Mutual Of Enumclaw, App./cross-res v. Myong Suk Day, Res/cross-appellant

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided December 12, 2016·No. 75633-8·Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION ONE 47)

(I) CD

No. 75633-8-1 7.1 MUTUAL OF ENUMCLAW ) INSURANCE COMPANY, )

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Appellant/Cross Respondent, )

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MYONG SUK DAY, ) PUBLISHED OPINION )

Respondent/Cross Appellant. ) FILED: December 12, 2016 )

VERELLEN, C.J. — Instead of a more traditional covenant judgment, Myong Suk Day gave agreed judgments to tort victims William Lee and Dawn Smith but retained her claims against her insurer, Mutual of Enumclaw (MOE). Day assigned only her claims against an independent agent. Lee and Smith agreed not to execute against any of Day's assets except her claims against the agent. Lee and Smith also agreed to fully satisfy their agreed judgments against Day once the assigned claim against the agent was resolved.

In a more traditional covenant judgment, the insured gives the tort victim an agreed judgment and assigns her claims against her own insurer in exchange for the tort victim's covenant not to execute on any asset of the insured except the insured's claims against her insurer. If the insurer has engaged in bad faith while defending the tort victim's personal injury claim under a reservation of rights, then the tort victim

pursuing the assigned bad faith claim against the insurer is entitled to a rebuttable presumption of harm and coverage by estoppel. If the settlement is reasonable, then the amount of the agreed judgment is the tort victim's presumptive recovery on the assigned bad faith claim. The covenant judgment is not a release of the tort victim's claims against the insured. But if the insured is legally insulated from any exposure to the tort victim, then the presumption of harm is rebutted, precluding any coverage by estoppel.

Here, the trial court concluded that a presumption of harm supported coverage by estoppel, resulting in a judgment for Day against MOE in the amount of the tort victims' agreed judgments against Day.

Because Day's right to full satisfaction of the agreed judgments is unrelated to the resolution of any claims (retained or assigned) against Day's insurer, Day is legally insulated from any exposure on the agreed judgments. Even assuming a presumption of harm applies, the presumption would be rebutted by Day's absolute right to a full satisfaction of the agreed judgments. There is no coverage by estoppel. We reverse the judgment in favor of Day based on coverage by estoppel.

We also affirm the trial court's denial of Day's claim to reform the insurance contract.

We affirm the judgment in favor of Day for the $300,000 emotional distress damages awarded by the jury, together with the IFCA1 multiplier and attorney fees awarded by the trial court. We also award Day her reasonable attorney fees on appeal on the issues she has prevailed upon.

1 Insurance Fair Conduct Act, ch. 48.30 RCW.

FACTS

In May 2008, a teenager purchased alcohol at Day's grocery store and shared it with his underage friends. The teenagers raced through Point Defiance Park and injured two pedestrians, William Lee and Dawn Smith, who sued Day in 2009.

Day contacted her independent insurance agent, Michael Huh. Day met Huh when she purchased the grocery store in 2003. Although Day and Huh have different versions of their November 2003 meeting and whether Day asked for liquor liability coverage, it is undisputed that the insurance contract did not provide for liquor liability coverage. Subsequent automatic annual policy renewals occurred without any coverage review. All renewed policies lacked liquor liability coverage.

Day claims Huh told her she had insurance that covered the lawsuit and that she should contact her insurer, MOE. Huh tendered the claim to MOE for Day. MOE instructed Day "to contact her personal attorney."2 The MOE claims adjustor had no explanation why MOE did not interview Day about the coverage issue or ask Day what she had discussed with Huh or why she thought she had liquor liability coverage. MOE did not tell Day that Huh claimed she had declined liquor liability coverage.

MOE notified Day that it would appoint an attorney to defend her, but because she did not have liquor liability coverage in her contract, MOE would defend under a reservation of rights. MOE also informed Day that it might bring a declaratory judgment action to determine its obligations under the policy.3

2 Report of Proceedings (RP) (Nov. 19, 2014) at 88.

3 See Clerk's Papers (CP) at 144 ("This reservation of rights includes the right to file an action for declaratory relief in a Washington court seeking a determination of Mutual of Enumclaw's obligations under the policy with respect to plaintiffs' claims.")

MOE filed a declaratory judgment action (the coverage case) to determine its obligation to defend or indemnify Day for Lee and Smith's personal injury claims. In her answer, Day sought reformation of the contract to include liquor liability coverage or to otherwise provide Day coverage.

Day amended her answer to allege bad faith, CPA4 and IFCA violations, and coverage by estoppe1.5 The amended answer also added Huh as a third-party defendant.

The parties in the personal injury lawsuit reached a settlement in June 2011.

MOE paid Lee and Smith $125,000 on Day's behalf. Day agreed to entry of judgments for Lee and Smith against Day totaling $7,986,222. Lee and Smith agreed not to execute on the agreed judgments, except as to Day's claims against Huh. Day assigned Lee and Smith all rights, privileges, claims, and causes of action that she may have against Huh, but retained her claims against MOE. The 2011 settlement included an obligation to fully satisfy the judgments against Day once the claims against Huh were concluded:

In consideration for the assignment and cooperation as described herein, Plaintiffs do hereby covenant not to execute or attempt to enforce any judgment obtained against any assets of Day other than Day's rights, privileges, claims, and causes of action assigned. Plaintiffs' sole remedy is to pursue the assigned claims against others. As soon as the assigned claims have concluded (whether by settlement, final judgment, or exhaustion of all appeals and the time for further action has expired), Day may enter a full satisfaction of judgment signed by Plaintiffs in favor of Day, which full satisfaction shall be signed by Plaintiffs when this

4 Consumer Protection Act, ch. 19.86 RCW.

5See CP at 198 ("MOE failed to advise Day of all developments relevant to coverage, failed to advise her of all developments relevant to her defense, failed to properly handle settlement of the claims against Day, and failed to ascertain the best terms on which the claims against her could be settled.").

settlement is executed. The full satisfaction is to be entered regardless of the amount of any judgment awarded or settlement accepted and regardless whether the result is less than the judgment agreed in this settlement.[8]

The agreement also contemplated a hearing to determine the reasonableness of the settlement.

The trial court dismissed the personal injury lawsuit with prejudice as "fully settled and compromised" including all claims against Day.7 But the agreed judgments were not entered, there was no reasonableness hearing, and the plaintiffs did not sign and deliver a satisfaction of the agreed judgments to be filed when claims against Huh were resolved.

Lee and Smith, as assignees of Day, later reached a settlement with Huh in the coverage lawsuit. Huh paid Lee and Smith $600,000, and the court dismissed all claims against Huh with prejudice.

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Mutual Of Enumclaw, App./cross-res v. Myong Suk Day, Res/cross-appellant, (Wash. Ct. App. 2016).

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