Standard Construction Co., Inc. v. Maryland Casualty Co. And Northern Insurance Co. Of New York

359 F.3d 846, 2004 WL 393173
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMay 10, 2004
Docket02-6039
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 359 F.3d 846 (Standard Construction Co., Inc. v. Maryland Casualty Co. And Northern Insurance Co. Of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Standard Construction Co., Inc. v. Maryland Casualty Co. And Northern Insurance Co. Of New York, 359 F.3d 846, 2004 WL 393173 (6th Cir. 2004).

Opinions

BERTELSMAN, D. J., delivered the . opinion of the court, in which COOK, J., joined. ROGERS, J. (pp. 854-55), delivered a separate concurring opinion.

OPINION

BERTELSMAN, District Judge.

• Defendants, Maryland Casualty Company and Northern Insurance Company of New York, appeal the district court’s judgment in favor of plaintiff, Standard Construction Company. The district court ruled that defendants owed plaintiff both a duty to defend and a duty to indemnify under certain commercial general liability insurance policies. For the reasons set forth, we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment.

Factual Background

Standard Construction Company is an asphalt paving contractor. Maryland Casualty Company and Northern Insurance Company of New York insured Standard [848]*848from January 1, 1990 through January 1, 1993, under three successive one-year commercial general liability (“CGL”) and umbrella policies, respectively.

In March 1990, Standard entered into a contract with the State of Tennessee to perform paving and road work as part of a road-widening project on Highway 64 near Arlington, Tennessee. Under the contract, Standard was responsible for the clearing and removal of certain debris, to be performed in accord with specifications issued by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. These specifications required Standard to remove debris from the construction area; to take ownership of the debris and dispose of it elsewhere; to secure written permission from landowners prior to dumping the debris on any private property; and to make reparations for any damage to private or public property that might occur during disposal.

Standard subcontracted this disposal work to Ronald S. Terry Construction Company. Terry’s superintendent, Gene A. Bobo, obtained written permission from six owners of the property adjacent to Highway 64 to dump on their property construction debris from the road-widening project. With respect to a seventh property owner, the then 90-year old Cas-sella Love, Bobo obtained a similar agreement signed by Love’s daughter, Louise Poole, in Love’s name.

Terry, believing that it had Love’s permission, proceeded to dump construction debris, including trees, corrugated metal pipes, concrete chunks with exposed steel, and asphalt, on Love’s property. At that time, Love’s property, which was zoned commercial, was the subject of condemnation proceedings brought by the State in connection with the widening project. William H. Fisher, an attorney representing Love in the condemnation action, retained an engineer to inspect Love’s property. The engineer opined that the debris dumped on Love’s property rendered the land unsuitable for development.

After receiving the engineer’s report, Fisher wrote to Standard by letter, dated May 22, 1992, demanding that the company cease dumping on Love’s property, revoking any authority Standard may have had for such dumping, and requesting that Standard remove the debris. Fisher also stated that Love suffered from senile dementia and that her ability to enter into a binding contract was questionable.

After attempting unsuccessfully to locate a copy of the first Love agreement, Standard obtained a second dumping agreement, signed either by Love or by Poole in Love’s name, dated June 17, 1992. Handwritten on the agreement was the notation: “agree to asp[halt] driveway + dump 2 loads of dirt in front yard.” Thereafter, Standard paved Love’s driveway and spread dirt on her land.

On November 22, 1994, Love, by and through her daughter, filed suit in Tennessee state court against Standard, Terry, Bobo and the State of Tennessee. Love asserted various claims for damage to her property, including a claim for trespass. Standard tendered defense of the Love case to Maryland and Northern, but the insurers denied coverage on several different grounds. Following amendments to the Love complaint, the insurers again refused to defend Standard. Standard eventually settled the Love matter for approximately $200,000.

On January 5, 2001, Standard filed the instant declaratory judgment action alleging that the insurers breached their duties to defend and indemnify Standard in connection with the Love lawsuit. The parties consented to the jurisdiction of United States Magistrate Judge Diane K. Vesco-vo, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).

[849]*849After discovery, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. By order, dated May 15, 2002, Magistrate Judge Vescovo granted summary judgment in Standard’s favor as to the duty to defend, ruling that property damage resulting from trespass would constitute a covered claim under the applicable policies and that certain “business risk” exclusions relied upon by the insurers were inapplicable to claims by a stranger to the construction contract for damages resulting from a trespass. Magistrate Judge Vescovo denied the motions as to the duty to indemnify, however, finding that there were genuine disputes of material fact as to whether a contract was entered into between Love and Standard (through Terry) so as to trigger the business risk exclusions.

Magistrate Judge Vescovo conducted a bench trial on June 17 and 18, 2002, after which she entered Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and a Judgment in Standard’s favor. Specifically, Magistrate Judge Vescovo found that Terry’s disposal of construction debris on Love’s property constituted a trespass because, although Terry (and Standard) believed it had Love’s permission to dump the debris, in reality such consent was lacking because Love herself was incompetent to enter into any agreement and because her daughter, Poole, had neither actual nor implied authority to do so on Love’s behalf. Thus, no contract between Love and Standard ever existed, and Terry’s dumping on the property was wrongful.

Magistrate Judge Vescovo also concluded that Standard had acted reasonably in settling the Love case and that Standard had not impaired the insurers’ subrogation rights.

The trial court awarded Standard $244,750 for its Love defense costs; $200,000 for its settlement costs; and $6,487.30 in pre-judgment interest.

The insurers now appeal the grant of partial summary judgment to Standard on the issue of the duty to defend, the denial of summary judgment on that issue to the insurers, and the judgment in favor of Standard on the duty of indemnification.

Analysis

A. Standard of Review

We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, employing the same legal standard applied by the .district court. Westfield Ins. Co. v. Tech Dry, Inc., 336 F.3d 503, 506 (6th Cir.2003) (citation omitted). The same standard applies where the district court denies summary judgment based upon purely legal grounds. Id. The district court’s findings of fact are reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a).

B. Applicable Law

The district court held that Tennessee law was applicable, and neither party contests this ruling.

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359 F.3d 846, 2004 WL 393173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/standard-construction-co-inc-v-maryland-casualty-co-and-northern-ca6-2004.