Michael Borovsky Goldsmith LLC v. Jewelers Mut. Ins. Co.

359 F. Supp. 3d 306
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedJanuary 9, 2019
DocketNo. 5:17-CV-197-D
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 359 F. Supp. 3d 306 (Michael Borovsky Goldsmith LLC v. Jewelers Mut. Ins. Co.) 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
Michael Borovsky Goldsmith LLC v. Jewelers Mut. Ins. Co., 359 F. Supp. 3d 306 (E.D.N.C. 2019).

Opinion

JAMES C. DEVER III, United States District Judge

On March 9, 2017, Michael Borovsky Goldsmith LLC d/b/a MB Goldsmiths ("MB Goldsmiths" or "plaintiff"), filed a complaint in Wake County Superior Court against Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company ("Jewelers Mutual" or "defendant") [D.E. 1-2]. MB Goldsmiths alleges breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and bad faith refusal to settle. See Compl. [D.E. 1-2] ¶¶ 26-41. It seeks $ 25,000 in damages on each claim and $ 25,000 in punitive damages on its bad faith claim. Id. On April 26, 2017, Jewelers Mutual removed the action to this court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 [D.E. 1]. On May 3, 2018, Jewelers Mutual moved for summary judgment [D.E. 19], filed a memorandum in support [D.E. 20], and filed a statement of material facts [D.E. 21]. On May 24, 2018, MB Goldsmiths responded in opposition [D.E. 23] and moved for partial summary judgment on the breach of contract claim [D.E. 27]. As explained below, the court grants Jewelers Mutual's motion for summary judgment and denies MB Goldsmiths's motion for partial summary judgment.

I.

MB Goldsmiths, a jewelry store originally located in Raleigh, North Carolina, alleges that a foul odor began to permeate its leased premises during the fall of 2013. See [D.E. 1-2] ¶¶ 6-7, 13; [D.E. 21] ¶¶ 1-2. The smell, which resembled "rotten eggs and mold," prompted daily customer comments. [D.E. 21] ¶¶ 3-4, 10. MB Goldsmiths hired plumbers to investigate the odor. The plumbers speculated that a grease trap on the adjacent Chinese restaurant's premises was the cause. See id. ¶ 5. By September 2014, the odor had become intolerable. See id. ¶ 6; [D.E. 1-2] ¶ 14. After the management company and landlord failed to provide any aid, MB Goldsmiths prepared a petition for customers to sign urging action to address the odor. See [D.E. 21] ¶ 11. MB Goldsmiths contends that the "majority of the customer complaints indicated that the odor smelled like sewage" as opposed to moldy. [D.E. 24] ¶ 4 (quotation omitted).

In December 2014, Michael Borovsky ("Borovsky"), the owner of MB Goldsmiths, *310first noticed a water leak on the premises. See [D.E. 21] ¶ 13. A water tank in an adjacent restaurant caused the leak. See id. ¶ 14. Around the same time, Borovsky noticed mold on the wall of the jewelry store, and he hired Raleigh Mold Inspection and Remediation to perform an inspection. See id. ¶¶ 15-17; [D.E. 1-2] ¶¶ 17-18. The inspection found visible mold growth in the store and a high level of mold in the interior air sample. See [D.E. 22-2] 2-3. Sometime during 2015, a store clerk noticed the mold begin to "bubble." [D.E. 21] ¶ 16. The store clerk could not recall the precise date on which she made this observation. See [D.E. 24] ¶ 16. In June 2015, MB Goldsmiths closed its Raleigh location and operated online until November 1, 2015, when it opened a new location in Graham, North Carolina. [D.E. 21] ¶¶ 18, 20; [D.E. 1-2] ¶ 23.

On April 24, 2015, MB Goldsmiths submitted a claim to Jewelers Mutual for "business interruption" and claimed only "loss of future business income resulting from the necessity of vacating the leased premises due to the presence of mold." [D.E. 21] ¶¶ 23, 26, 30. The parties dispute whether the foul odor or the high levels of toxic mold caused MB Goldsmiths to lose business income. Compare [D.E. 21] ¶ 30, with [D.E. 24] ¶ 30. In addition, MB Goldsmiths did not submit a claim for damage to its business personal property because, aside from one bookcase, MB Goldsmiths did not suffer any business personal property damage as a result of the issues. See [D.E. 21] ¶¶ 27-28.

On April 27, 2015, Jewelers Mutual assigned the claim to an independent claims adjuster. Id. ¶ 31. MB Goldsmiths provided Jewelers Mutual with the foul odor petition from 2014, a report summarizing Raleigh Mold Inspection and Remediation's inspection, and other materials relevant to the claim. See id. ¶ 32. On May 4, 2015, the claims adjuster provided a report to Jewelers Mutual and concluded that "the loss appear[ed] to be the result of a long term leak in the water supply line." Id. (quotation omitted); [D.E. 22-6] ¶ 9(f); [D.E. 22-15] 3. The report noted that there was evidence of rust on the steel framing between MB Goldsmiths's unit and the adjacent restaurant. See [D.E. 22-6] ¶ 9(f); [D.E. 22-15] 4. Although the report stated that it "is unclear if [the odor] is related to the water damage," it recommended denying MB Goldsmiths's claim for coverage because the water leak fell within the insurance policy's exclusion for continuous water damage. See [D.E. 22-15] 3-4; [D.E. 22-5] 93. The report also recommended denying coverage for the claim because the damage was limited to building materials for which MB Goldsmiths did not maintain coverage and because MB Goldsmiths did not provide prompt notice of the claim as required by the insurance policy. See [D.E. 22-15] 3-4.

On June 2, 2015, Jewelers Mutual denied the claim because the insurance policy "excluded coverage for loss or damage caused by a long-term water leakage and mold" and because MB Goldsmiths failed to provide prompt notice of the loss. [D.E. 21] ¶ 33. MB Goldsmiths contends that the water leak from the adjacent restaurant was not the sole cause of the odor, which it argues was never identified conclusively. [D.E. 24] ¶¶ 32-33. Furthermore, MB Goldsmiths denies that it failed to submit a timely claim because Borovsky believed that the landlord would provide assistance and saw no immediate need to involve Jewelers Mutual. See id.

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

Related

Untitled Case
N.D. Illinois, 2026
Johnson v. Italian Shoemakers, Inc.
W.D. North Carolina, 2024
Progress Solar Solutions, LLC v. Long
E.D. North Carolina, 2020
Colborn v. Forest Good Eats, LLC
E.D. North Carolina, 2020
Suarez v. Camden Property Trust
E.D. North Carolina, 2020
Vitale v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC
E.D. North Carolina, 2019

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
359 F. Supp. 3d 306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michael-borovsky-goldsmith-llc-v-jewelers-mut-ins-co-nced-2019.