Southern Pilot Insurance v. Cecs, Inc.

15 F. Supp. 3d 1284, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 187233, 2013 WL 8335718
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedJanuary 25, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 1:11-CV-03863-AT
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 15 F. Supp. 3d 1284 (Southern Pilot Insurance v. Cecs, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Southern Pilot Insurance v. Cecs, Inc., 15 F. Supp. 3d 1284, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 187233, 2013 WL 8335718 (N.D. Ga. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

AMY TOTENBERG, District Judge.

This is a declaratory judgment action. On September 6, 2011, Defendant Jason Chatham was driving a dump truck owned by Defendant CECS, Inc. (“CECS”) when he and Defendants Louis Duckwall and Trisha Miller were involved in a motor vehicle accident. Trisha Miller died and Louis Duckwall was injured. CECS identified the dump truck as a scheduled vehicle on a Southern Pilot Business Auto Policy (“Policy”). However, Plaintiff Southern Pilot Insurance Company (“Southern Pilot”) filed this instant action seeking a declaration that, because it properly cancelled the subject policy, it was not in force at the time of the accident.

In addition to filing an answer and counterclaim (Doc. 14), Defendants CECS, Inc. (“CECS”) and Jason Chatham (the “CECS Defendants”) filed a Third-Party Complaint against insurance agents Michael Dillon and Little and Smith Inc. (“Little & Smith”). Among other claims, the CECS Defendants assert that Dillon and Little & Smith breached a fiduciary duty by not acting in a timely manner to ensure that CECS had sufficient liability insurance coverage.

This matter is before the Court on the CECS Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Doc. 38] and Dillon and Little & Smith’s Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion to Strike the Third-Party Complaint [Doc. 52].1 The Court begins by considering the CECS Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.

I. DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

A. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment must be granted if the record shows “that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.CivJP. 56(c). A factual issue is genuine if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict in favor of the nonmoving party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A factual issue is material if resolving the factual issue might change the suit’s outcome under the governing law. Id. The motion should be granted only if no rational fact finder could return a verdict in favor of the non-moving party. Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

[1288]*1288When ruling on the motion, the Court must view all the evidence in the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and resolve all factual disputes in the non-moving party’s favor. See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000). The moving party need not positively disprove the opponent’s case; rather, the moving party must establish the lack of evidentiary support for the non-moving party’s position. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the moving party meets this initial burden, in order to survive summary judgment, the non-moving party must then present competent evidence beyond the pleadings to show that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. at 324-26, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The essential question is “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

Keeping in mind that when deciding a motion for summary judgment, the Court must view the evidence and all factual inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, the Court provides the factual background below. See Optimum Techs., Inc. v. Henkel Consumer Adhesives, Inc., 496 F.3d 1231, 1241 (11th Cir.2007) (observing that, in connection with summary judgment, courts must review all facts and inferences in light most favorable to non-moving party). This summary statement does not represent actual findings of fact. Instead, the Court has provided the statement simply to place the Court’s legal analysis in the context of this particular case or controversy.

B. Background

Southern Pilot issued a policy of commercial automobile insurance to CECS. (Pl.s’ Resp. Defs.’ Statement Undisputed Facts (Doc. 44) ¶ 1; Chatham Aff. (Doc. 38-3) Ex. A.)2 The policy period was from March 1, 2011 to March 1, 2012. (Doc. 38-3 Ex. A at 1.)

In August of 2011, Southern Pilot/General Casualty3 sent to CECS a document entitled “Notice of Intent to Cancel” (“Notice of Intent”). (Doc. 44 ¶ 5; Doc. 38-3 Ex. B at 1-2.) This Notice of Intent was dated August 8, 2011. (Doc. 44 ¶ 5; Doc. 38-3 Ex. B.) CECS received this on August 17, 2011. (Id.; Doc. 38-3 Ex. B.) This Notice of Intent stated as follows:

You are notified that the policies indicated with asterisk (* *) below will cancel in accordance with the terms and conditions of the policy unless the “minimum payment due” is received at the Home Office of the company prior to the effective date of the cancellation listed below.

(Doc. 38-3 Ex. B.) The Notice of Intent referenced the subject policy with an asterisk and stated that the “Cancellation Effective” date for that policy was August 23, 2011. (Id.) Finally, the Notice of Intent included a remittance indicating that the “minimum due” was $1,277.48. (Id.)

Along with the Notice of Intent, Southern Pilot contends that it sent CECS a notice of cancellation (“Notice of Cancellation”), also dated August 8, 2011. (Doc. 60-1 at 8-10 (Ex. J).) The Notice of Can[1289]*1289cellation showed the “EFFECTIVE DATE OF NOTICE” as August 23, 2011. (Id. at 9.) In a section entitled “Cancellation,” the document stated, “You are hereby notified in accordance with the terms and conditions of the above mentioned policy, and in accordance with law, that your insurance will cease at and from the hour and date mentioned above.” (Id.) Finally, the Notice of Cancellation indicated that the reason for cancellation was “Nonpayment of premium.” (Id.)

The CECS Defendants appear to dispute that they received the Notice of Cancellation. Indeed, the circumstances surrounding the Notice of Cancellation are peculiar. Southern Pilot contends that it sent this Notice in the same envelope as the Notice of Intent to Cancel. (PL’s Supplemental Resp. Opp’n Defs.’ Mot. Summ. J. (Doc. 60) at 4; Gragg Aff. (Doc. 60-1) ¶ 4.) However, when Southern Pilot initiated this action in November of 2011, Southern Pilot relied only on the Notice of Intent. (Compl. (Doc. 1) Ex. G.) It was not until Southern Pilot filed a supplemental response to the CECS Defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment on May 18, 2012 (Doc. 60)4 that Southern Pilot presented the Notice of Cancellation to the Court and asserted that it sent the Notice of Cancellation to CECS.

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15 F. Supp. 3d 1284, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 187233, 2013 WL 8335718, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southern-pilot-insurance-v-cecs-inc-gand-2013.