The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas Insurance Limited

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJuly 16, 2020
Docket1:17-cv-06850
StatusUnknown

This text of The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas Insurance Limited (The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas Insurance Limited) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas Insurance Limited, (S.D.N.Y. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK -------------------------------------------------------x

THE INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA,

Plaintiff,

-v- No. 17 CV 6850-LTS-SLC

EQUITAS INSURANCE LIMITED,

Defendant.

-------------------------------------------------------x

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Plaintiff The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (“ICSOP”) brings this action for breach of reinsurance policies against Defendant Equitas Insurance Limited (“EIL”). Before the Court are cross-motions for summary judgment filed by each of the parties. (See docket entry nos. 24 and 30.) The Court has jurisdiction of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The Court has considered carefully all of the parties’ submissions. For the reasons stated below, ICSOP’s motion for summary judgment is granted in its entirety. EIL’s motion for summary judgment is denied in its entirety. BACKGROUND Unless otherwise indicated, the following facts are undisputed.1 ICSOP is an insurance company organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, with its principal place of

1 Facts characterized as undisputed are identified as such in the parties’ statements pursuant to S.D.N.Y. Local Civil Rule 56 or drawn from evidence as to which there has been no contrary, non-conclusory factual proffer. Citations to the parties’ respective Local Civil Rule 56.1 Statements (“ICSOP 56.1 St.” or “EIL 56.1 St.”) incorporate by reference the parties’ citations to underlying evidentiary submissions. business in New York. (Docket entry no. 1, Complaint (“Compl.”), at ¶ 1, 8.) ICSOP is a wholly-owned member company of the American International Group (“AIG”). (Id. at ¶ 8.) EIL is a corporation registered in England and Wales. (Id. at ¶ 9.) ICSOP issued an umbrella liability insurance policy providing third-party liability

coverage (the “ICSOP-Dole Policy”) to Castle & Cook, Inc. (now Dole Food Company, “Dole”), for losses exceeding the limits of an underlying policy. (Docket entry no. 26, ICSOP 56.1 St. ¶ 1; docket entry no. 32, EIL 56.1 St. ¶ 4.) The ICSOP-Dole Policy had a stated coverage period of October 1, 1968, to October 1, 1971, and a limit of $20,000,000. (EIL 56.1 St. ¶ 4.) The policy covered liability for, among other things, “property damage, caused by or arising out of each occurrence happening during the policy period.” (Docket entry no. 27, Declaration of Andrew Engel in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“Engel Decl.”), at Ex. A.) The ICSOP-Dole Policy did not contain a pollution exclusion, which would have “exclude[d] coverage for environmental liabilities caused by the discharge or dispersal of contaminants or pollutants.” (EIL 56.1 St. ¶ 5; docket entry no. 25 Plaintiff’s Memorandum of

Law in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (“ICSOP Memo. of Law”), at 6, n. 5.) Disputes under the policy were to be litigated in accordance with the laws of the State of Hawaii. (EIL 56.1 St. ¶ 6.) AIG obtained facultative2 reinsurance for the ICSOP-Dole Policy from certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London (“Lloyd’s Underwriters”), who agreed to reinsure the ICSOP- Dole Policy in two layers (the relevant reinsurance policies being referred to collectively herein

2 “There are two types of reinsurance, facultative and treaty. In facultative reinsurance, a ceding insurer purchases reinsurance for part, or all, of a single policy. Treaty reinsurance covers specified classes of a ceding insurer’s policies.” Unigard Sec. Ins. Co. Inc. v. N. River Ins. Co., 4 F.3d 1049, 1053-54 (2d Cir. 1993). as the “Reinsurance Policies”). (EIL 56.1 St. ¶ 7-8.) In 2009, upon a transfer under U.K. law to EIL of the rights and responsibilities of the Lloyd’s Underwriters, EIL assumed the reinsurance obligations under the Reinsurance Policies. (Docket entry no. 31, Memorandum of Law of Equitas Insurance Limited in Support of Its Motion for Summary Judgment (“EIL Memo. of

Law”), at 1.) Together, the Reinsurance Policies reinsured the ICSOP-Dole Policy in the total amount of $7,234,125 per each $20 million per occurrence limit. (ICSOP 56.1 St. ¶ 2.) The Reinsurance Policies provided coverage between October 1, 1968, and October 1, 1971, which comprised the same policy period provided for by the ICSOP-Dole Policy, and were drafted on a standard “Lloyd’s Reinsurance Policy” Form J1. (EIL 56.1 St. ¶ 9-10.) The “Schedule” in the Reinsurance Policies provided that the “[p]erils and interests reinsured hereunder” would be “[a]s original.” (Docket entry no. 28, Declaration of Chris Magnotta in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“Magnotta Decl.”), Ex. A at ICSOP 020610, Ex. B at ICSOP 020625.) The Reinsurance Policies contained a “follow-the-settlements” provision, which required EIL to indemnify ICSOP for the covered settlements it paid under the ICSOP-Dole

Policy. (Magnotta Decl., Ex. A at ICSOP 020608, Ex. B at ICSOP 020623.) The Reinsurance Policies also contained a notice provision, which stated that “immediate notice should be given” in the event of any occurrence likely to result in a claim under the Reinsurance Policies. (Docket entry no. 33, Declaration of Sean Thomas Keely In Support of Motion by EIL For Summary Judgment (“Keely Decl.”), at Exs. 4-5.) The notice provision did not state whom notice should be given to. In 1966, a Dole subsidiary acquired and developed a housing tract on a property in Carson, California. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 12.) In May 2008, the California Department of Toxic Substance Control found hazardous levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil and groundwater at the site. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 13.) The pollution had been progressive from the initial development of the Carson site in 1966 until its discovery. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 55.) As a result, in October 2009, homeowners sued Dole to recover for damages caused by the environmental pollution (“Carson Claims”). (EIL 56.1 ¶ 14.) In 2009, Dole gave notice of the Carson Claims

under all of its available policies issued by AIG Companies, including the ICSOP-Dole Policy. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 15-16.) As a result, in late 2009, AIG opened a file and claim number for Dole’s claim and wrote to Dole’s broker acknowledging receipt of the claim. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 18.) In May 2010, AIG sent Dole a letter acknowledging the tender of the Carson Claims under all AIG policies and reserving AIG’s rights regarding coverage under the policies. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 21.) In this letter, AIG also informed Dole that all of AIG’s primary policies contained pollution exclusions, and that the only umbrella policy that did not contain a pollution exclusion was the ICSOP-Dole Policy. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 25; docket entry no. 33, Keely Decl. Ex. 1.) On November 2, 2015, AIG provided EIL’s representatives with notice of the Carson Claims. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 51.) In September 2016, Dole and its insurers reached a $30 million settlement

agreement under which AIG agreed to pay the full $20 million limit of the ICSOP-Dole Policy. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 58; see also Keely Decl. Ex. 21 at ICSOP017737.) This allocation was based on the “all sums” doctrine. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 54.)3 After paying the $20 million settlement to Dole under the ICSOP-Dole Policy, ICSOP billed EIL for the reinsured portion of the loss, which totaled more than $7.2 million. (EIL 56.1 ¶ 60.) EIL refused to indemnify ICSOP under the Reinsurance Policies. (ICSOP 56.1 ¶ 8.)

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The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas Insurance Limited, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-insurance-company-of-the-state-of-pennsylvania-v-equitas-insurance-nysd-2020.