New Hampshire Insurance v. Dagnone

475 F.3d 35, 2007 A.M.C. 334, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 2300, 2007 WL 293068
CourtCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit
DecidedFebruary 2, 2007
Docket06-1048
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 475 F.3d 35 (New Hampshire Insurance v. Dagnone) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the First Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
New Hampshire Insurance v. Dagnone, 475 F.3d 35, 2007 A.M.C. 334, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 2300, 2007 WL 293068 (1st Cir. 2007).

Opinion

TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge.

Nicholas Dagnone (“Dagnone”) renewed his marine insurance policy (the “policy”) from New Hampshire Insurance Company (“NHIC”) on July 31, 2003. On December 6, 2003, Dagnone’s boat was damaged during a storm, and Dagnone filed a claim with NHIC. NHIC denied the claim, and filed the present action seeking a declaratory judgment that the policy does not cover Dagnone’s claim. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of NHIC. After careful consideration, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. Background

Dagnone owns a forty-nine foot 1993 bluewater yacht (the “yacht”). In 1997, Dagnone purchased marine insurance on his yacht from NHIC, and renewed the policy every year from 1997 through 2003. In 2003, Dagnone renewed the policy once more, so that the yacht would be covered from September 18, 2003 until September 18, 2004. In the section entitled “General Conditions and Exclusions,” the renewed policy stated:

1. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF YOUR YACHT: There are certain restrictions on the use of your yacht under this policy. We shall not cover losses that occur while your yacht is being used in any way that is prohibited by this policy.
(d) Your yacht must be laid-up and out of commission during the period shown on the declarations.

The “declarations” to which the policy refers state:

Lay-up Warranty: Waranteed [sic] that the described yacht shall be laid up and out of commission and not used by the insured for any purpose during the period from 10/31 (at 12:01 am) to 4/15 (12:01 am).

Dagnone’s yacht was docked at the Goat Island Marina in Newport, Rhode Island (“Goat Island”) during the spring and summer of 2003. For the winter, Dagnone decided to place the yacht in dry storage at Hinckley Yacht Services (“Hinckley”), located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Dagnone contracted with a local captain, Ted Beaumont (“Beaumont”), to winterize his yacht and take it from Goat Island to Hinckley. On November 22, 2003, Beaumont motored Dagnone’s yacht to Hinck-ley, docked the yacht there, and left the keys in the yacht, per Hinckley’s instructions. At this point, Beaumont had per *37 formed all of the procedures for winterizing the yacht except for anti-freezing the engines. Hinckley informed Dagnone that there were other boats waiting to be hauled out for dry storage and that the boats would be hauled in the order in which they arrived. Beaumont stated that he would finish winterizing the yacht once it was hauled out. Dagnone’s yacht remained docked at Hinckley from November 22 until December 6, 2003, when a storm struck the marina. During the storm, Dagnone’s yacht broke loose from the dock and suffered $38,327 of damage according to Dagnone’s estimate. After the storm, Hinckley hauled out the yacht, and Beaumont completed the winterization procedures.

Dagnone promptly filed a claim with NHIC for the damage to his yacht. On April 7, 2004, NHIC denied the claim, asserting that Dagnone had failed to comply with the provisions in the policy requiring that the yacht be “laid up and out of commission” between October 31 and April 15.

On April 9, 2004, NHIC filed a complaint against Dagnone, seeking a declaratory judgment that Dagnone’s claim was not covered by the policy. Dagnone filed a counterclaim against NHIC seeking coverage under the policy. 1 NHIC and Dag-none both moved for summary judgment in their favor. The district court denied Dagnone’s motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment in favor of NHIC.

II. Discussion

A. Standard of Review and Governing Law

We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, examining all the facts and making all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Napier v. F/V DEESIE, Inc., 454 F.3d 61, 65-66 (1st Cir.2006). Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuinely disputed material facts and the moving party is entitled to judgment as matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

A dispute over the interpretation of a marine insurance contract falls within our admiralty jurisdiction, and as such, we will apply state law unless an established federal admiralty rule governs. Commercial Union Ins. Co. v. Pesante, 459 F.3d 34, 37 (1st Cir.2006). Because there is no established federal admiralty rule governing the interpretation of marine insurance contracts, we look to state law to interpret the policy. Littlefield v. Acadia Ins. Co., 392 F.3d 1, 6 (1st Cir.2004).

Both parties suggest that we look to New York law to aid in the interpretation of the contract because the contract was concluded in New York and both parties are New York residents. New York law generally construes insurance contracts liberally in favor of the insured, but “where the provisions of the policy are clear and unambiguous, they must be given their plain and ordinary meaning.” Government Employees Ins. Co. v. Kligler, 42 N.Y.2d 863, 864, 397 N.Y.S.2d 777, 366 N.E.2d 865 (1977). Thus, if the policy clearly and unambiguously excludes coverage for the damage to the yacht, NHIC is entitled to summary judgment.

B. “Being used in any way that is prohibited by this policy”

Dagnone’s first argument is that the exclusion in the policy for yachts that are not “laid up and out of commission” does not apply here because, the exclusion *38 only applies if the damage occurs while a yacht is “being used.” Dagnone argues that his yacht was not “being used” on the night it was damaged and as such, the policy exclusion cannot apply. Dagnone argues that interpreting the contract any other way would render the words “being used” surplusage, which New York courts disfavor. See, e.g., Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection v. Bank Leumi Trust Co., 94 N.Y.2d 398, 404, 706 N.Y.S.2d 66, 727 N.E.2d 563 (2000) (“Bank Leumi’s interpretation would render the second paragraph superfluous, a view unsupportable under standard principles of contract interpretation.”).

Dagnone’s interpretation of the contract would require us to “superimpose” the kind of “unnatural or unreasonable construction” that New York courts have cautioned against. Maurice Goldman & Sons v. Hanover Ins. Co., 80 N.Y.2d 986, 987, 592 N.Y.S.2d 645, 607 N.E.2d 792 (1992). The insurance contract is clear: the policy does not cover damage to the yacht if it was “being used

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Bluebook (online)
475 F.3d 35, 2007 A.M.C. 334, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 2300, 2007 WL 293068, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/new-hampshire-insurance-v-dagnone-ca1-2007.