Osgood v. CU Insurance Company

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedJune 5, 2006
DocketCUMcv-04-568
StatusUnpublished

This text of Osgood v. CU Insurance Company (Osgood v. CU Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Osgood v. CU Insurance Company, (Me. Super. Ct. 2006).

Opinion

, . I . , .. ,

STATE OF MAINE , , ...>, -. .: i . . . , ., * . -.- SUPERIOR COURT CUMBERLAND, ss. .. . , . CIVIL ACTION Docket No. CV-04-568 ., I ' 11 . , .-A' ;

.. , . .. . . . ' 4 b ,

LEROY OSGOOD,

Plaintiff, DECISION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

C.U. YORK INSURANCE CONIPANY, k / n / a ONEBEACON INSURANCE COMP.ANY,

Defendant.

I. NATURE OF CASE

The plaintiff initiated this action when the defendant insurance company

(OneBeacon) refused to pay h m after a fire destroyed his mobile home on September

13, 2002. OneBeacon insured Osgood's home at the time, which refused to pay for the

loss on the basis, that the plaintiff started the fire.

The plaintiff has seven remaining claims: ' breach of contract (Count I); attorneys

fees under the late payment statute, 24-A M.R.S.A. 5 2436 (Count 11); unfair trade

practices (Count IV); defamation (Count V); intentional infliction of emotional distress

(Count VI); unfair claims settlement practices (Count VIII); and punitive damages

(Count IX).

The defendant has moved for summary judgment on all remaining counts except

breach of contract.

The plaintiff objects and the defendant moves to strike plaintiff's opposing

statements of material fact and additional statements.

' The court previously dis:missed Count I11 (breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing) and Count VII (negligent infliction of emotional distress). Prior to oral arguments the court reviewed the motion, memoranda, statements

of material facts and replies. The court finds them excessively long. Although most

statements are not individually long, the sheer number is excessive and set out many

facts that are not necessary or material to determination of the motion. After review the

court determined that oral argument was not necessary on all but one issue; Count VI,

intentional infliction (of emotional distress. Similarly, oral argument was precluded on

the Motion to Strike as the court determines that such a motion is unnecessary.

Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is accompanied by more than 150

statements of material fact (DSMF)2,the plaintiff adds 97 more in lus reply, many of

which are neither genuine nor material issues of fact.

11. DISCUSSION

A. DEFENDANT'S PdOTION TO STRIKE

The defendant interestingly argues that court should strike the opposing

statement of material fact ("OSMF") because it is unnecessarily long, repetitive,

convoluted and not separate, short or concise. It requests that the court disregard the

plaintiff's denials of the DSMF that directly quote deposition testimony, contending that

the deponent's testimony reveal the facts. The defendant also asks that the court

disregard plaintiff's response that the record does not support.

The motion to strike the OSMF is unnecessary. When determining what facts are

admitted, the court will deem admitted those facts not properly controverted.

M.R.Civ.P. 56(h)(4). Defendant's motion presupposes that the court will not undertake

this task. Because the court independently evaluates the DSMF and the OSMF for facts

Although defendant ack~nowledgesthat the DSMF is lengthy, it asserts that it is necessary due to plaintiff's multi-count com.plaint with 87 paragraphs; however, almost 120 of the 155 statements concentrate on plaintiff's 6-paragraph defamation claim (Count V).

2 not properly controverted, this motion is unnecessary. Counsel need only to raise

and/or emphasize the point in the reply m e m ~ r a n d u m . ~

B. MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

This court wil.1.grant a motion for summary judgment when no genuine issue of

material facts exists and either party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Gagnon's

Hardware & Furniture v. Michatid, 1998 ME 265, ¶ 5, 721 A.2d 193, 194; M.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

A fact is material when it may change the outcome of the case and "a genuine issue

exists when sufficient evidence supports a factual contest to require a fact finder to

choose between competing versions of the truth at trial." Burdzel v. Sobus, 2000 ME 84,

¶ 6, 750 A.2d 573, 57'5. When "determining whether to grant or deny a motion for a

summary judgment, the trial court is to consider only the portions of the record referred

to, and the material facts set forth in the [statement of material facts]." Corey v. Norman,

Hanson & Detroy, 1999 ME 196,

(citations omitted). Finally, the court gives the party opposing a summary judgment

the benefit of any inferences that might reasonably be drawn from the facts presented.

Curtis v. Porter, 2001 ME 158, qI 9, 784 A.2d 18, 22.

Further, sumrn-ary judgment rules are very specific as to the process to be

followed. In Stanley a. Hancock County Commissioners, 2004 ME 157, 864 A.2d 169, the

Law Court held that it is not an abuse of discretion for the trial court to entirely

When the defendant introduces its motion to strike the PASMF it states, "Defendant understands that motions to strike statements of material fact or responses to statements of material fact are not looked upon favorably by the court [because] they increase the amount of time involved in deciding a motion for summary judgment." In any event, regarding the motion to strike the PSNIF, the defendant argues that the court should disregard 32 statements in the PASMF because they constitute plaintiff's counsel's interpretation of the testimony and the plaintiff does not support h s additional statements with record citations. The court independently considers the PASMF and will disregard those facts not supported by record citation or are otherwise inappropriate. disregard unnecessarily long statements of material fact and deny a motion when a

party fails to comply with Rule 56's requirement that the statements be "separate, short

and concise." Id. at q[q[ 27-29, 864 A.2d 169,178-179.

Upon review of the statements of material fact filed in h s case, the parties

ignore what really constitutes a genuine issue of material fact and provide several

unnecessary facts. In at least one circumstance, counsel for plaintiff and defendant

almost completely disregarded the real issues raised by the applicable law and either

squabble over unimportant or immaterial fact. These types of statements of fact will not

be considered. It frustrates a meaningful summary judgment process and needlessly

taxes an already-strainedjudicial system.

C. COUNT 11, VIOLATION OF 24-A M.R.S.A. § 2436

Osgood alleges that OneBeacon violated the so-called late payment statute

because it disputes and failed to timely pay Osgood's losses. DSMF q[ 129. Osgood said

the denial of his claim was untimely because the insurance company did not issue a

denial letter until May 2, 2003, almost eight months after the claim was made.

The record demonstrates that the investigations of the cause and origin of the fire

began on September 14, 2002. DSMF q[l[ 130, 131, 132. On September 30, 2002,

OneBeacon requested a proof of loss from the plaintiff. The plaintiff returned the proof

of loss on October 2,2002. DSMF q[q[ 133,134. Subsequently, OneBeacon requested that

the plaintiff submit to an examination under oath to take place on October 31,2002; the

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