Stoncor Grp., Inc. v. Peerless Ins. Co.

322 F. Supp. 3d 505
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 15, 2018
Docket16 Civ. 4574 (LAK) (GWG)
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 322 F. Supp. 3d 505 (Stoncor Grp., Inc. v. Peerless Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stoncor Grp., Inc. v. Peerless Ins. Co., 322 F. Supp. 3d 505 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

GABRIEL W. GORENSTEIN, United States Magistrate Judge

Stoncor Group, Inc. and its insurer, First Continental Insurance Company (collectively "Stoncor") bring this action against Peerless Insurance Company ("Peerless") seeking a judgment declaring that Peerless must defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Stoncor in a related state court proceeding, and seeking to recover costs, fees, and expenses associated with that action. Peerless now brings this motion to stay the instant action pending resolution of the state court proceeding.1

*508For the reasons set forth below, Peerless's motion is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

In 2008, Cesar Arias filed a lawsuit in state court ("the Arias Action") alleging that on September 19, 2006, while employed as a kitchen worker, he slipped "on the slippery surface of the floor" at the Grand Hyatt Hotel located on 42nd Street in New York, New York, and fell, causing him "serious, severe and permanent injuries and disabilities." Shyer Decl. ¶¶ 2, 5; Amended Summons and Amended Complaint of Cesar Arias, dated June 10, 2009 (annexed as Ex. 2 to Shyer Decl.) ("Arias Compl."), ¶¶ 4, 9, 14. This floor was allegedly manufactured by Stonhard, which is a division of Stoncor,2 and installed by a company called Surfacesys Inc. ("Surfacesys"). See Shyer Decl. ¶¶ 4-6 & n.1; Am. Compl. ¶ 9. Arias's suit names Stonhard and Surfacesys as defendants, alleging that both "did work on" the floor on which he slipped, were "negligent in the installation of the floor," and that the "floor was defective, dangerous, hazardous, unsafe and deficient in design." Shyer Decl. ¶ 2; Arias Compl. ¶¶ 5-8, 10-11.

Peerless had issued a Commercial General Liability coverage policy to Surfacesys effective as of September 16, 2006, and expiring on September 16, 2007. See Peerless Insurance Commercial General Liability Policy (annexed as Ex. 3 to Shyer Decl.) ("Policy"), at *24.3 Although Surfacesys was the named insured under this Policy, the Policy also contained certain coverage for additional insureds. See id. at *34-35. The Policy provided that "additional insureds" could be covered by "contract, agreement or permit," as long as several conditions were met. Id. First, any contract, agreement, or permit extending coverage to an "additional insured" must have "been executed ... prior to the 'bodily injury', 'property damage' or 'personal and advertising injury.' " Id. at *35. Second, the injury for which coverage is sought must be a liability "arising out of: (a) [Surfacesys's] ongoing operations performed for" the additional insured, or on "[p]remises or facilities owned or used by" Surfacesys. Id. at *34. Finally, with respect to injuries arising out of Surfacesys's ongoing operations, an additional insured would be entitled to coverage under the Policy only if the injury did not occur after:

(1) All work, including materials, parts or equipment furnished in connection with such work, in the project (other than service, maintenance or repairs) to be performed by or on behalf of the additional insured(s) at the site of the covered operations has been completed; or
(2) That portion of "[Surfacesys's] work" out of which the injury or damage arises has been put to its intended use by any person or organization other than another contractor or subcontractor engaged in performing operations for a principal as a part of the same project.

Id. at *35.

Stoncor asserts that pursuant to a "Master Installation Agreement," Surfacesys was required to, and did in fact, name Stoncor as an additional insured under the Policy before Arias suffered his injury. See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 11-12.

*509The "Master Installation Agreement" also provided that Stoncor "shall not be liable for any loss or casualty incurred or caused by" Surfacesys, and that Surfacesys would hold Stoncor "harmless from any and all liability, costs, damages, attorney's fees and expenses from any claims or causes of action of whatsoever nature arising while on or near the Project, or while performing Contract related work." Master Installation Agreement, dated Sept. 16, 2004 (annexed as Ex. 2 to the Declaration of Paul Franz in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, filed May 15, 2017 (Docket # 39) ) ("Master Installation Agreement"), at 1. Pursuant to these provisions of the Master Installation Agreement, Stoncor brought a cross-claim against Surfacesys in the Arias Action on the ground that Surfacesys must indemnify Stoncor. See Shyer Decl. ¶ 16; Surfacesys's Notice of Motion and Affirmation, dated Dec. 1, 2017 (annexed as Ex. 5 to Shyer Decl.) ("Surfacesys's State Court Motion"), at Affirmation ¶¶ 54-56.

Stoncor brought the instant declaratory judgment action against Peerless in 2016, claiming that by virtue of the Master Installation Agreement, Stoncor was an additional insured under the Policy that Peerless was obligated to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless in the Arias Action. See Complaint, filed June 16, 2016 (Docket # 1), ¶¶ 10-12, 14; Am. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 11, 13, 15. On May 15, 2017, Stoncor moved for partial summary judgment on the issue of whether Peerless "has a duty to defend plaintiffs in" the Arias Action. Notice of Motion, filed May 15, 2017 (Docket # 37). Peerless cross-moved for summary judgment, seeking to have plaintiffs' amended complaint dismissed, and seeking a declaration that "Peerless does not have a duty to defend or indemnify" Stoncor in the Arias Action. See Notice of Motion for Summary Judgment, filed May 15, 2017 (Docket # 38). One ground that Peerless raised in its motion is that Surfacesys did not execute the "Master Installation Agreement" prior to Arias's injury, and Stoncor thus was not an additional insured. See Peerless Insurance Company's Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, filed May 15, 2017 (Docket # 40), at 3-11. Another issue raised was whether Stoncor's and Surfacesys's operations were complete at the time of the accident. Id. at 11-22. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, the district judge in this case, denied these motions by Order dated, March 29, 2018, stating "[t]he record reflects triable issues of fact as to whether an executed agreement existed between Stoncor ... and Surfacesys, ... and as to whether Stoncor's and Surfacesys' operations were complete, in each case prior to the incident underlying" the Arias Action. See Order, filed Mar. 29, 2018 (Docket # 69).

Both Stoncor and Surfacesys have also moved for summary judgment in the Arias Action. Shyer Decl. ¶ 15; Surfacesys's State Court Motion. These motions were marked submitted on April 2, 2018, and are currently sub judice. See Shyer Decl. ¶ 15. Surfacesys's motion asserts several bases for summary judgment as to Arias's claims. See Surfacesys's State Court Motion at Affirmation ¶¶ 23-53. Of particular relevance to the instant motion, Surfacesys seeks summary judgment as to Stoncor's cross-claim on the ground that Arias's injury occurred both after Surfacesys had completed installation of the floor and before Surfacesys executed the Master Installation Agreement. See id. at Affirmation ¶¶ 54-58.

On May 22, 2018, Peerless filed the instant motion to stay. See Def. Not.

II.

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Bluebook (online)
322 F. Supp. 3d 505, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stoncor-grp-inc-v-peerless-ins-co-ilsd-2018.