Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance v. J.F. Morgan General Contractors, Inc.

79 F. Supp. 3d 1245, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1347, 2015 WL 82891
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedJanuary 7, 2015
DocketCase No. 1:11-cv-1671-KOB
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 79 F. Supp. 3d 1245 (Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance v. J.F. Morgan General Contractors, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance v. J.F. Morgan General Contractors, Inc., 79 F. Supp. 3d 1245, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1347, 2015 WL 82891 (N.D. Ala. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KARON OWEN BOWDRE, Chief Judge.

This matter is before the court on Plaintiff Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company’s “Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment,” (Doc. 56); Defendant Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company’s “Motion for Summary Judgment on the Claims of Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company and Motion for Summary Judgment on its Counterclaim,” (Doc. 58); and Penn National’s “Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint,” (Doc. 89).

This declaratory judgment case arises from a dispute over insurance coverage for the underlying case of Miranda McFry v. J.F. Morgan Contractors, Inc., Civil Action No. CV-2009900346, in the Circuit Court of Calhoun County, Alabama. To resolve that case against their purported insured, J.F. Morgan General Contractors, Penn National and Nationwide agreed to each pay half of a settlement and ask this court to resolve ultimate responsibility in this case. So here we are.

The parties dispute which insurance company should ultimately be responsible for the full settlement amount. Penn National argues that it is not responsible for the settlement because nobody reported McFr/s lawsuit to it for over a year after the lawsuit was filed and argues that Nationwide should pay Penn National back its portion of the settlement.

Penn National wins this dispute because nobody sent it the suit papers from McFry’s lawsuit until 13 months after McFry filed suit. Thus, the court GRANTS Penn National’s motion for summary judgment; DENIES Nationwide’s motion for summary judgment; and DENIES AS MOOT Penn National’s motion to amend the complaint.

I. Facts

On September 1, 2007, Anniston Concrete Company entered into a commercial general liability policy, numbered CL90625603, with Penn National. Anni-ston Concrete purchased its Penn National policy through Jim Garmon’s insurance agency, Insurance Planning Services (“IPS”). IPS sold Penn National policies under an “agency-company agreement,” which outlined the relationship between IPS and Penn National. (Doc. 57, ¶ 1; Doc. 59, ¶¶ 4, 8, 10; Doc. 60-2; Doc. 60-5).

On March 28, 2008, Jacksonville City Schools awarded J.F. Morgan a contract to remodel Jacksonville High School and other schools. On April 8, 2008, J.F. Morgan, in turn, sub-contracted with Anniston Concrete to perform site and grading work at Jacksonville High School. The sub-contract required Anniston Concrete to have a commercial general liability policy and to name J.F. Morgan as an “additional insured” under the policy. (Doc. 57, ¶¶ 7-9; Doc. 59, ¶¶ 1-3; Doc. 60-1).

Upon entering into the sub-contract, J.F.' Morgan became an “additional insured” to Anniston Concrete’s Penn National policy by operation of the policy’s “Automatic Additional Insureds — Owners, Contractors and Subcontractors (Ongoing Operations)” endorsement. IPS provided J.F. Morgan with certificates of insurance [1248]*1248that showed Anniston Concrete’s insurance coverage. The certificates of insurance listed J.F. Morgan as a “certificate holder” and stated: “IMPORTANT: If the certificate holder is an ADDITIONAL INSURED, the policy(ies) must be endorsed.” (Doc. 21-4, 2-7; Doc. 57, ¶ 11; Doc. 59, ¶ 7).

Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company (Nationwide’s predecessor) also directly insured J.F. Morgan through a commercial general liability policy, numbered MPA1M1453. J.F. Morgan employed someone to manage all its insurance con- . tracts. (Doc. 57, ¶ 13; Doc. 59, ¶ 14; Doc. 606).

On June 2, 2008, Ricky Smith, an employee of Anniston Concrete, died while performing soil compaction work at Jacksonville High School. The sub-contract between J.F. Morgan and Anniston Concrete covered Smith’s work at the time of his death.1 (Doc. 57, ¶¶ 23-4; Doc. 59, ¶ 17).

J.F. Morgan immediately learned about the accident, which occurred on its job site, and informed Harleysville. ' Additionally, J.F. Morgan told Anniston Concrete that it needed to notify its insurance carrier of. the accident. J.F. Morgan did not contact Penn National. (Doc. 57, ¶¶ 257; Doc. 93-3, 8).

One day after the accident, on June 3, 2008, Anniston Concrete informed IPS .about Smith’s accident. IPS notified Anni-ston Concrete’s workers compensation insurance carrier of the accident,' but not Penn National. Anniston Concrete did not directly inform Penn National about Smith’s accident either. (Doc. 57, ¶¶ 28-9; Doc. 59, ¶ 18).

About 15 months after the accident, on October 29, 2009, Miranda McFry, Smith’s daughter, filed a lawsuit against J.F. Morgan. Around November 9, 2009, McFry served J.F. Morgan with a summons and a copy of the complaint. J.F. Morgan, in turn, notified Harleysville of McFry’s lawsuit on the same day, but did not notify Penn National. J.F. Morgan also told An-niston Concrete about McFry’s lawsuit. (Doc. .57, ¶¶ 31-2, 34; Doc. 59, ¶ 19; Doc. 93-3,10; Doc. 93-3, 9).

On November 12, 2009, Anniston Concrete informed IPS about McFry’s lawsuit. Anniston Concrete had a copy of the complaint, but did not give the complaint to IPS and IPS did not ask for the complaint. IPS reviewed copies of the certificates of insurance it provided to J.F. Morgan and incorrectly determined that Anniston Concrete’s Penn National policy did not include J.F. Morgan as an additional insured. Neither IPS nor Anniston Concrete communicated this incorrect information to j.F. Morgan, however. Further, neither IPS nor Anniston Concrete contacted Penn National about McFry’s lawsuit or forwarded the complaint to Penn National. (Doc. 57, ¶¶ 37, 39; Doc. 59, ¶ 20; Doc. 91-3, 36; Doc. 93-3, 6).

On December 15, 2010, J.F. Morgan asked IPS, by letter, to provide a defense and indemnity for McFry’s lawsuit. IPS forwarded the letter to Penn National on December 20, 2010, 13 months after McFry filed her lawsuit and two-and-a-half years after Smith’s accident. (Doc. 57, ¶ 46; Doc. 93-3, 9).

On May 20, 2011, Penn National filed a complaint asking this court to determine [1249]*1249which insurance company, Penn National or Nationwide, had to defend and ultimately pay for the defense and settlement of McFry’s lawsuit. (Doc. 1). McFry’s lawsuit settled on August 6, 2012 and Penn National and Nationwide each paid one half of the settlement under a reservation of rights. (Doc. 59, ¶ 23). Penn National subsequently amended its complaint on August 23, 2012 to reflect settlement of McFry’s underlying lawsuit. (Doc. 36).

No genuine issues of material fact exist. The only issue for the court is which insurance company has to pay for the settlement of McFry’s lawsuit.

II: Standard of Review

Summary judgment is an integral part of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Summary judgment allows a trial court to decide cases when no genuine issues of-material fact are present and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. When a district court reviews a motion for summary judgment, it must determine two things: (1) whether any genuine issues of material fact exist; and if not, (2) whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
79 F. Supp. 3d 1245, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1347, 2015 WL 82891, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pennsylvania-national-mutual-casualty-insurance-v-jf-morgan-general-alnd-2015.