McCann v. Camico Mutual Insurance

161 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19996, 2016 WL 631946
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedFebruary 17, 2016
DocketCase No. 15-cv-01207-SI
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 161 F. Supp. 3d 858 (McCann v. Camico Mutual Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCann v. Camico Mutual Insurance, 161 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19996, 2016 WL 631946 (N.D. Cal. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SUSAN ILLSTON, United States District Judge

On December 4, 2015, the Court held a hearing on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the Court DENIES MHM’s motion for partial summary judgment and GRANTS CAMICO’s motion for summary judgment.

BACKGROUND

On March 13, 2015, plaintiff Mayer Hoffman McCann PC (“MHM”) filed this lawsuit against defendant CAMICO Mutual Insurance Company, alleging claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing,' declaratory relief, and reformation. Plaintiffs claims [861]*861arise out of a dispute regarding the terms of a Reinstatement Endorsement contained in an Accountants Professional Liability Insurance Policy issued by CAMICO to MHM for the 2007-2008 policy year. MHM contends that under the Reinstatement Endorsement, CAMICO was required to cover two large claims against MHM, aftér MHM exhausted its policy limits in its primary policy with CAMICO with respect to those two claims. CAMICO contends that the plain language of the Reinstatement Endorsement provides that limits are not reinstated on claims for which CAMICO has already paid MHM defense and/or indemnity expenses under the primary policy.

Now before the Court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. MHM seeks summary judgment on its claims for breach of contract and declaratory relief. Under both claims, MHM contends that pursuant MHM’s expectation of coverage, CAMICO’s internal and external documents, and under the terms of the CAMICO policy, CAMICO is required to provide reinstated coverage for the two claims that exhausted the primary limits of the policy. In the alternative, MHM seeks summary judgment on its claim for reformation, on the theory that reformation of an insurance policy is available when there has been a mutual mistake and/or scrivener’s error regarding the terms of the agreed contract. CAMICO seeks summary judgment on MHM’s claims for breach of contract, declaratory relief, reformation, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, as well as on CAMICO’s counter-claims for declaratory relief and reimbursement. CAMICO contends that the policy language is clear and unambiguous that reinstatement of coverage is not available on any claims for which claim expenses or damages have been paid in whole or in part by the policy’s original limit of liability. CAMICO further contends that there is no basis for reformation of the policy because there was no mutual mistake of fact or scrivener’s error, and the Reinstatement Endorsement was approved by MHM’s insurance broker. CAM-ICO seeks reimbursement in the amount of $1,450,707.84, plus interest, which is the amount that CAMICO contributed in excess of the original $5 million aggregate policy limit towards settlement of one of the claims.

I. Parties and policy language

MHM is a public accounting firm organized as a corporation under the laws of the State of Missouri and headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. Compl. ¶ 6. Defendant CAMICO is an insurance company incorporated in California and headquartered in San Mateo, California. Id. ¶ 6. CAMICO issued an Accountants Professional Liability Insurance Policy, Policy No. KSL103721-03, to MHM for the period December 31, 2007 to December 31, 2008 (the “CAMICO 2007-2008 Policy”). The CAMICO 2007-2008 Policy had a $5 million per claim limit and an original policy aggregate limit of $5 million.1 The CAMICO 2007-2008 Policy was the primary policy in an “insurance tower” providing a total of $25 million in insurance to MHM during that policy period. First Interstate Fire and Casualty Company provided $5 million in the first layer of excess insurance above the CAMICO Policy. Theus Decl. ¶ 14. Lexington Insurance Company provided an additional $10 million in excess insurance. Id. Catlin Insurance Company provided the final $5 million in excess insurance in the $25 million “insurance tower.” Id.

[862]*862Pursuant to a special endorsement, the CAMICO 2007-2008 Policy provided for “reinstatement” of CAMICO’s primary policy limits after the $25 million “insurance tower” had been exhausted. The Reinstatement Endorsement states, in relevant part,

Upon payment by the Named, Insured, or on its behalf by an excess liability insurer(s), of $20,000,000 in Claims Expenses and/or Damages with respect to Claims that would otherwise have been covered by this Policy but for the exhaustion of the Policy’s $5,000,000 Limit of Liability-Policy Aggregate, the Company agrees thereafter to reinstate the Named Insured’s $5,000,000 Limit of Liability-Policy Aggregate under this Policy, EXCEPT THAT, the reinstated Limit of Liability-Policy Aggregate shall not apply to any Claim for which Claim Expenses and/or Damages have been or are paid in whole or in part by the Policy’s original Limit of Liability-Policy Aggregate.

CAMICO Ex. 3 at 72.

II. Negotiation of the Reinstatement Endorsement

The 2007-2008 CAMICO Policy is a renewal of Policy No. KSL103721-02, issued by CAMICO to MHM for the period of December 31, 2006 to December 31, 2007. CAMICO Ex. 1. The 2006-2007 Policy was the first policy to include the Reinstatement Endorsement, and the language of the endorsement was identical in both the 2006-2007 Policy and the 2007-2008 Policy. Id.; Theus Decl. ¶¶ 3-4; Hecht Decl. ¶ 12; compare CAMICO Ex. 1 at 34 (2006-2007 Policy) with CAMICO Ex. 3 at 72 (2007-2008 Policy).

MHM was represented by Lemme Insurance Group in negotiating the terms of the reinstatement endorsement. Theus Decl. ¶¶ 4, 11; Hecht Decl. ¶¶ 2-3, 7, 9, 12. John T. Hecht is an insurance broker formerly employed by Lemme as an executive Vice-President, and Mr. Hecht supervised the placement of professional liability insurance for MHM. Mr. Hecht supervised Brad Barkin, another Lemme broker who was involved in negotiating the terms and conditions of the 2006-2007 Policy. Hecht Decl. ¶¶ 1, 3. Gwen Theus was the primary underwriter on the CAMICO 2006-2007 Policy, and she worked with several other CAMICO employees, including Richard Rosario and Ron Klein, in underwriting the 2006-2007 Policy. Theus Decl. U1Í2-3;

MHM has submitted evidence showing that on October 3, 2006, the then-President of MHM, William Hancock, and MHM’s National Director of Operations, Angela Snider, met with Richard Rosario of CAMICO to discuss MHM’s contemplated purchase of a reinstatement of limits under the 2006-2007 Policy. Hancock Decl. ¶ 4; Snider Decl. ¶ 2. John Hecht participated in the meeting via telephone. Hecht Decl. ¶ 2. On October 16, 2006, Mr. Hecht instructed Mr. Barkin to obtain a quote from CAMICO for a primary policy with a $5 million primary limit plus a $5 million reinstatement layer. Id. ¶ 3. On December 5, 2006, Messrs. Hecht and Barkin provided CAMICO with quotes from excess insurers for the “first tower” in order for CAMICO to provide pricing for the “second tower” of reinstated coverage. Id. ¶ 5.

In an email dated December 6, 2006, Mr. Hecht provided CAMICO with draft wording for the reinstatement coverage. MHM Ex. 7. That email states,

Gwen,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Maxum Indem. Co. v. Kaur
356 F. Supp. 3d 987 (E.D. California, 2018)
Evanston Insurance Co. v. Atain Specialty Insurance Co.
254 F. Supp. 3d 1150 (N.D. California, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
161 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19996, 2016 WL 631946, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccann-v-camico-mutual-insurance-cand-2016.