St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Britt

203 So. 3d 804, 2016 Ala. LEXIS 10
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedJanuary 29, 2016
Docket1140423
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 203 So. 3d 804 (St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Britt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Britt, 203 So. 3d 804, 2016 Ala. LEXIS 10 (Ala. 2016).

Opinion

BRYAN, Justice.

St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company (“St. Paul”) appeals from a summary judgment entered by the Chilton Circuit Court (“the trial court”). That judgment, among other things, granted the motion for a partial summary judgment filed by Willis Britt (“Britt”), as conservator of the estate of Michael D. Britt (“Michael”), and denied St. Paul’s motion for a summary judgment.

Facts and Procedural History

The facts of this case are undisputed. In 2004, Michael purchased a Beneteau brand sailboat (“the sailboat”). Although it is unclear when Michael first obtained insurance for the sailboat, the record indicates that, during the events giving rise to this case, Michael had insured the sailboat with St. Paul pursuant to a Seahorse Underwriters Boat Insurance Policy (“the policy”) that provided coverage limits of $85,000 for “accidental direct physical loss of or damage to [the sailboat] ... except as specifically stated or excluded in this policy.”

From 2004 onward, the sailboat served as Michael’s residence in Florida; Michael had no other established residence. In early September 2011, Michael telephoned Britt, Michael’s father, and told Britt that he had accepted a job driving a commercial truck and that he had to attend orientation for the new job in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Michael informed Britt that he planned to sail the sailboat from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Jacksonville, Florida, store the boat in Jacksonville, and rent a car in Jacksonville to drive to Oklahoma City for the orientation.

On or around September 11, 2011, Michael set sail for Jacksonville. On September 15, 2011, the United States Coast Guard boarded the sailboat approximately one mile off the coast of Cape Canaveral, [807]*807Florida, for a “cold hit” inspection. That inspection revealed that the sailboat was seaworthy as of September 15, 2011. There is no evidence of any severe weather in the Cape Canaveral area on September 15, 2011, or in the days immediately thereafter. Also on September 15, 2011, Michael telephoned Britt and informed Britt that, given a lack of wind, he would arrive in Jacksonville later than anticipated but that he would telephone Britt when he arrived. That telephone call never came, and, to the parties’ knowledge, no one has seen Michael or the sailboat since September 15, 2011, despite search efforts by Britt and his family, the United States Coast Guard, and Florida authorities.

The Coast Guard’s reports from its investigation into Michael’s, disappearance indicate that Michael last used his cellular telephone on September 17, 2011, at 11:58 p.m. to call a debt-collection agency that had a lien on the sailboat. The Coast Guard’s efforts to speak to someone at the debt-collection agency about the nature of that call were fruitless. The Coast Guard’s reports indicate that the last “hit” on Michael’s cellular telephone, which was on September 17, 2011, when he placed that last call, indicated that Michael was traveling in a southerly direction, away from Jacksonville, his stated destination. There is no record of Michael ever making an S.O.S. call or sending another distress signal.'

Coast Guard reports also indicate that Michael had “a history of not checking in with family for weeks at a time” and that he had been involved “in an unreported ... case previously, during which he was found far outside his expected area of operation.” That happened in July 2011, and, although Britt corroborated the Coast Guard’s report, he stated that the reason Michael had not contacted his family during that time was that his cellular telephone had gotten wet. Although Michael had been missing over ■ two years when Britt commenced the action underlying this appeal, Britt stated in his answers to interrogatories that, as of September 2, 2014, no federal, state, or local governmental agency had declared Michael dead. •

In October 2011, Britt contacted St. Paul to report the sailboat as lost. On February 14, 2012, Britt was appointéd conservator of Michael’s estate by the Chilton Probate Court. Shortly thereafter, Britt filed a claim with St. Paul for the lost sailboat.1 On June 7, 2012, after conducting its own investigation into Michael’s disappearance, St. Paul sent Britt a letter in which it declined coverage for the sailboat. That letter states, in pertinent part:

“Based upon the facts we have learned to date, we must respectfully decline coverage at this time. We refer you to [Michael’s] insuring agreement, the ... Policy, which provides in relevant part:
“‘BOAT AND BOATING EQUIPMENT COVERAGE
“ ‘Coverage Provided:' We will pay for accidental direct physical loss of or damage to your boat or boating equipment except as specifically stated or excluded in this policy.
tí i
“‘Exclusions: We will not provide Boat and Boating Equipment Coverage for any loss or damage caused by or resulting from ... mysterious disappearance — ’
“Based on our investigation, we cannot at this time find any evidence, of ‘accidental direct physical loss or damage’ to [808]*808the vessel that would trigger coverage. Further, the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the vessel appear to fall under the ‘mysterious disappearance’ exclusion in [Michael’s] insuring agreement. For these reasons, we have concluded that there is no coverage under the Policy for the disappearance of the vessel.”

(Capitalization in original.)

On January 2, 2014, Britt filed in the trial court a complaint against St. Paul asserting claims of breach of contract, bad faith, and fraud.2 St. Paul filed a motion to dismiss the fraud claim. Britt did not respond to St. Paul’s motion, and the trial court dismissed the fraud claim on August 7, 2014. On September 5, 2014, St. Paul filed its answer to Britt’s complaint.

On September 15, 2014, St. Paul filed a motion for a summary judgment on Britt’s breach-of-contract and bad-faith claims; Britt filed a motion for a partial summary judgment on the breach-of-contract claim only. On October 6, 2014, each party filed a response in opposition to the other party’s summary-judgment motion. After a hearing on the motions, the trial court entered a judgment on October 14, 2014, that stated, in pertinent part:

“The ‘Boat and Boating Equipment Coverage’ section of the policy states St. Paul ‘will pay for accidental direct physical loss of or damage to your boat.’ The policy also provides that ‘[i]f your boat is totally destroyed or lost for more than thirty (30) days, we will pay the amount of Boat and Boating Equipment Coverage shown on the Declarations Page.’ The limits of coverage on the declarations page was $85,000. [Britt] also asserts a claim against St. Paul for its bad ■faith failure to pay the claim.
“The Court concludes [Britt’s] motion for partial summary judgment is GRANTED, and summary judgment is entered in favor of [Britt] on his breach-of-contract claim against St. Paul. [St. Paul’s] motion for summary judgment is DENIED. [Britt’s] bad faith claim is MOOT.”

(Capitalization in original.) In addition to entering a judgment for Britt on the breach-of-contract claim and ruling that the bad-faith claim was thus rendered moot, the trial court’s October 14, 2014, judgment also awarded Britt $74,950 in damages, with interest.

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203 So. 3d 804, 2016 Ala. LEXIS 10, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-paul-fire-marine-insurance-co-v-britt-ala-2016.