Massachusetts Bay Insurance v. Boston Beer Co.

21 Mass. L. Rptr. 633
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedDecember 8, 2006
DocketNo. 054634BLS1
StatusPublished

This text of 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 633 (Massachusetts Bay Insurance v. Boston Beer Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Massachusetts Bay Insurance v. Boston Beer Co., 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 633 (Mass. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

van Gestel, Allan, J.

This matter is before the Court on two motions for summary judgment: Royal Indemnity Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Cross-claim, Paper #33, and Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment, Paper #39.

BACKGROUND

The underlying litigation, for the most part, seeks declaratory judgments as to whether two insurance carriers, Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company (“Mass Bay”) and Royal Indemnity Company (“Royal”), have defense or indemnity obligations to The Boston Beer Company or Samuel Adams Brewery Company, Limited (collectively, “Boston Beer”) in connection with certain class action lawsuits.

Between mid-February and mid-April 2005, five class action lawsuits (the “Class Actions”) were filed in five different states, alleging that the defendants — all manufacturers and marketers of alcoholic beverages — had illegally targeted underage drinkers in their marketing efforts. Boston Beer is among the defendants in the five suits. The suits are as follows:

1. Scioccheti v. Advanced Brands, et al, No. 102205 (Albany Co. Supreme Court, N.Y.);
2. Bertovich v. Advanced Brands, et al, C.A. No. 05-C-42M (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct., W.Va.);
3. Tomberlin v. Adolph Coors Co., et al, No. 05CV0545 Dane Co. Cir. Ct., Wise.);
4. Konhauzer v. Adolph Coors Co., et al, No. 05004875 (Cir. Ct. for 17th Jud. Cir., Fla.);
5. Alston v. Advanced Brands, et al, No. 05-509294 (Cir. Ct. for 3rd Jud. Cir., Mich.).2

With minor variations that are of no consequence for these purposes, the complaints in each of the Class Actions are identical. The individual complaints are massive, multifarious, internally inconsistent and flagrant abuses of the mandate for notice pleading such as in Mass.R.Civ.P. Rule 8(a). The complaints are long, rambling and anything but short and plain statements asserting a wide variety of claimed relief.

Both Mass Bay, whose policy covered only one of the applicable years in issue, and Royal, whose policies covered all of the other years, provided Commercial General Liability Coverage Forms and Liquor Liability Coverage Forms. The polices, again with inconsequential minor differences, are the same for these purposes.

Because of the necessity of comparing the claims in the complaint with the coverages in the policies, the Court here quotes from parts of the Tomberlin complaint and from the Royal policy.

Portions of the Tomberlin complaint.
This case arises from a long-running, sophisticated, and deceptive scheme by certain alcoholic beverage manufacturers [including Boston Beer] to market alcoholic beverages to children and other underage consumers. The primary purpose and effect of this ongoing scheme is to generate billions of dollars per year in unlawful revenue derived from sales of alcoholic beverages consumed by children and other underage consumers. This lawsuit seeks to force the Defendants to disgorge the profits these companies have made through the illegal sale and use of their products and to stop the abusive marketing practices that contributed to those illegal sales. [Para. 1]
* * * *
In addition to the human suffering inflicted on society, Defendants’ conduct has caused, and continues to cause, enormous economic injuries to the Plaintiff and the classes she seeks to represent. Parents and guardians in New York State3 [sic] and throughout the country are victimized as billions of dollars in family assets are transferred to Defendants as part of the far-reaching illegal trade in alcoholic beverages. And underage drinkers themselves, cynically manipulated by sophisticated and well-financed advertising and marketing efforts directed at them, provide Defendants with billions of ill-gotten gains. [Para. 6]
* * * *
These indisputable facts, even without the numerous other factual allegations and legal claims contained in this complaint, establish a clear prima facie showing of wrongful, unjust, and illegal conduct by the defendants. For example, a company is unjustly enriched, at the veiy least, when it knowingly and systematically profits from the illegal and harmful trade in dangerous products to children. A company is also negligent, if not reckless and wanton, when it fails to take reasonable steps to avoid inducing or encouraging the illegal and harmful purchase and use of a dangerous product by minors . . . Additionally, a company creates, contributes to or maintains a public nuisance when it [634]*634deliberately engages in sophisticated marketing practices, designed to substantially increase the sales of dangerous products to minors, which offend public morals, interfere with the use by the public of a public place or endanger or injure the property, health, safety or comfort of a considerable number of persons. [Para. 34]
* * * *
Plaintiff . . . Tomberlin is a resident of the State of Wisconsin and is a parent. As a parent, she and her child have been injured and continue to be injured by the Defendants’ conduct as alleged herein. [Para. 37]
* * * *
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each of the Defendants directly or through agents acting within the scope of their authority has: (a) caused tortious damage by acts or omissions committed in the State of Wisconsin; . . . (d) manufactured, marketed, promoted, sold, or distributed their products in the State of Wisconsin; . . . [Para. 39]
* sfc * *
Plaintiff and class members claim damages, including punitive, treble or statutory damages, of less than $75,000 and specifically deny any attempt to state a claim under federal law. [Para. 40]
* * * *
(A) a Guardian Class consisting of all persons who were or are parents or guardians of children whose funds were used to purchase alcoholic beverages marketed by Defendants which were consumed without their prior knowledge by their children under the age of 21 during the period 1982 to the present (the “Class Period”), excluding Defendants and their affiliates, officers, directors, and employees. [Para. 59(A)]
* * * *
There exist numerous questions of law and fact common to the Classes, including: . . . (o) whether the injuries caused by Defendants’ wrongful conduct are outweighed by any countervailing benefits to society or competition; (p) whether Defendants used reasonable care to avoid inducing or encouraging the illegal and dangerous purchase and use of their products by underage consumers; . . . [Para. 62]
* * * *
Boston Beer willfully, intentionally, recklessly and negligently engages in extensive unfair and deceptive marketing efforts directed at underage consumers, including marketing efforts that represent that its products have characteristics, uses, benefits, and approvals with reference to underage drinkers that they do not have . . . [Para. 90]
* * * *

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Bluebook (online)
21 Mass. L. Rptr. 633, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/massachusetts-bay-insurance-v-boston-beer-co-masssuperct-2006.