Starstone National Insurance Company v. Kinsale Insurance Company, et al.

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided June 9, 2026·No. 3:23-cv-08074·Unknown

Opinion

WO

Starstone National Insurance Company, No. CV-23-08074-PCT-SMB

Plaintiff, ORDER

v.

Kinsale Insurance Company, et al.,

Defendants. The Court now considers Defendant Kinsale Insurance Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 131), Defendant Burlington Insurance Company’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 133), and Defendant National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 136). The motions are fully briefed. The Court rules as follows. Plaintiff StarStone National Insurance Co. (“StarStone”) brings this action against Defendants Kinsale Insurance Company (“Kinsale”), Burlington Insurance Company (“Burlington”), and National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA (“National Union”). The parties are collectively referred to as the “GNM Insurance Carriers.” StarStone’s Amended Complaint alleges as follows. In August 2015, Willow Creek Road, LLC (“Willow Creek”) hired Decca Multi-Family Builders, Inc. (“Decca”) to be its general contractor for the construction of an apartment complex (the “Project”). (Doc. 42 at 2–3 ¶ 9.) Decca hired GNM Companies, LLC (“GNM”) for carpentry and framing work. (Id. at 3 ¶¶ 10–11.) During construction, GNM had the following insurance policies. Kinsale issued a commercial general liability policy which was effective from January 14, 2016 until January 14, 2017. (Id. at 5 ¶ 18.) The Kinsale policy had a $1 million limit for each occurrence with a $2 million aggregate limit. (Id. at 5 ¶ 18.) StarStone provided excess liability insurance during this period. (Id. ¶ 19.) The StarStone policy provided excess liability coverage for $5 million per occurrence above the Kinsale policy. (Id.) Burlington then provided GNM with commercial general liability insurance from January 14, 2017 until January 14, 2018. (Id. ¶ 20.) The Burlington policy had a $1 million limit for each occurrence with a $2 million aggregate limit. (Id. at 6 ¶ 20.) National Union provided excess liability insurance during this period. (Id.) The National Union policy provided excess liability coverage for $5 million per occurrence above the Burlington policy. (Id. ¶ 21.) During 2017, the Project underwent inspections which revealed GNM’s defective work. (Id. at 3 ¶ 12.) Willow Creek then terminated Decca which sued Willow Creek for breach of contract in Arizona state court. (Id. ¶¶ 13–14.) Willow Creek brought counterclaims against Decca and third-party claims against GNM and other subcontractors. (Id. ¶ 15.) Willow Creek’s claims against GNM were predicated on “numerous construction defects caused by GNM’s work on the Project, resulting in damages to different portions of the buildings within the Project.” (Id. at 5 ¶ 17.) Much of this damage was incurred due to water intrusion after several rain events. (Id. at 3 ¶ 13.) In response to the lawsuit, Kinsale and Burlington took the position that Willow Creek’s claims against GNM all involve a single “occurrence” under their respective policies. (Id. at 6 ¶ 24.) StarStone disagreed, contending that the claims asserted against GNM involve multiple occurrences. (Id. ¶ 25.) Nevertheless, StarStone participated in the Willow Creek Lawsuit under a reservation of rights. (Id.) In August 2023, GNM, Decca, and Willow Creek entered into a settlement agreement. (Id. at 7 ¶ 27.) Under the agreement, all claims against GNM were resolved and the GNM Insurance Carriers agreed to render payment to Willow Creek on GNM’s behalf. (Id.) Concurrently, GNM and the GNM Insurance Carriers entered into a settlement funding agreement which outlined each of the GNM Insurance Carriers’ contribution to the settlement payment. (Id. ¶ 28.) Kinsale and Burlington “refused to pay more than” $1 million each based on their position that the claims against GNM for defective construction involved a single occurrence. (Id. at 9 ¶ 39.) StarStone thus had to contribute funds to the settlement payment and now seeks to recoup its contribution. (Id. at 12 ¶ 60.) StarStone contends that its contribution was unnecessary because the Willow Creek’s claims against GNM involved multiple occurrences and thus the Kinsale and Burlington aggregate limits were not exhausted. (Id. at 7 ¶ 30.) Accordingly, StarStone requests declaratory relief, equitable subrogation, and equitable indemnity against Kinsale and Burlington. (Id. at 8–11.) In the alternative, StarStone seeks equitable contribution from National Union. (Id. at 12.) StarStone asserts that “all or the majority of the damage allegedly resulting from GNM’s alleged acts and omissions occurred during the 1/14/2017–1/14/2018 policy period, when the Burlington Policy was the effective primary policy and the National Union Policy was the effective excess policy.” (Id. ¶ 58.) Each Defendant answered the Amended Complaint. Burlington filed an Answer which included counterclaims and crossclaims against Kinsale. (Doc. 43.) National Union filed an Answer which included counterclaims and crossclaims against Burlington and Kinsale. (Doc. 47.) Kinsale filed an Answer which included crossclaims against Burlington and National Union. (Doc. 51.) Kinsale’s Motion asks for summary judgment on all claims and crossclaims asserted against it and by it. (Doc. 131 at 3.) Burlington’s Motion asks for summary judgment on its counterclaims. (Doc. 133 at 7.) National Union’s Motion asks for summary judgment on StarStone’s claim for declaratory relief. (Doc. 136 at 3.) The Court considers these motions together because each motion primary concerns whether this case involved multiple occurrences. Summary judgment is appropriate in circumstances where “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Material facts are those that may affect the outcome of a case under the applicable substantive law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). Factual disputes are genuine when the evidence could allow a reasonable jury to find in favor of the nonmoving party. Id. “A party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by . . . citing to particular parts of materials in the record” or by showing “that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A)–(B). Additionally, the Court may enter summary judgment “against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). When considering a motion for summary judgment, a court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986). The Court must draw all reasonable inferences in the nonmovant’s favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255. Additionally, the Court does not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence. Id. The determination of whether a given factual dispute requires submission to a jury is guided by the substantive evidentiary standards that apply to the case. Id. The burden initially falls on the movant to demonstrate the basis for a motion for summary judgment and “identify[] those portions of [the record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp.,

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Starstone National Insurance Company v. Kinsale Insurance Company, et al., (D. Ariz. 2026).

Starstone National Insurance Company v. Kinsale Insurance Company, et al. (Starstone National Insurance Company v. Kinsale Insurance Company, et al.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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