Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Shaw

837 F. Supp. 2d 455, 2011 WL 3667565, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93427
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 22, 2011
DocketNo. 3:10cv374
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 837 F. Supp. 2d 455 (Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Shaw) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Shaw, 837 F. Supp. 2d 455, 2011 WL 3667565, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93427 (M.D. Pa. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

JAMES M. MUNLEY, District Judge.

Before the court are the parties’ motions for summary judgment in this declaratory judgment action. Having been briefed, the matters are ripe for disposition.

Background

This case arises from a dispute over insurance coverage between Plaintiff Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (“Nationwide”) and Defendants Timothy Shaw, the Shaw Brothers Donkey Ball Company and Robert Eisenberry. On September 4, 2007, Defendant Robert Eisenberry suffered a paralyzing injury while stacking and moving bales of hay at a barn leased [458]*458by Defendant Thomas Shaw for use in his family’s entertainment business, the Shaw Brothers Donkey Ball Co. Eisenberry allegedly fell from a second-floor loft while assisting Shaw and another person move hay bales.

Shaw sought coverage for any liability to Eisenberry under the policy of insurance issued him by Nationwide. On June 19, 2008, Nationwide denied the claim, citing a number of grounds. On August 28, 2009, however, Nationwide agreed to participate in Shaw’s defense pursuant to a reservation of rights. Among the reserved rights was a right to disclaim coverage pursuant to the policy’s employer’s liability exclusion.

On February 19, 2010 plaintiff filed an action in this court seeking a declaratory judgment that Nationwide was not obligated to cover defendants under the policy of insurance in question. After discovery, the parties filed the instant motions for summary judgment, bringing the case to its present posture.

Jurisdiction

Plaintiff is Ohio corporation with its principal place of business in that State. Defendants are Pennsylvania citizens. The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Because the court is sitting in diversity, the substantive law of Pennsylvania shall apply to the instant case. Chamberlain v. Giampapa, 210 F.3d 154, 158 (3d Cir.2000) (citing Erie R.R. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 78, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938)).

Legal Standard

Defendant moves for summary judgment on plaintiffs claims. Granting summary judgment is proper if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Knabe v. Boury, 114 F.3d 407, 410 n. 4 (3d Cir.1997) (citing Fed. R. Crv. P. 56(c)). “[Tjhis standard provides that the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (emphasis in original).

In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must examine the facts in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. International Raw Materials, Ltd. v. Stauffer Chemical Co., 898 F.2d 946, 949 (3d Cir.1990). The burden is on the moving party to demonstrate that the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could not return a verdict for the non-moving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (1986). A fact is material when it might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law. Id. Where the non-moving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the party moving for summary judgment may meet its burden by showing that the evidentiary materials of record, if reduced to admissible evidence, would be insufficient to carry the non-movant’s burden of proof at trial. Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Discussion

The court’s task here is to interpret the language of an insurance contract. In interpreting an insurance contract the court will give effect to the language of contract when that language is clear and unambiguous. Standard Venetian Blind Co. v. American Empire Ins. Co., 503 Pa. 300, 469 A.2d 563, 566 (1983). If the language is ambiguous, “the policy provision is to be construed in favor of the insured and against the insurer.” Id. Ambiguity [459]*459exists for a contractual term “ ‘if it is reasonably susceptible of different constructions and capable of being understood in more than one sense.’ ” Madison Construction Co. v. Harleysville Mut. Ins. Co., 557 Pa. 595, 735 A.2d 100, 106 (1999) (quoting Hutchison v. Sunbeam Coal Corp., 513 Pa. 192, 519 A.2d 385, 390 (1986)).

Each party raises various grounds for granting their summary judgment motion. The court will address them in turn, as appropriate.

A. Nationwide’s Motion

i. Shaw’s Insurable Interest in the Barn

Nationwide argues that Defendant Shaw lacked any insurable interest in the barn where Eisenberry’s injury occurred and the court should therefore grant plaintiff summary judgment and find that the policy does not provide coverage to defendants. The limited liability company (“LLC”), not Shaw, leased the barn in question at the time of Eisenberry’s injury. The LLC likewise owned and operated the exhibition business housed in the barn. Defendants point to correspondence from Nationwide that indicates Shaw and the Shaw Brothers Donkey Ball Company were insured with respect to the conduct of the business. Feeding and housing the donkeys-the activity engaged in by Eisenberry when injured-is conduct of the business and insured under the policy.

At his deposition, Defendant Shaw testified that at the time of Eisenberry’s fall he owned a company “with the trade name Shaw Brothers Donkey Ball Company.” (Shaw Deposition (hereinafter “Shaw Dep.”) Exh. A. to Defendant’s brief in support (Doc. 25) at 7). He clarified that the correct trade name was “Shaw Brothers Donkey Ball, LLC.” (Id.). Shaw operated the business himself, but he had begun using the LLC name in approximately 2003. (Id. at 8). Shaw also testified that at the time of the incident the “LLC” leased the bam where the accident took place. (Id. at 14). The LLC “ran a business called Donkey Basketball where we supplied schools and communities donkeys to play basketball to raise funds. And we housed the donkeys at the barn.” (Id. at 16). Shaw also testified that the insurance policy named him as the insured, doing business as the Shaw Brothers Donkey Ball Company, a “sole proprietorship,” not an LLC. (Id. at 58).

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Nationwide Mutl Ins v. Timothy Shaw
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Bluebook (online)
837 F. Supp. 2d 455, 2011 WL 3667565, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nationwide-mutual-insurance-v-shaw-pamd-2011.