question “failed to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect in [its] intended or reasonably foreseeable use or manner of operation.” (Id. at 103.)

S.T.C.G. is the insured under a commercial general-liability policy (“the CGL policy”) issued by Markel. By its summary-judgment motion, Markel seeks a declaratory judgment that it owes S.T.C.G. neither a duty to defend nor a duty of indemnification in the Underlying Suit. Markel is currently defending S.T.C.G. in the Underlying Suit under a reservation of rights. But Markel insists that it owes S.T.C.G. no duty to defend because the events alleged in the Underlying Suit fall within multiple exclusions in the CGL policy. And Markel insists that, for the same reason, it owes S.T.C.G. no duty of indemnification.

II. Discussion

A. Standards of Law

1. Summary-Judgment Standard

When the record establishes “that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law,” summary judgment is appropriate. Fed. R. Crv. P. 56(c). An issue is considered [630]*630“genuine” if “it is real and substantial as opposed to merely formal, pretended, or a sham.” Bazan v. Hidalgo Cty., 246 F.3d 481, 489 (5th Cir.2001). Facts are considered “material” if they “might affect the outcome of the suit under governing law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). To determine whether there are any genuine issues of material fact, the Court must first consult the applicable substantive law to ascertain what factual issues are material. Lavespere v. Niagara Mach. & Tool Works, 910 F.2d 167, 178 (5th Cir.1990). Next, the Court must review the evidence on those issues, viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id.; Newell v. Oxford Mgmt. Inc., 912 F.2d 793, 795 (5th Cir.1990).

In making its determination on the motion, the Court must look at the full record including the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and affidavits. See Fed. R. Crv. P. 56(c); Williams v. Adams, 836 F.2d 958, 961 (5th Cir.1988). Rule 56, however, “does not impose on the district court a duty to sift through the record in search of evidence to support” a party’s motion for, or opposition to, summary judgment. Skotak v. Tenneco Resins, Inc., 953 F.2d 909, 915-16 & n. 7 (5th Cir.1992). Thus, parties should “identify specific evidence in the record, and ... articulate” precisely how that evidence supports their claims. Forsyth v. Barr, 19 F.3d 1527, 1536 (5th Cir.1994). Further, the Court’s function is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

To prevail on a summary-judgment motion, the moving party has the initial burden of demonstrating that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). When the moving party has carried its summary-judgment burden, the respondent must go beyond the pleadings and by his own evidence set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial. Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp., 380 F.3d 219, 222 (5th Cir.2004) (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e). This burden is not satisfied by creating some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts, by conclusory allegations, by unsubstantiated assertions, or by only a scintilla of evidence. Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir.1994). If the evidence is merely color-able or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

2. Texas Insurance Law

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737 F. Supp. 2d 626, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85539, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/markel-insurance-v-stcg-inc-txnd-2010.