Morris v. Coker

923 F. Supp. 2d 863, 2013 WL 557220, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18917
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Louisiana
DecidedFebruary 11, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 09-1052
StatusPublished

This text of 923 F. Supp. 2d 863 (Morris v. Coker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morris v. Coker, 923 F. Supp. 2d 863, 2013 WL 557220, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18917 (W.D. La. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

ELIZABETH ERNY FOOTE, District Judge.

Cross motions for summary judgment on the issue of insurance coverage are pending before the Court. [Record Documents 131 and 149]. This case arises out of an incident in which Plaintiff Bob Morris was struck by Jon Coker, an employee of Allis Chalmers. Defendant Illinois National Insurance Company (“Illinois National”) issued an excess commercial general liability policy to Allis Chalmers Energy, Inc. (“Allis Chalmers”). For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Record Document 131] and DENIES Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Record Document 149].

I. Facts and Procedural Posture

The event giving rise to this suit took place in the parking lot of the Riverside Inn, a restaurant in Lafayette, Louisiana, on August 27, 2008. At that time, Defendant Jon Coker was working as a salesman for Allis-Chalmers, an oil company. Plaintiff Bob Morris worked as a drilling consultant for Brigham Oil & Gas. The event which brought the parties together was a lunch meeting to discuss an upcoming drilling project in which the two'companies would work together. As the participants gathered for the meeting, Coker was seated in the restaurant with a representative of Brigham Oil & Gas. When Morris arrived at the parking lot of the restaurant, he called the Brigham representative. The parties’ characterization of what happens next differs. Plaintiffs explain that:

[u]pon realizing that Morris was the company man/eonsultant hired to oversee the drilling operations, Coker ventured outside to discuss and hopefully resolve any issues pertaining to his working relationship with Morris prior to the new business venture involving his current employer, Allis Chalmers. As Coker approached Morris with the intention of engaging in conversation, he spontaneously reacted when he saw ‘Morris’ eyes light up’ and instinctively ‘for some reason threw a punch.’

[Record Document 131-1, pp. 4-5].

Defendant paints the same event in a slightly different light:

On the date of the incident, Coker arrived at the Riverside Inn restaurant, for a pre-spud meeting. Coker admitted that he knew Morris would be attending that meeting, but Morris had not yet arrived. Learning of Morris’ arrival, Coker testified that he wanted to ‘confront’ him. He deliberately got up from the table where he was seated, exited the restaurant, spotted Morris — who [866]*866was on his cell phone — , crossed the parking lot, and sucker-punched Morris in the head. Coker’s attack sent the two men on the ground with Coker on top of Morris.

[Record Document 149-6, p. 3].

It is undisputed that Coker exited the restaurant, walked towards Morris, and punched him in the face.

It is also undisputed that the relationship between Morris and Coker was stormy before this incident.1 Some years back, Coker owned Coker Directional Drilling, a company that did business with Brigham Oil & Gas. On three separate occasions, Morris made clear that he thought Coker Directional Drilling was doing inadequate work. [Record Document 131-2, p. 10; Record Document 149-3, pp. 45-58]. During one of these incidents, he claimed that a Coker employee was intoxicated on the job. [Record Document 131-2, pp. 13-15]. Coker testified that when he found out that Morris was going to be the company man at the Lafayette meeting, he felt panicky and was afraid that he might be assaulted by Morris. [Record Document 149-4, p. 10]. There was no history of prior physical violence between the parties.

Illinois National issued a commercial umbrella liability policy to Allis Chalmers. The policy covers liability for bodily injury caused by “occurrences.” [Record Document 149-1, p. 3]. The word “occurrence” is defined “as respects Bodily Injury” as “an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions.” [Record Document 149-1, p. 1]. The policy contains an intentional injury exclusion, which reads:

This insurance does not apply to Bodily Injury and Property Damage expected or intended from the standpoint of the Insured. However, this exclusion does not apply to Bodily Injury or Property Damage resulting from the use of reasonable force to protect persons or property.
[Record Document 149-1, p. 10], (emphasis in original).

The term “Insured” is defined in Section VII, Definitions, as:

1. The Named Insured; [and]
2. your employees ... but only for acts within the scope of their employment by you or while performing duties related to the conduct of your business.

Id. at 21. (emphasis in original).

In the declarations section of the policy, “Allis-Chalmers Energy, Inc.” is listed as the “Named Insured.” Id. at 2. The Policy further specifies that:

Throughout this policy the words “you” and “your” refer to the Named Insured shown in the Declarations and any other person or organization qualifying as a Named Insured under this policy ... The word Insured means any person or organization qualifying as such under Section VII. Definitions.
Except for headings, words that appear in bold print have special meaning. See Section VII. Definitions.
Id. at 3. (emphasis in original).

Illinois National has filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Coker was acting outside the course and scope of his employment when he punched Morris; that the intentional punch is not an “occurrence” as defined by the policy; and that the intentional injury exclusion bars coverage. Plaintiffs have moved for partial summary judgment on the ground that the [867]*867intentional injury exclusion, and a number of other exclusions, do not bar coverage.

II. Applicable Law

An insurance policy is a contract between the parties, and it is thus construed using the rules of contract interpretation found in the Civil Code. Louisiana Ins. Guar. Ass’n v. Interstate Fire & Cas. Co., 630 So.2d 759, 763 (La.1993). When the words of an insurance contract are clear and explicit and lead to no absurd consequences, the contract must be enforced as written and no further interpretation may be made in search of the parties’ intent. La. Civ.Code art. 2046; Peterson v. Schimek, 729 So.2d 1024, 1028 (La.1999). The plaintiff bears the ultimate burden of proving that the claim in question falls within the policy’s coverage. Doerr, et al. v. Mobil Oil Corp., et al., 774 So.2d 119, 124 (La.2000). The insurer, however, bears the burden of proving that policy limits or exclusions apply. Tunstall v. Stierwald, 809 So.2d 916, 921 (La.2002). The purpose of liability insurance is to afford the insured protection from damage; therefore, claims and policies should be construed to effect, and not to deny, coverage. Reynolds v. Select Properties, Ltd., 634 So.2d 1180, 1183 (La.1994). The Louisiana Supreme Court has adopted a fact-intensive analysis of the insured’s subjective intent to determine whether coverage is excluded under an intentional injury exclusion.

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Bluebook (online)
923 F. Supp. 2d 863, 2013 WL 557220, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18917, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morris-v-coker-lawd-2013.