Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hayles, Inc.

150 P.3d 589
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 4, 2007
Docket24965-4-III
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 150 P.3d 589 (Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hayles, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hayles, Inc., 150 P.3d 589 (Wash. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

150 P.3d 589 (2007)

NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, an Ohio corporation, Appellant,
v.
HAYLES, INC., Clemente Ezquivel and Rosalva O. Ezquivel, husband and wife, and J & C Contracting, LLC, Respondents.

No. 24965-4-III.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 3.

January 4, 2007.

*591 Michael G. Brady, Attorney at Law, Boise, ID, for Appellant.

Diehl Randall Rettig, Attorney at Law, Kennewick, WA, for Respondents.

SCHULTHEIS, J.

¶ 1 Hayles, Inc. subleased a Franklin County field to Clemente and Rosalva Ezquivel to grow onions. Under the terms of the sublease, Hayles was to maintain and control the field's irrigation system and the Ezquivels would direct Hayles when to turn the water on and off. When Hayles turned on the water after the Ezquivels told a Hayles employee to keep the water off, the onions rotted. The Ezquivels sued Hayles and the parties settled, with the Ezquivels agreeing to execute on the judgment against Hayles's insurer, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

¶ 2 Nationwide filed an action for declaratory judgment against Hayles, disclaiming coverage under the policy. On cross motions for summary judgment, Hayles prevailed. Nationwide appeals, contending the damage to the onions was not an "occurrence" as defined by the policy, and even if it was an occurrence, several exclusions apply. We conclude that Hayles's unauthorized act of irrigation was an occurrence covered by the policy. Further finding that no exclusion applies, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3 In February 2003, the Ezquivels subleased a 110-acre field from Hayles (which leased the field from brothers Scott and Terri Hayles). As landlord, Hayles retained *592 control over the irrigation system already installed in the field and agreed to turn the irrigation system on and off whenever the Ezquivels requested. Some time in late summer 2003, the Ezquivels told Bartolo Herrera, a Hayles employee, to stop irrigating so the onions could dry in the field before harvest. Later, after the onion crop had matured and dried, Mr. Herrera's supervisor, Scott Hayles, turned on the irrigation again. The soaked onions developed rot, causing substantial crop loss.

¶ 4 Nationwide had issued a farm liability insurance policy to Hayles in July 2003 with property damage liability coverage up to $1 million per occurrence. An additional excess liability policy provided $5 million in property liability coverage, and a "protection plus" endorsement added property damage coverage of up to $50,000 for accidents not covered by the other policies. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 847, 856.

¶ 5 The Ezquivels filed a suit for damages due to breach of contract and negligence against Hayles in December 2003. Nationwide agreed to provide counsel for the defense under a reservation of its right to contest coverage. Just before the date set for trial, the parties entered into a mediated settlement agreement in which they stipulated that the Ezquivels would take judgment against Hayles for $424,157 and would not execute on the judgment except against Nationwide. The stipulated judgment was signed by the parties and filed on March 28, 2005. In June 2005, Nationwide sent the Ezquivels a check for $49,500, representing uncontested coverage under the protection plus endorsement.

¶ 6 Nationwide then moved to intervene and to request a hearing on the reasonableness of the settlement agreement under RCW 4.22.060. The motion was granted and the hearing was held in June 2005. After considering the arguments of both parties, the superior court concluded that the negotiated settlement was reasonable. Nationwide's timely appeal of this decision was the subject of Ezquivel v. Hales, Inc., noted at ___ Wash.App. ___, 2006 WL 3334932, 2006 Wash.App. LEXIS 2479, wherein this court concluded that the trial court did not err in upholding the settlement agreement.

¶ 7 In October 2004, Nationwide filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against Hayles, alleging that neither its farm policy nor its excess policy provided liability coverage for the rotted onions. In an amended complaint, Nationwide added the Ezquivels and their company (J & C Contracting, LLC) as defendants. In its answer to the complaint, Hayles asserted a counterclaim that Nationwide acted in bad faith. This counterclaim was later voluntarily dismissed. The parties filed cross motions for summary judgment. After a hearing, the trial court granted Hayles's motion for summary judgment and denied Nationwide's, awarding Hayles attorney fees.

WHETHER INJURY TO THE ONIONS WAS AN "OCCURRENCE"

¶ 8 Nationwide contends the trial court erred in concluding that the farm policy (including the excess liability policy and the protection plus endorsement) covered the damage to the Ezquivels' onion crop. It argues that the rotted onions were not caused by an "occurrence" under the terms of the policy, and that at any rate several exclusions deny coverage.

¶ 9 Interpretation of an insurance contract is a question of law reviewed de novo. Roller v. Stonewall Ins. Co., 115 Wash.2d 679, 682, 801 P.2d 207 (1990), overruled in part on other grounds by Butzberger v. Foster, 151 Wash.2d 396, 89 P.3d 689 (2004). This court construes the insurance policy as a whole and gives it a fair and reasonable construction that would be understood by the average person buying insurance. Panorama Village Condo. Owners Ass'n Bd. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 144 Wash.2d 130, 137, 26 P.3d 910 (2001); Cle Elum Bowl, Inc. v. N. Pac. Ins. Co., 96 Wash.App. 698, 702, 981 P.2d 872 (1999). Because this is a review of a summary judgment, the facts and reasonable inferences are viewed in the light most favorable to Nationwide. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Raynor, 143 Wash.2d 469, 475, 21 P.3d 707 (2001). Summary judgment was appropriate if there was no genuine issue of material *593 fact and Hayles was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.

¶ 10 Nationwide first challenges the trial court's determination that the damage to the onions was a covered event. The policy states that its coverage applies to property damage only if the property damage "is caused by an `occurrence' that takes place in the `coverage territory.'" CP at 782. "Coverage territory" includes the United States. CP at 801. "Occurrence" is defined in the policy as "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions." CP at 804. "Accident" is not defined in the policy.

¶ 11 Generally the terms defined in a policy are interpreted as written. Kitsap County v. Allstate Ins. Co., 136 Wash.2d 567, 576, 964 P.2d 1173 (1998). Undefined terms are given their ordinary, popular meaning as provided in a standard English language dictionary. Panorama Village, 144 Wash.2d at 139, 26 P.3d 910. Because use of the word "accident" is standard in insurance policy definitions of "occurrence," Washington courts faced with this undefined term have generally agreed that an accident is commonly understood to mean an unintended, unexpected event. See, e.g., Safeco Ins. Co.

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Bluebook (online)
150 P.3d 589, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nationwide-mut-ins-co-v-hayles-inc-washctapp-2007.