Pepper Mill Condominium Ass'n v. Hartford Fire Insurance

71 Pa. D. & C.4th 54, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 172
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Centre County
DecidedJanuary 4, 2005
Docketno. 2003-1368
StatusPublished

This text of 71 Pa. D. & C.4th 54 (Pepper Mill Condominium Ass'n v. Hartford Fire Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Centre County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pepper Mill Condominium Ass'n v. Hartford Fire Insurance, 71 Pa. D. & C.4th 54, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 172 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).

Opinion

KISTLER, J.,

The subject of this opinion and order is defendant’s motion for summary judgment. There are three issues which are disputed: Whether defendant, Hartford Fire Insurance Company, is required to pay plaintiff, Pepper Mill Condominium Association, for emergency expenses associated with plaintiff’s collapsed parking deck; whether defendant is required to pay for costs associated with plaintiff’s construction of a temporary parking lot; and whether defendant acted in bad faith when it denied coverage for the above mentioned claims.

First, it is plaintiff’s position that defendant is required to pay for the emergency expenses pursuant to the parties’ Special Multi-Flex Policy’s Commercial General Liability Coverage form. Plaintiff alleges that after the collapse it was necessary to search for potentially trapped [56]*56or injured persons. Plaintiff states that various entities provided emergency assistance and equipment. Additionally, in order to gain access to the wreckage, an adjoining property owner’s chainlink fence was removed and the sidewalks damaged.

Plaintiff supports their position by suggesting that defendant is misinterpreting an exclusionary clause in the policy. The clause reads that defendant will not cover property damage to:

“(1) Property you own, rent, or occupy, including any costs or expenses incurred by you, or any other person, organization or entity, for repair, replacement, enhancement, restoration, or maintenance of such property for any reason, including prevention of injuiy to a person or damage to another’s property....”

Plaintiff interprets the exclusion by the plain meaning of the language. Plaintiff argues that the latter portion of the exclusion, “including . . . prevention of injury to a person or damage to another’s property,” is limited to only “repair, replacement, enhancement, restoration or maintenance” expenses. Plaintiff suggests, for example, that the exclusion would apply to a situation in which loose tile was removed and replaced to prevent them from falling and injuring people.

Plaintiff cites case law to suggest that previous courts have held that emergency response expenses are covered under a general liability policy. In Leebov v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, 401 Pa. 477, 165 A.2d 82 (1960), the court held an insurer was obligated to pay for efforts to prevent further damage. The insured stopped a landslide and prevented serious damage while constructing a building. The court reasoned that “it is [57]*57folly to argue that if a policy owner... makes a reasonable expenditure and prevents a catastrophe, he must do so at his own cost and expense.” Id. at 481, 165 A.2d at 86.

Second, it is plaintiff’s position that defendant is required to pay for the costs incurred in constructing a temporary parking lot to replace the collapsed parking deck.

Plaintiff supports its position by alleging that defendant misinterprets the language in the Property and Commercial General Liability Coverage portions of the policy. The section defendant relies upon is as follows:

“(A) Coverage

“We will pay for direct physical loss of or damage to the following types of covered property caused by or resulting from a covered cause of loss, up to the applicable covered property limits of insurance stated in the declarations....”

Plaintiff contends that the language covers both “physical loss” as well as “damage”; therefore, these terms should be read independently from each other and construed as two distinct types of property loss.

Plaintiff cites previous case law that has defined “direct physical loss” to include losses that are not a literal physical loss, but a loss of a property right. In Gibson v. Secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 479 F. Supp. 3 (M.D. Pa. 1978), the insurance policy provided for “direct loss by flood.” The insured’s house was not physically destroyed by flooding, but was surrounded by water and was deemed to be uninhabitable. The court held that, although there was no direct loss, the plaintiff was entitled to recover the [58]*58insurance proceeds because he had lost the right to occupy his house. The court in Hetrick v. Valley Mutual Insurance Co., 15 D.&C.4th 271 (Cumberland Cty. 1992), held that an oil spill which polluted ground water and made the insured building uninhabitable qualified as a direct loss of the building.

Here, plaintiff contends that the loss of its parking spaces from the collapse was a loss of a property right, analogous with the loss of the use of the house in Gibson and Hetrick. Plaintiff’s lost property right amounted to its right to occupy its parking facilities, and there is no exclusion to such a right in the policy.

Regarding the first two issues, it is defendant’s position that the initial policy does not cover the damages plaintiff is seeking. Defendant maintains that the expenses are not “those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of ‘bodily injury’ or ‘property damage.’ ”

First, defendant contends that plaintiff is misinterpreting the previously mentioned exclusionary clause. Defendant believes that the alleged emergency services do not constitute “direct physical loss of’ or “damage to” covered property caused by or resulting from a covered cause of loss, as required by the terms and conditions of the policy.

Second, defendant believes it is not legally obligated to pay for the cost of constructing temporary parking facilities. These expenses do not constitute “direct physical loss of’ or “damage to” covered property caused by or resulting from a covered cause of loss pursuant to the policy. Moreover, defendant asserts that it already paid [59]*59plaintiff $25,000 in relation to these costs. This amount is the limit of any available coverage for expediting expenses.

With respect to the third issue, plaintiff contends that defendant’s failure to pay claims was done in bad faith. Plaintiff alleges that defendant’s interpretation of the policy was unreasonable because of the legal precedent that plaintiff provided compared to defendant’s lack of legal precedent. See Waldman v. Pediatric Services of America Inc., 1999 U.S. Dist. Lexis 6106 (E.D. Pa. April 30, 1999). Plaintiff also alleges that defendant conducted an unreasonable investigation because defendant failed to contact the emergency providers and promptly determine the facts. See Williams v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Co., 83 F. Supp.2d 567 (E.D. Pa. 2000) (mem.), aff’d, 99-CV-01732 (3d Cir. April 4, 2001) (mem.). Finally, plaintiff alleges that defendant’s refusal to pay these claims is frivolous because of defendant’s failure to cite any supporting legal authority excluding coverage. See Frog, Switch & Manufacturing Co. Inc. v. Travelers Insurance Co., 193 F.3d 742 (Pa. 1999).

Defendant rebuts this contention by alleging that plaintiff has failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that its conduct constitutes bad faith. Defendant supports its position by citing 42 Pa.C.S. §8371. However, section 8371 has been preempted because it has been found to conflict with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. See McGuigan v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., 256 F.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Carpenter v. Federal Insurance
637 A.2d 1008 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1994)
Ryan Homes, Inc. v. Home Indemnity Co.
647 A.2d 939 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1994)
Gene & Harvey Builders, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Ass'n
517 A.2d 910 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)
Terletsky v. Prudential Property & Casualty Insurance
649 A.2d 680 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1994)
Gwendolyn v. Moore
650 A.2d 1090 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1994)
Askew by Askew v. Zeller
521 A.2d 459 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1987)
Leebov v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.
165 A.2d 82 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1960)
McGuigan v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance
256 F. Supp. 2d 345 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2003)
Williams v. Hartford Casualty Insurance
83 F. Supp. 2d 567 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2000)
MGA Insurance v. Bakos
699 A.2d 751 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
71 Pa. D. & C.4th 54, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 172, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pepper-mill-condominium-assn-v-hartford-fire-insurance-pactcomplcentre-2005.