Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance v. Youth Alive, Inc.

857 F. Supp. 2d 647, 2012 WL 469662, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17551
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Kentucky
DecidedFebruary 13, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 3:09-cv-347-CRS
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 857 F. Supp. 2d 647 (Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance v. Youth Alive, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance v. Youth Alive, Inc., 857 F. Supp. 2d 647, 2012 WL 469662, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17551 (W.D. Ky. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHARLES R. SIMPSON III, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on cross motions for summary judgment between the plaintiff, Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company (“Philadelphia Indemnity”) and defendant Youth Alive, Inc. (‘Youth Alive”), (DNs 60, 62).1

The facts in this case are undisputed. This action arose out of a car crash which killed four children who participated in a youth event run by defendant, Youth Alive, Inc. (‘Youth Alive”). The children had been transported to the event in three vans owned by Youth Alive. Another event participant, 16-year-old Herbert Lee (“Lee”), also traveled to the youth event in a 1991 Honda. After the youth event concluded, Youth Alive was having trouble fitting all the participants into the three vans owned by Youth Alive for transport to their homes. One Youth Alive employee noticed that Lee was driving alone in the Honda and stopped him as he was leaving. She requested that Lee drive four other youth participants, Jemar Claybrooks, Demar Claybrooks, Marc Claybrooks, and Aaron Shields from the youth event to their homes, located nearby.

Unbeknownst to Youth Alive employees, the car which Lee was driving had actually been stolen from .an individual during a carjacking and Lee did not have a driver’s license. After Lee drove away with the four children, an officer from the Louisville Metro Police Department observed Lee driving erratically and ran the license plate for the Honda. The officer discovered that the car had been reported stolen dur[650]*650ing a carjacking and tried to stop Lee. Lee attempted to evade the police and in doing so, lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree. The four children in the car with Lee were killed. Lee was subsequently-charged with and convicted of manslaughter, fleeing or evading the police, receiving stolen property, and operating a motor vehicle without an operator’s license. See Commonwealth of Kentucky, Jefferson Circuit Court, Criminal Division, Action No. 09CR1095-3, April 2009 (DN 62, Exhibit 18).

After the accident, the estates of the four children brought lawsuits against Youth Alive, alleging that Youth Alive was negligent in placing or allowing the youth event participants to be placed in a vehicle with Lee. (DN 60, Exhibits 9, 10). Youth Alive notified Philadelphia Indemnity of the claims and sought both a defense and indemnification under its commercial general liability policy (“CGL Policy”) and its commercial excess liability policy (“Excess Policy”) with Philadelphia Indemnity. Philadelphia Indemnity provided a defense to Youth Alive but issued a reservation of rights letter, denying coverage or indemnity under the commercial general liability policy, relying on “exclusion (g)” in the Policy. Philadelphia also issued a second reservation of rights letter asserting that coverage was also not available under the Excess Policy.

Philadelphia then filed this declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that coverage does not exist under the CGL Policy and the Excess Policy for any claim arising from the accident involving Lee and the four other Youth Alive participants (DN 1). Youth Alive filed its Answer (DN 13), and then an Amended Answer and Counterclaim, asserting bad faith counterclaims against Philadelphia (DN 52). Philadelphia Indemnity filed a motion for summary judgment (DN 60) on its declaratory judgment claim. Youth Alive also filed a motion for summary judgment (DN 62), seeking a judgment that Philadelphia Indemnity must provide coverage under both policies.

A party moving for summary judgment has the burden of showing that there are no genuine issues of fact and that the movant is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 151-60, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Felix v. Young, 536 F.2d 1126, 1134 (6th Cir.1976). Not every factual dispute between the parties will prevent summary judgment. The disputed facts must be material. They must be facts which, under the substantive law governing the issue, might affect the outcome of the suit. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The dispute must also be genuine. The facts must be such that if they were proven at trial, a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The disputed issue does not have to be resolved conclusively in favor of the non-moving party, but that party is required to present some significant probative evidence which makes it necessary to resolve the parties’ differing versions of the dispute at trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); First Nat’l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968). The evidence must be construed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Id. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348; Smith v. Hudson, 600 F.2d 60, 63 (6th Cir.1979).

Under Kentucky law, an insurance contract must be “liberally construed and all doubts resolved in favor of the insureds.” Kentucky Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. McKinney, 831 S.W.2d 164, 166 [651]*651(Ky.1992). The terms used in the insurance policies should be interpreted as they would be by the “average man.” James Graham Brown Foundation, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 814 S.W.2d 273, 279 (Ky.1991). Exclusions must be interpreted narrowly, with any questions resolved in favor of finding coverage, because exclusions are “contrary to the fundamental protective purpose of insurance.” Kemper Nat’l Ins. Cos. v. Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., 82 S.W.3d 869, 873-74 (Ky.2002); Eyler v. Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 824 S.W.2d 855, 859 (Ky.1992). Kentucky courts have adopted the “doctrine of ambiguity,” which mandates that if an insurance contract is ambiguous, any doubts as to its construction must be resolved in favor of the insured. Woodson v. Manhattan Life Ins. Co. of N.Y., 743 S.W.2d 835, 838 (Ky.1987).

The exclusion which Philadelphia Indemnity relies on in seeking to deny coverage is “exclusion (g) Aircraft, Auto or Watercraft” in the CGL Policy. Exclusion (g) provides that “bodily injury ... that arises out of the ownership, maintenance, use or entrustment to others of any ... auto ... owned or operated by or rented or loaned to any insured” is excluded from coverage. (DN 60, Exhibit 11) (emphasis added).

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857 F. Supp. 2d 647, 2012 WL 469662, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17551, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/philadelphia-indemnity-insurance-v-youth-alive-inc-kywd-2012.