Mic Property and Casualty Insurance Corp., a Michigan Corporation v. International Insurance Company, an Illinois Corporation

990 F.2d 573, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 6946, 1993 WL 98578
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedApril 6, 1993
Docket92-6186
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 990 F.2d 573 (Mic Property and Casualty Insurance Corp., a Michigan Corporation v. International Insurance Company, an Illinois Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mic Property and Casualty Insurance Corp., a Michigan Corporation v. International Insurance Company, an Illinois Corporation, 990 F.2d 573, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 6946, 1993 WL 98578 (10th Cir. 1993).

Opinion

LOGAN, Circuit Judge.

Defendant International Insurance Company (International) appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of plaintiff MIC Property and Casualty Insurance Corporation (MIC). Summary judgment is appropriate only if there is no genuinely disputed material issue of fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Reviewing the district court’s deci *575 sion de novo, Applied Genetics Int’l, Inc. v. First Affiliated Sec., Inc., 912 F.2d 1238, 1241 (10th Cir.1990), and viewing the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, Deepwater Invs., Ltd. v. Jackson Hole Ski Corp., 938 F.2d 1105, 1110 (10th Cir.1991), we reverse in part and affirm in part. 1

I

This action for contribution between insurance companies stems from the tragic drowning of a young boy, on June 3, 1987, while he participated in a “free swim” at Oklahoma State University (OSU), as part of the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP), an athletic activity sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). At the time of the accident, the NCAA had obtained from MIC a general liability insurance policy covering the NYSP, effective from June 1, 1987, to June 1, 1988. That policy included as named insureds the NCAA and those institutions hosting the youth program, including OSU.

Also in effect at the time of the accident was another comprehensive general liability policy that the NCAA had obtained from International, policy No. 2760. That policy was effective from June 23, 1986, to June 23, 1987, and included the NCAA as a named insured but not OSU.

The child’s estate commenced litigation in state court against the NCAA and OSU, as well as the Oklahoma State Board of Regents, alleging that the negligence of these entities caused the boy’s drowning. Both MIC and International received notice of this lawsuit. Although International denied coverage and declined to participate in the state tort litigation, MIC provided a defense to both OSU and the NCAA, ultimately settling the state litigation for $400,000.

MIC then commenced this federal diversity action, seeking contribution from International toward the amount of the settlement. The parties agree that Oklahoma law governs the issues in this case. In granting MIC’s motion for summary judgment, the district court determined that MIC was entitled to contribution from International for one-half of the amount of the settlement.

The first issue presented is whether International’s policy No. 2760 provided coverage for the NCAA’s liability arising from the estate’s negligence claims. That policy stated that International would “pay on behalf of [the NCAA] all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated. to pay as damages because of ... bodily injury ... to which this insurance applies.” Appellant’s App., doc.- 4, ex. A at 6. The policy described “Athletic Programs — Amateur” as the general liability hazard covered by this insurance. Id. at 7. By its clear terms, therefore, this policy covered the accident at issue.

International argues that coverage under the policy was limited to championship events and that the victim was not a participant in such an event. Although there were several endorsements to the policy that specifically referred to championship events, see Appellant’s App., doc. 4, ex. A at 10 (applying $5,000 deductible for liability resulting from bodily injury or property damage to championship events); id. at 17, General Change Endorsement # 4 (addressing coverage “[w]ith respect[ ] to CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS coverage”); id. at 31, General Change Endorsement # 15 (amending coverage “[w]ith respect[] to Championship Events”), nothing in the language of the policy limited coverage exclusively to championship events.

International nevertheless argues that it was the NCAA’s intent, in purchasing policy No. 2760, to obtain liability coverage only for championship events. Absent an ambiguity, however, the intent of the parties must be derived solely from the language of the insurance contract. See Tipton v. Pike, 550 F.Supp. 191, 194-95 *576 (W.D.Okla.1982) (applying Oklahoma law). The determination of whether policy language is ambiguous is a matter of law, see Dodson v. St. Paul Ins. Co., 812 P.2d 372, 376 (Okla.1991), and therefore appropriate for a summary judgment determination. We agree with the district court that the language of policy No. 2760 is not ambiguous. The policy must therefore be construed according to its terms as written. See Frank v. Allstate Ins. Co., 727 P.2d 577, 579-80 (Okla.1986); see also Morrison Assurance Co. v. City of Opa-Locka, 389 So.2d 1079, 1080 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1980) (per curiam) (insured city claimed'it had intended coverage for accident in question; although “[t]hat may well be a valid statement of the city’s intent, ... absent ambiguity in the contract terms, a contract of insurance must be given effect as written”).

International next argues that its policy did not provide coverage for the accident because the victim was not a participant in a contest or exhibition of an athletic or sports nature sponsored by the NCAA, as those terms are defined by the policy. This argument misses the mark, however, because the question of coverage under this policy does not turn upon whether or not the victim was a participant.

As originally issued, policy No. 2760 provided liability coverage for sums that the NCAA became legally obligated to pay as a result of bodily injury or property damage, see Appellant’s App., doc. 4, ex. A at 6, except that “the insurance [did] not apply to bodily injury to any person while practicing for or participating in any contest or exhibition of an athletic or sports nature sponsored by the [NCAA],” id. at 12. That exclusion included a definition of participant. Subsequently, the parties amended the policy to define participant, with regard to that exclusion, as “any person while practicing for or participating in any contest or exhibition of an athletic or sports nature sponsored by the [NCAA] including any person permitted to enter any restricted area of competition while occupied by competitors.” Id. at 22, General Endorsement # 10.

In November 1986, however, in exchange for the payment of an additional premium, the parties amended policy No. 2760 to delete the exclusion for participants in its entirety. Id. at 30, General Change Endorsement # 18. 2

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990 F.2d 573, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 6946, 1993 WL 98578, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mic-property-and-casualty-insurance-corp-a-michigan-corporation-v-ca10-1993.