Shawnee Tabernacle Church v. Guideone Ins.

383 F. Supp. 3d 460
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 23, 2019
DocketCIVIL ACTION No. 16-5728
StatusPublished

This text of 383 F. Supp. 3d 460 (Shawnee Tabernacle Church v. Guideone Ins.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shawnee Tabernacle Church v. Guideone Ins., 383 F. Supp. 3d 460 (E.D. Pa. 2019).

Opinion

Gerald Austin McHugh, United States District Judge

This case is an action alleging bad faith on the part of an insurance company that *462delayed payment of a substantial claim for water damage for over a year. Plaintiffs have moved for summary judgment, essentially seeking a decision of the entire case in their favor. Because a plaintiff has the burden of proof, affirmative motions for summary judgment are rarely granted. See Shager v. Upjohn Co. , 913 F.2d 398, 403 (7th Cir. 1990) (Posner, J.). I would overreach if I were to decide the entire case as a matter of law. With respect to a period between mid-June and mid-December, however, the facts are undisputed. During that time, I conclude that Defendant GuideOne acted in bad faith as a matter of law by ignoring the claim and withholding coverage when it possessed all of the necessary information to determine coverage. But as to the delays before and after this period of time, there are factual disputes and issues of causation. Accordingly, I will grant Plaintiffs' motion in part and deny it in part.

I. Factual Background

This case centers on a loss that resulted from water damage on the property of Plaintiffs Shawnee Tabernacle Church and AZ Learning Daycare. The property in question was covered by an insurance policy that Defendant GuideOne Mutual Insurance Company ("GuideOne") issued. See Pls.' Compl. Ex. A, ECF No. 1, 1-1. The policy's provisions spelled out the obligations of the insurance company and the insured in the event of a loss. Of particular relevance to this case, a vacancy provision precluded water damage coverage if less than 31% of the building was rented or used for customary operations, unless the property was under construction or renovation. Id. at 72-73, ECF No. 1.

The loss in this case occurred on January 13, 2015, and on the same day, Plaintiffs reported the claim to GuideOne. GuideOne assigned adjuster Brian Baskin. Baskin received an initial report, spoke with Pastor Bloom of Shawnee Tabernacle Church, and made a preliminary estimate of damages prior to inspecting the property.1 Mr. Baskin inspected the property on January 15, 2015.

Many details about the inspection are disputed. The parties agree that, at some point during the inspection, Baskin indicated he believed the policy's vacancy provision may apply and that, on January 15, 2015, GuideOne sent a Reservation of Rights letter. Baskin claims his concern about the vacancy provision arose as soon as he saw the property. In his deposition, he stated he "didn't see any evidence that there was activity in the school side of the structure," and he knew a school that previously rented the building had vacated the property in October 2014. Baskin Dep. 37-38. Although in the same deposition he admitted to seeing some renovation work during the inspection, he claimed it was limited to "one room in the back top second level" and maintained that he "did not see that to be renovations of the building." Id. at 76.

Plaintiffs allege that the concern about the policy's vacancy provision was merely a pretext to delay payment. They claim that Baskin cited the policy's vacancy provision only after first offering different reasons for reserving GuideOne's rights, *463reasons that were then contradicted by the statements of an engineer hired by GuideOne's subrogation department. Plaintiffs further argue that invoking vacancy as the basis for a denial of coverage was disingenuous because GuideOne and Baskin knew the provision did not apply. Specifically, Plaintiffs contend GuideOne knew that at the time of the loss the church was in the process of fixing damage the previous school tenants had caused, making the renovation exception to the vacancy provision applicable.2 Additionally, the GuideOne claim log notes indicate that, immediately after the inspection, Baskin received information and documentation about the church and daycare's continued use of the property in November and December 2014. Def.'s Resp. to Pls.' Mot. Summ. J. Ex. 3, at 26-28, ECF No. 29-1 [hereinafter Claim Log]. Baskin nonetheless continued to investigate the vacancy question, which provided the basis to refrain from making payments for the losses Plaintiffs incurred. See id. at 24-26.

During that same timeframe, GuideOne became aware of serious economic pressure impacting its insured. First, from the date of the inspection, GuideOne knew that a tenant occupying the school portion of the building had left in the fall of 2014,3 ahead of its July 31, 2016 lease termination date. See Def.'s Resp. to Pls.' Mot. Summ. J. Ex. 4, at 2, ECF No. 29-1. Not long after, GuideOne also learned that a notice of foreclosure had been published in December 2014. Claim Log 25. When Mr. Baskin was deposed, he acknowledged that he was aware the church would suffer a loss of income during the period of time the building was unusable, Baskin Dep. 69-70, he had received bills for repairs to the property as of June 2015, id. at 125-126, he knew the building could not be rented if the damage were not repaired, id. at 123, and he also knew the Church was taking steps to look for a tenant. Id. at 111.

Between March 4, 2015 and April 14, 2015, Plaintiffs' attorney, Marshall Anders, and Baskin exchanged multiple letters and phone calls. As part of the coverage investigation, Baskin requested and Anders provided information regarding the use of the property. In one letter, Anders also expressed interest in resolving the claim with a settlement and sought disclosure of GuideOne's assessment of the loss.4 Pls.' Compl. Ex. B, ECF N. 1. In an April 14 letter, Baskin replied that GuideOne had instructed the consulting engineer it sent to the property to hold his report until after the coverage concerns were resolved. He further advised Anders that settlement discussions would not proceed until after the completion of the coverage investigation. Pls.' Compl, Ex. D, ECF N. .

This April 14 letter constituted Baskin's final communication with Plaintiffs. See Claim Log 20-21; Baskin Dep. 107. GuideOne's *464communication obligations were explicitly identified in the policy at issue here, which incorporated Title 31, Pennsylvania Code, Section 146.7(c)(1). That provision states that, if an investigation cannot be completed within 30 days of the initial notification that more time is necessary, the insurance carrier must communicate to the insured, in writing, the reasons for the additional delay and when a decision on the claim may be expected. The carrier must continue such reporting every 45 days until the claim is resolved. Yet after April 14, Baskin sent no status letters to the insured as required by the policy and Pennsylvania law. Claim Log 20-21; Baskin Dep. 107. Baskin's successor appears to have discussed the coverage issue with Anders by phone, but also failed to comply with the policy and Pennsylvania law. See Claim Log 18.

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Bluebook (online)
383 F. Supp. 3d 460, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shawnee-tabernacle-church-v-guideone-ins-paed-2019.