R Consulting & Sales, Inc. v. Old Republic Ins. Co.

342 F. Supp. 3d 1019
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedNovember 27, 2018
DocketCASE NO. 17cv171-LAB (BLM)
StatusPublished

This text of 342 F. Supp. 3d 1019 (R Consulting & Sales, Inc. v. Old Republic Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
R Consulting & Sales, Inc. v. Old Republic Ins. Co., 342 F. Supp. 3d 1019 (S.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

Honorable Larry Alan Burns, United States District Judge

R Consulting & Sales, Inc. ("R Consulting") owned a Gulfstream jet insured by Defendant Old Republic Insurance Co. ("ORIC"). After the jet went missing in Mexico in 2014, R Consulting filed a claim with ORIC, who denied coverage based on alleged misrepresentations in the policy application and breaches of several of the policy's warranties. R Consulting then filed this suit for breach of contract and bad faith. ORIC now moves for summary judgment, arguing that its denial of coverage was proper. For the reasons below, the Court agrees and GRANTS ORIC's Motion for Summary Judgment.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND 1

R Consulting is a company involved in aircraft sales, leasing, and consulting. See *1022Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts, Dkt. 42 ¶ 1. Beginning in 2013, R Consulting's insurance broker, Avsurance Corporation ("Avsurance"), negotiated with ORIC's general agent, Phoenix Aviation Managers, Inc. ("PAM"), to obtain two insurance policies covering R Consulting's 1983 Gulfstream jet: (1) No. CA 00246201, effective from September 30, 2013 to September 30, 2014 ("the 13/14 Policy") and (2) No. CA 00246202, effective from September 30, 2014 to September 30, 2015 ("the 14/15 Policy"). Id. ¶ 4. Only the 14/15 Policy is at issue in this suit.

Before the 13/14 Policy expired on September 30, 2014, R Consulting (through Avsurance) applied for the 14/15 Policy at issue here. See Dkt. 19, Ex. 17 at 6. In that application, R Consulting stated that the aircraft was to be based at Minden-Tahoe Airport in Nevada. Id. R Consulting also checked the "NO" box next to the question: "Has any pilot ever been convicted of or plead guilty to a felony or driving while intoxicated?" Id. at 7. It is undisputed that one of the pilots listed on the application, Lance Ricotta, had an undisclosed 2004 felony conviction for falsifying aircraft logbooks, although he was allowed to keep his air transport pilot's license as part of that plea deal. See Dkt. 36-6 ¶ 11.

Finally, the application asked the applicant "[d]escribe any navigation outside the USA & Canada," to which Avsurance responded: "Mexico." Id. at 6. Avsurance had responded similarly when originally applying for coverage in 2013. This answer piqued the interest of ORIC's underwriter, Jennifer Melvin, who reached out to Avsurance's Jim Coleman in 2013 for clarification. She noted that ORIC needed "[c]onfirmation that the aircraft is not predominantly based in, or conducting flights in Mexico (the policy territory is Worldwide, so we do not mind the occasional vacation south of the border, but if they spent more time down there than up here we'd have to pass)". Dkt. 19, Ex. 8. After a "series of emails and phone calls" between Melvin and Coleman, Melvin summarized that "[w]hile there are several vacation flights a year to Mexico, [R Consulting's] operations are predominately domestic." Id. , Ex. 11. Coleman clarified that R Consulting's officers "do go to Mexico from time to time for business, so I wouldn't classify it solely as 'vacation' trips." Id.

Based on the answers provided, on September 23, 2014, ORIC sent Avsurance an "Aircraft Insurance Binder" containing the tentative 14/15 Policy. See Dkt. 42 ¶ 23. Avsurance confirmed that the documents "looked good," and ORIC issued the policy. The policy, (Dkt. 21, Ex. 21), contained several provisions at issue here:

"Your Aircraft" Provision : "You must own your aircraft solely or in part or you must hold it under a written lease of at least one year";
"Purpose of Flight" Provision (as modified by the "Industrial Use" amendment) : "[Y]ou cannot charge any person or organization for using your aircraft for anything other than reimbursement of the operating expenses of the Aircraft";
"Who Can Fly Your Aircraft" Provision : Only pilots named in the application or pilots meeting minimum qualifications may fly the Aircraft;
"Sale or Disposition" Provision : Negates coverage "[i]f someone is legally holding your aircraft, and later sells or disposes of your aircraft, or keeps you from using it";

The story takes shape in July 2014, shortly before R Consulting obtained the 14/15 Policy. In July 2014, R Consulting's pilot, Lance Ricotta, took a trip to Toluca, Mexico, where he met Pablo Gonzalez Ulloa, the president of the Mexican company Aviarrendamientos S.A. de C.V. Dkt. 42 at *1023¶ 12. Ulloa indicated he was "doing work for the Mexican Military" and sought a dry lease of R Consulting's Gulfstream "for his travel and for his clients [sic] travel." Id. at ¶ 14. On September 4, 2014, a few days after R Consulting applied for the 14/15 Policy (but before that policy went into effect), R Consulting and Ulloa finalized the terms of the lease and Ricotta delivered the Gulfstream to Ulloa in Toluca. Id. at ¶¶ 20, 22. The lease was for a term of three months, with an agreed rate of $73,000 per month. Dkt. 19, Ex. 17 at 9.

Three months later, on December 1, 2014, R Consulting sold the Gulfstream to a Mexican national named Jose Luis Sanchez for $1,000,000, with Ulloa serving as R Consulting's agent in the sale.2 Id. at 16-26. Shortly thereafter, it became apparent to R Consulting that something had gone wrong. The funds Sanchez owed were never transferred and R Consulting no longer had possession of the plane. In a letter, Sanchez wrote to R Consulting to confirm that he "received this aircraft from R Consulting & Sales Inc., at Toluca International Airport, Mexico and assumed possession and control over said aircraft, the 22nd day of December of 2014." Dkt. 19, Ex. 24 at 2. On April 9, 2015, Ulloa made a $200,000 payment to R Consulting, although the parties dispute whether this was a portion of the sale price or simply money Ulloa still owed under the lease. Id. , Ex. 25 at 1. Believing Ulloa had simply pocketed the remainder of the purchase price from Sanchez, in June 2015, R Consulting filed suit against Ulloa and Sanchez in San Diego Superior Court. See Dkt. 36-3 ¶ 4; see also R Consulting & Sales, Inc. v. Pablo Gonzalez Ulloa, et al. , case no. 37-2015-00021516-CU-BC-CTL (S.D. Cty. Sup. Ct. 2015).

In September 2015, nine months after it sold (or attempted to sell) the plane to Sanchez, R Consulting learned from the Mexican Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics that the aircraft had crashed sometime before January 12, 2015. See Dkt. 36-3 ¶ 4. From this, R Consulting discerned that the "sale" arranged by Ulloa had been a ruse to cover up the crash. R Consulting later learned from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that the plane was likely destroyed in Venezuela on or about December 23, 2014. Id. ¶ 5. Later in September 2015, R Consulting for the first time alerted Avsurance that it had concerns about the whereabouts of the aircraft. Dkt. 42 ¶ 25. Avsurance then informed ORIC of the possible loss and noted "I am sure this will generate a reservation of rights letter due to the delayed reporting of the claim and lack of hard facts." Id. ¶ 26.

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Bluebook (online)
342 F. Supp. 3d 1019, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/r-consulting-sales-inc-v-old-republic-ins-co-casd-2018.