Royal Insurance Co. of America v. Quinn-L Capital Corp.

759 F. Supp. 1216, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18613, 1990 WL 275824
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 30, 1990
DocketCiv. A. 3-90-0550-H
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 759 F. Supp. 1216 (Royal Insurance Co. of America v. Quinn-L Capital Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Royal Insurance Co. of America v. Quinn-L Capital Corp., 759 F. Supp. 1216, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18613, 1990 WL 275824 (N.D. Tex. 1990).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SANDERS, Chief Judge.

Before the Court are Plaintiffs Royal Insurance Company of Texas and Royal Lloyds of Texas’ (collectively “Royal”) Application for Injunctive Relief, filed October 30, 1990; and Defendants Quinn-L Capital Corporation, Quinn-L Equities, Inc., Quinn-L Financial Corporation, Quinn-L Management Corporation, Quinn-L Mortgage Company’s (collectively “Quinn-L” or “the Quinn-L Entities”) and numerous Individual Investors’ (collectively the Investor Plaintiffs) Opposition to Royal’s Application, filed October 31, 1990. In addition, the Court has before it Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law submitted by both Plaintiffs and Defendants, exhibits (designated “PX” and “DX” herein) and deposition transcripts admitted into evidence by the Court. Also, the Court has taken judicial notice of the proceedings in various related judicial proceedings. See Hearing Tr. at 13-14.

Upon Royal’s Application filed October 30, 1990 the Court entered a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) on October 31, 1990 after hearing oral argument of counsel. The TRO presently restrains Defendants from pursuing certain actions in state court in Brownsville, Texas wherein they seek to enforce against Royal a $740 million state court judgment obtained after this Court entered judgment on September 8, 1989 declaring that Royal had neither a duty to defend Quinn-L nor a duty to indemnify Quinn-L under the insurance policies at issue in these actions. The hearing on Royal’s Application for Preliminary Injunction following the issuance of the TRO was extended from November 13, 1990 to November 20, 1990, a date agreed upon by the parties.

Having considered the pleadings and evidence on file as well as the oral argument of counsel at the November 20, 1990 hearing, the Court GRANTS Royal’s Application for a Preliminary Injunction. The following constitute the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. Because “[t]he four prerequisites for preliminary injunctive relief are mixed questions of fact and law,” Apple Barrel Productions, Inc. v. Beard, 730 F.2d 384, 386 (5th Cir.1984), any factual finding which is actually a legal conclusion should be deemed to be and treated as such, and any legal conclusion which is really a factual finding should be deemed to be and treated as such.

I. Findings of Fact.

A. The Federal Liability Action and the First Federal Declaratory Action.

In May of 1987, 26 lawsuits were brought in this Court by some 157 investors (the “Investor Plaintiffs” or simply “Investors”) who allegedly lost money they had invested in various syndicated real estate investments offered or managed by *1219 one or more of the Defendant Quinn-L Entities. Mr. S. Mark Lovell is the sole shareholder of all of the Quinn-L Entities, save Quinn-L Capital Corporation. Lovell is the sole owner of all of the voting stock of Quinn-L Capital Corporation and is the beneficial owner of all of its assets. 1 See PX 3 at ¶ 2; PX 4 at 3-11. The 26 lawsuits brought by the Plaintiff-Investors against Quinn-L and Lovell were consolidated by the Court into one case, Civil Action No. 3-87-1384-H. 2 The Federal Liability Suits alleged, inter alia, RICO and federal securities claims, as well as state-law causes of action of negligence, fraud, constructive fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, civil conspiracy, negligent misrepresentation, violations of the Texas Securities Act and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, exemplary damages, and attorneys’ fees. All of these claims were based on a common nucleus of operative facts — that is, the Plaintiff-Investors claimed that they sustained damages due to the loss of their investments because of the conduct of Quinn-L. See PX 9.

Subsequently, the Quinn-L Entities, through the Dunn-Odom Insurance Agency, Inc., requested that Royal defend them in the Federal Liability Suits, which Royal agreed to do subject to a reservation of rights. 3 Quinn-L accepted this qualified defense by Royal. See PX 12-15. On May 10, 1988, Royal filed a declaratory judgment action in this Court. See Royal Insurance Company of America v. Q-L Investments, Inc., No. CA3-88-1069-H (the “Federal Declaratory Judgment Action”). In this federal action, Royal sought a declaration that it owed no duty to defend and no duty to indemnify the Quinn-L Entities for any claims brought in the Federal Liability Suits. See PX 16 at ¶ 30.

On June 6, 1988 the Plaintiff-Investors moved to intervene in the Federal Declaratory Judgment Action “in order that they might be provided a fair opportunity to protect their bona fide interests, which have thus far been trampled upon by all involved parties.” DX 12 at 9; PX 19 at 9. The Plaintiff-Investors sought to intervene in order to move to dismiss the Federal Declaratory Judgment Action for lack of justiciability. 4 See DX 12 at Ex. C; PX 19 at Ex. C. The Court denied the Plaintiff-Investors’ Motion to Intervene, finding that they failed to meet the requirements for intervention as a matter of right pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24. 5

*1220 The Quinn-L Entities filed three documents in the Federal Declaratory Judgment Action on February 10, 1989. First, Quinn-L filed its Answer. The Quinn-L Answer asserted fifteen affirmative defenses, including that Royal was estopped to deny defense and indemnification obligations because of “acts and courses of conduct of [Royal] agents, representative, and employees.” PX 22 at 6.

The second document Quinn-L filed on February 10, 1989 was a counterclaim against Royal seeking declarations of duties to defend and to indemnify under seventy-four insurance policies alleged to be issued by Royal and other companies, and not just under the general comprehensive business policy and umbrella policy under which the Quinn-L Entities originally had requested a defense. See PX 21 at Ex. A. The counterclaim sought a declaration that these numerous policies “provide coverage and/or indemnity for any losses incurred by [Quinn-L] arising from the claims asserted” in the Federal Liability Suits. PX 21 113, at 2. Furthermore, Quinn-L alleged in the counterclaim that the Federal Liability Suits “state causes of action alleging an occurrence resulting in property damage, bodily injury, or other liability within the coverage provided by one or more of the policies” and that these occurrences “are not excluded by the limitations, exclusions, conditions, endorsements, riders, or forms made a part of the policies, or any one of them.” Id. ¶¶ 6, 7, at 3.

The third document Quinn-L filed on February 10, 1989 was their Response to Royal’s Motion for Summary Judgment, which had been filed on December 12, 1988.

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759 F. Supp. 1216, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18613, 1990 WL 275824, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/royal-insurance-co-of-america-v-quinn-l-capital-corp-txnd-1990.