St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, a Corporation v. Sears, Roebuck and Company, a Corporation

603 F.2d 780, 1979 U.S. App. LEXIS 12112
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 4, 1979
Docket77-3515
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 603 F.2d 780 (St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, a Corporation v. Sears, Roebuck and Company, a Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, a Corporation v. Sears, Roebuck and Company, a Corporation, 603 F.2d 780, 1979 U.S. App. LEXIS 12112 (9th Cir. 1979).

Opinion

BARNES, Senior Circuit Judge.

St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company (“St. Paul”) brought this diversity action against Sears, Roebuck and Co. (“Sears”) and others 1 for declaratory relief as to its obligation to Sears, CCC Plastics, Inc. (“CCC Plastics”) and other parties under a policy of liability insurance issued to the latter two named corporations. Summary judgment was granted in St. Paul’s favor and Sears now appeals to this Court. I. FACTS

St. Paul entered into a “Comprehensive General and Automobile Liability Coverage” insurance agreement (“Insuring Agreement”) with CCC Plastics which became effective September 1, 1972. On November 20, 1973, St. Paul issued a “Certificate of Insurance” which stated that Sears was to be named as an “Additional Insured”.

On November 28,1972, Sears entered into a “Contract for Installation Services” (“Services Contract”) with CCC Plastics whereby the latter agreed to install urethane foam roofing for Sears’ customers, when needed, as Sears did not engage in the installation of certain materials which it sold. On May 19, 1974, Sears sold and agreed to have installed urethane foam roofing on buildings managed by the Park South Community Association (“Association”), a non-profit property owners group. The installation operations were assigned to CCC Plastics which allegedly failed to perform in a proper workmanlike manner.

On April 2, 1976, the Association and its president filed a civil suit, No. Indio 21225, in the California Superior Court for the County of- Riverside (“Indio suit”) against Sears, CCC Plastics and certain of the other originally named defendants in the present *782 federal action. 2 Sears tendered the defense of the Indio suit to St. Paul on the grounds that it was entitled to both indemnity and defense against the alleged damages under the provisions of the Insuring Agreement. St. Paul undertook the defense but reserved its right to deny coverage under the policy.

St. Paul filed the present action on September 21,1976 seeking three specific forms of relief: 1) a declaration that Sears and the remaining parties in the Indio suit have no rights or claims against it arising from the Insuring Agreement, 2) a reimbursement' from Sears as to the attorney’s fees which it had expended thus far in defending Sears in the Indio suit, and 3) its costs in the present federal action.

After some discovery, St. Paul filed a motion for partial summary judgment. In its memorandum of points and authorities in opposition to the motion, Sears proffered the affidavit of Remy Burkel as an expert witness. Mr. Burkel stated that he had examined the roofs involved herein and found the urethane material to have been defectively applied thereto. He concluded that the newly installed membrane had become an “integral part” of the buildings. He also opined that in order to repair the buildings, the urethane foam on the roofs would have to be removed, the underlying surface of the existing roof cleaned, patched and specially prepared, and a new urethane membrane put on. St. Paul did not submit any declaration or affidavit to refute Burkel’s statements.

On April 29, 1977, after previously hearing oral argument on the motion, the district court entered a “Pretrial Summary Judgment” which adopted St. Paul’s proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. After objections were raised by Sears, the findings of fact were modified in part. Subsequently, all of the named defendants in the declaratory action, except Sears, were dismissed by St. Paul in exchange for their agreement not to make any claims based on the Insuring Agreement. St. Paul thereafter filed a claim for, and was awarded, attorney’s fees for the defense of Sears in the Indio suit and for its costs arising from the present federal action. That latter disposition ostensibly disposed of the remaining issues in the declaratory action.

II. DISCUSSION

This case presents but one issue, i. e. whether the plaintiffs in the Indio suit seek recovery for any property damage which the Insuring Agreement provides coverage for Sears. If so, then the grant of summary judgment in St. Paul’s favor was improvidently granted. That issue can be resolved after two initial steps. First, the provisions of the Insuring Agreement must be reviewed and interpreted according to relevant law to ascertain what forms of property damage are covered. Second, the complaint filed in the Indio suit must be examined to determine the nature of the property damages which are sought against Sears. 3

A. Property Damage Covered by the Insuring Agreement

Section 2(B) of the Insuring Agreement delineates the scope of protection for “Coverage D; Property Damage Liability Other Than Automobile.” As stated in relevant part:

The Company will pay on behalf of the Insured all sums which the Insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of:
******
*783 Coverage D. Property Damage;
to which this Insuring Agreement applies, caused by an occurrence, and the Company shall have the right and duty to defend any suit against the Insured seeking damages on account of such property damage, even if any of the allegations of the suit are groundless, false or fraudulent. .

Property damage is defined generally in the Insuring Agreement to mean “injury or destruction of tangible property”. Certain forms of property damage are excluded from the scope of the agreement by Section 3. As regards this case, there are three pertinent exclusionary provisions; and they provide as follows:

3. EXCLUSIONS
THIS INSURING AGREEMENT DOES NOT APPLY:
* * # * * *
As respects Coverages B and D.
F. To liability assumed by the Insured under any contract or agreement except an incidental contract; but this exclusion does not apply to a warranty of fitness or quality of the Named Insured’s products or a warranty that work performed by or on the behalf of the Named Insured will be done in a workmanlike manner;
# % # * * *
P. To property damage to the Named Insured’s products arising out of such products or any part of such products;
# * * * # *
Q. With respect to the completed operations hazard (if the insurance otherwise applies to property damage included within such hazard), to property damage to work performed by or on behalf of the Named Insured arising out of the work or any portion thereof, or out of materials, parts or equipment furnished in connection therewith. 4

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Bluebook (online)
603 F.2d 780, 1979 U.S. App. LEXIS 12112, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-paul-fire-and-marine-insurance-company-a-corporation-v-sears-roebuck-ca9-1979.