St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance v. Sea Quest International, Inc.

676 F. Supp. 2d 1306, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117631
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedDecember 17, 2009
Docket6:05-cv-00962
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 676 F. Supp. 2d 1306 (St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance v. Sea Quest International, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida 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 v. Sea Quest International, Inc., 676 F. Supp. 2d 1306, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117631 (M.D. Fla. 2009).

Opinion

ORDER

THOMAS B. McCOUN III, United States Magistrate Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the court on Sea Quest International, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Incorporated Memorandum of Law (Doc. 45), Plaintiffs response in opposition (Doc. 52), St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company’s Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 47), and Defendant’s response (Doc. 51). 2 By their cross-motions, the parties seek summary judgment on the claims raised by Plaintiff in its two-count Complaint for declaratory relief as to the Marine General Liability (“MGL”) policy of insurance (Count I) and the Bumbershoot (“excess”) liability policy of insurance (Count II), both of which were issued by St. Paul to Trident.

I.

A.

The historical facts are fairly undisputed. Sea Quest and Trident entered into an agreement in November 1996 for the construction of a 117-foot luxury yacht by Trident. Thereafter, disputes arose between Sea Quest and Trident regarding various aspects of the construction, including the timeliness of construction and whether the vessel was being built in accordance with the plans and specifications. *1308 Approximately two years later, Sea Quest served Trident with a notice of default and demanded arbitration pursuant to the terms of their agreement. 3 Shortly thereafter, Trident filed for bankruptcy, and the matter was stayed. In November 1999, the bankruptcy court entered an order granting relief from the automatic stay to allow Sea Quest to pursue litigation against Trident outside the bankruptcy to the extent of available insurance. See (Does. 46 at 2-4; 47 at 2).

In March 2000, St. Paul filed a declaratory judgment action against Sea Quest and Trident in this court (the “First Coverage Action”) for the purpose of determining the rights and liabilities under several policies of insurance issued by St. Paul to Trident. See St. Paul v. Sea Quest, Case No. 8:00-cv-571-T-MSS. In response, Sea Quest counterclaimed, alleging breach of contract based upon St. Paul’s refusal to pay under the MGL policy, the excess policy, and two Builder’s Risk policies. Id. In October 2001, the court determined that Sea Quest had prematurely asserted its claims under the MGL and excess policies based on the express “no action” clauses in those policies and thus dismissed those claims. 4 Id. There followed a bench trial on Sea Quest’s claims for coverage under the two Builder’s Risk policies issued by St. Paul. 5 On March 21, 2002, the court issued its Bench Order wherein the court directed judgment be entered in favor of Sea Quest and against St. Paul under the Builder’s Risk policies. The order included detailed findings of fact. (Doc. 47-2). As for damages, the court found St. Paul liable to Sea Quest in the amount of $2,001,945.22 in damages and prejudgment interest, plus attorneys’ fees and costs. Id. 6 The parties appealed certain aspects of the Bench Order to the court of appeal. In April 2003, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the finding of coverage under the Builder’s Risk policies. 7 See (Doc. 47-3).

In March 2002, Sea Quest instituted an action for negligence and breach of contract against Trident in state circuit court in Miami, Dade County, Florida (the “Un *1309 derlying Action”). 8 See (Doc. 1^4). During the pendency of that action, St. Paul provided its insured, Trident, with a defense under the MGL policy, subject to a reservation of rights. In June 2005, the state court granted Sea Quest’s motion for summary judgment and entered final judgment against Trident based upon the findings of fact in the Bench Order. 9 The trial court’s judgment in favor of Sea Quest was affirmed by the state appellate court with the exception that the award of damages was reduced by $300,000. See Sea Quest Internat’l, Inc. v. Trident Shipworks, Inc., 958 So.2d 1115 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.2007). Consistent with that opinion, an Amended Final Judgment awarding Sea Quest $3,543,155.30 in damages and prejudgment interest was entered in the Underlying Action in October 2007. See (Doc. 47-5). Recovery was limited to the insurance proceeds available to Trident, per the order of the Bankruptcy Court of November 1, 1999. Id. at 3.

In May 2005, St. Paul filed the instant complaint against Sea Quest and Trident seeking declaratory relief that it had no obligation to defend or indemnify Trident under either the MGL or the Bumbershoot policies in the Underlying Action. (Doc. 1). Pending the conclusion of the Underlying Action, the instant matter was stayed to “avoid possible piecemeal litigation and [to] allow the court to address all the issues that might potentially come before it.” 10 (Doe. 34 at 5-6). Following the final determination in Sea Quest’s favor in the Underlying Action, the case was reopened in January 2008. See (Doc. 39). In February 2009, Sea Quest filed its Answer, Affirmative Defenses, and Counterclaim. (Doc. 41). By its counterclaim, Sea Quest sues St. Paul for breach of the MGL and excess policies and for enforcement of the judgment in the Underlying Action.

B.

The relevant policies of insurance are the MGL and Bumbershoot policies. 11 In practical terms, since St. Paul provided its insured with a defense in the Underlying Action, the issue for the court’s consideration is whether St. Paul is obligated to indemnify Sea Quest for the damages awarded in that action. The parties agree that the findings of this court in the First Coverage Action, which were not altered by the Eleventh Circuit, are binding.

By its motion, St. Paul contends that no coverage exists under the MGL Policy for the costs of repairing Trident’s defective workmanship as the damages awarded to Sea Quest in the Underlying Action are not “property damage” as such is defined in the policies. Generally, St. Paul urges that in deciding whether it must indemnify Trident, the court considers the policy coverages in light of the facts in the underlying case. 12 It contends the burden is on Sea Quest to prove that coverage exists, *1310 and that under Florida law, Sea Quest cannot meet its burden. Citing Auto-Owners Insurance Co. v. Pozzi Window Co., 984 So.2d 1241, 1248-49 (Fla.2008), St. Paul argues that under Florida law the cost of repair or replacement of a subcontractor’s defective work does not, standing, alone, constitute covered “property damage.” Since the findings in the Bench Order limit damages to the cost of repairing and completing Trident’s defective work, there is no covered property damage under either policy.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Phila. Indem. Ins. Co. v. Fla. Mem'l Univ.
307 F. Supp. 3d 1343 (S.D. Florida, 2018)
Resmondo v. New Hampshire Insurance
55 F. Supp. 3d 1404 (M.D. Florida, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
676 F. Supp. 2d 1306, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117631, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-paul-fire-marine-insurance-v-sea-quest-international-inc-flmd-2009.