Martinez v. National Union Fire Insurance

911 F. Supp. 2d 331, 2012 WL 5993754, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170263
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedNovember 30, 2012
DocketNo. 5:12-CV-170-D
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 911 F. Supp. 2d 331 (Martinez v. National Union Fire Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martinez v. National Union Fire Insurance, 911 F. Supp. 2d 331, 2012 WL 5993754, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170263 (E.D.N.C. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES C. DEVER III, Chief Judge.

On March 5, 2012, Andrea Saud Martinez (“Martinez”) filed an action in Wake County Superior Court against National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA (“National”), Américan International Group, Inc. (“AIG”), and Chartis Claims, Inc. (“Chartis”) (collectively, “defendants”), arising from a disputed insurance claim. On March 30, 2012, defendants removed the action to this court based on diversity jurisdiction [D.E. 1]. On May 8, 2012, defendants filed a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure [D.E. 7]. On June 5, 2012, Martinez responded in opposition [D.E. 10], and defendants replied on June 13, 2012 [D.E. 11], As explained below, the court grants the motion to dismiss and dismisses all claims and defendants except for Martinez’s declaratory judgment claim and breach of contract claim against defendant National.

I.

In October 2000, Martinez, a citizen and resident of Sao Paulo, Brazil, incorporated a company in Brazil that facilitated health care clinical trials. See Compl. [D.E. 1-1] ¶¶ 1, 8. In May 2007, Martinez sold her company to AAIPharma, Inc. (“AAIPharma”), a Delaware corporation headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. Id. [334]*334¶ 9. Martinez entered into an employment agreement with AAIPharma, which named Martinez as sole manager of the newly-acquired Brazilian subsidiary (“AAIPharma Brazil”). Id. ¶ 10. To satisfy Brazilian law, Martinez also took a small equity stake (0.004%).in AAIPharma. Id. ¶ 11.

In 2008, AAIPharma Brazil incurred “substantial amounts of debt.” Id. 113. In 2009, Martinez relinquished her equity stake in AAIPharma Brazil, but continued working at AAIPharma Brazil to improve its financial situation. See id. ¶¶ 14-15. Ultimately, Martinez resigned from AAIPharma Brazil in October 2009 based on her disagreement with AAIPharma’s management decisions. Id. ¶ 16. In December 2009, AAIPharma announced the end of operations for AAIPharma Brazil, including terminating AAIPharma Brazil’s employees. Id. ¶ 17. AAIPharma Brazil ceased operations around March 2010. Id. ¶ 23.

Former AAIPharma Brazil employees soon commenced litigation in Brazilian courts, alleging violations of Brazilian employment laws. See id. ¶ 19. Based on her position as sole manager of AAIPharma Brazil and her equity stake, Martinez was sued, along with AAIPharma Brazil. Id. To date, the Brazilian courts have held Martinez liable to eleven of the eighteen employees who have brought suit. See id. ¶¶ 20-21. The judgments against Martinez total at least $523,333.45 and her legal expenses exceed $235,000.00. Id. ¶ 21.

On March 16, 2010, Martinez submitted a claim to defendants to defend her and reimburse her for costs and expenses incurred as a result of AAIPharma Brazil ending operations. Id. ¶¶ 38-39. She cláimed coverage under insurance policy number 03-144-34-32 (“the policy”) purchased by AAIPharma from National. See id. ¶ 24; Policy [D.E. 8-1] 2, 6.1 The policy period ran from July 15, 2009 to July 15, 2010, and included coverage for directors and officers, and employment practices liability. See Compl. ¶¶ 24-25, 34; Policy 3. The policy applied to claims made against insureds “anywhere in the world.” Policy 16; see Compl. ¶ 33. Martinez claimed that, “as a manager and officer of AAIPharma Brazil,” the policy covered her. Compl. ¶ 31.

On June 14, 2010, Chartis, as National’s “authorized representative,” replied to Martinez’s coverage request. Chartis June 14 Letter [D.E. 10-1] 1; see Compl. ¶ 40. Chartis denied coverage based on its interpretation of Brazilian law. See Chartis June 14 Letter; Compl. ¶ 40. On July 8, 2010, Martinez replied with a different interpretation of Brazilian law. See Compl. ¶¶ 42-43. None of the defendants directly responded to the arguments raised in Martinez’s July 8, 2010 letter. See id. ¶ 44.

On November 29, 2010, and February 16, 2011, Martinez filed further information in support of her claim. See id. ¶¶ 45-46. On May 13, 2011, Martinez received a response from “[d]efendants” that further explained the reasons for the denial of her claim. See id. ¶47. In July 2011, Martinez and “[d]efendants” exchanged letters about the potential applicability of a different insurance policy, with “[d]efendants” denying that the other policy provided coverage for Martinez’s claim. See id. ¶¶ 48-52. Ultimately, the parties reached an impasse about the validity of Martinez’s [335]*335claim, waived the policy’s mediation clause, and Martinez filed this action on March 5, 2012. See id. ¶¶ 53-57.

In her complaint, Martinez asserts five claims against all three defendants. First, Martinez seeks a declaratory judgment about whether defendants must pay Martinez’s claim. See id. ¶¶ 58-61. Second, she alleges that defendants’ denial of her claim constitutes a breach of contract. See id. ¶¶ 62-70. Third, she asserts that defendants’ denial of her claim constitutes tortious bad faith refusal to pay the claim under North Carolina law. See id. ¶¶ 71-79. Fourth, she asserts that defendants’ denial of her claim constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice under North Carolina General Statute § 75-1.1 (“UDT-PA claim”). See Compl. ¶¶ 80-86. Finally, she seeks an award of punitive damages. See id. ¶¶ 87-89.

II.

Defendants seek to dismiss several of Martinez’s claims based on Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Defs.’ Mot. Dismiss 2. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern procedural issues in cases removed to federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 81(c)(1); Hanna v. Plumer, 380 U.S. 460, 473, 85 S.Ct. 1136, 14 L.Ed.2d 8 (1965); Travelers Ins. Co. v. Riggs, 671 F.2d 810, 813 (4th Cir.1982). But the court “applies] the substantive law of the forum state including its choice of law rules.” Colgan Air, Inc. v. Raytheon Aircraft Co., 507 F.3d 270, 275 (4th Cir.2007) (per curiam). Thus, the court applies North Carolina substantive law, including North Carolina’s choice of law rules. In analyzing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a court must determine whether the complaint is legally and factually sufficient to state a plausible claim for relief. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); Coleman v. Md. Court of Appeals,

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Bluebook (online)
911 F. Supp. 2d 331, 2012 WL 5993754, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martinez-v-national-union-fire-insurance-nced-2012.