Topp's Mech., Inc. v. Kinsale Ins. Co.

374 F. Supp. 3d 813
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nebraska
DecidedApril 15, 2019
Docket8:19CV20
StatusPublished

This text of 374 F. Supp. 3d 813 (Topp's Mech., Inc. v. Kinsale Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nebraska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Topp's Mech., Inc. v. Kinsale Ins. Co., 374 F. Supp. 3d 813 (D. Neb. 2019).

Opinion

Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on defendant Kinsale Insurance Company's ("Kinsale") Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Valid Cause of Action (Filing No. 13 ). See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Plaintiff Topp's Mechanical, Inc. ("TMI") opposes dismissal (Filing No. 15 ), arguing its "allegations and causes of action are sufficiently clear [and] specific" to withstand Kinsale's motion. With diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1),1 the Court grants Kinsale's motion to dismiss.

I. BACKGROUND

A. TMI's Insurance Policy

TMI is a specialty mechanical contractor based in Tecumseh, Nebraska. In 2013, TMI obtained a commercial general liability insurance policy ("policy") from Kinsale. Effective from August 1, 2013, to August 1, 2014, the policy generally obligated Kinsale to defend and indemnify TMI against liability for "bodily injury" and "property damage" claims caused within the policy period. The policy also included an "Absolute Pollution and Pollution Related Liability Exclusion" ("pollution exclusion") that excluded coverage for any suit "arising out of the actual, alleged or threatened discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration, release, or escape of 'pollutants.' " The term "pollutants" is defined as "any solid, liquid, gaseous, fuel, lubricant, thermal, acoustic, electrical, or magnetic irritant or contaminant, including but not limited to smoke, vapor, soot, fumes, fibers, radiation, acid, alkalis, petroleums, chemicals or 'waste,' " the latter of which is defined to include "medical waste, biological infectants, and all other materials to be disposed of, recycled, stored, reconditioned or reclaimed."

The policy also included an exception labeled the "Time Element Pollution Endorsement" ("time-element exception") which stated that Kinsale would provide liability coverage for certain "pollution incidents" as defined in the exception if the *817incident was (1) "discovered by the insured within the [scheduled] 'discovery time period' " of seven days and (2) "reported to [Kinsale] in writing within the [scheduled] 'reporting time period' " of forty-five days. The time-element exception defined "pollution incident" as "the discharge, dispersal, release or escape of 'pollutants' into or upon land or any structure on land, the atmosphere or any water course or body of water that arises from 'insured operations' and results in en-vironmental [sic] damage."

B. The Incident

As part of its business operations, TMI agreed to deconstruct an existing carbon-dioxide plant in Beatrice, Nebraska, and reassemble the plant in Boyceville, Wisconsin, for Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. ("Air Products"). On May 29, 2014, Alan Wangerin ("Wangerin"), an Air Products employee, was reportedly standing on a catwalk at the reassembled plant when he was immersed in a hot cloud of ammonia gas that was released from the pressure valve of an anhydrous-ammonia tank at the plant.

Within about a week of the gas release, TMI learned that the plant was being shut down while the incident was investigated. TMI alleges that upon learning of the incident, TMI's representative contacted Kinsale by phone "out of an abundance of caution" to notify Kinsale of the incident and to ask "for Kinsale's instruction as to how best to proceed," even though no demand had been made and TMI did not think the incident constituted a claim under the policy.

According to TMI, someone in the Kinsale claims department told TMI that it could not yet report the incident as a claim under its policy and that TMI should wait until a formal demand had been made or suit had been filed. That did not happen until November 20, 2015, when Wangerin made a formal demand on TMI for injuries he claimed to have suffered as a result of the incident. TMI forwarded the demand to Kinsale and requested in writing that Kinsale defend and indemnify TMI under the policy. On January 8, 2016, Kinsale denied coverage based on the pollution exclusion.

In March 2017, Wangerin sued TMI and others in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging they "were negligent in their placement of anhydrous ammonia pressure relief valves under a catwalk where employees of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. were expected and anticipated to be during work hours." Wangerin alleged his sudden and unexpected immersion in ammonia gas caused him to suffer personal injuries and damages, including injuries to his knees and shoulder from a "hard impact" following his descent from a ladder. TMI notified Kinsale of the suit; Kinsale again denied coverage.

On December 14, 2018, TMI sued Kinsale in the District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska (Filing No. 1-1), alleging Kinsale breached its insurance contract with TMI by refusing to defend and indemnify TMI against Wangerin's claims. On January 17, 2019, Kinsale timely removed the case to this Court, see 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441(a), 1446, and now moves for dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a cause of action.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

Federal Rule of Procedure 8(a)(2) requires "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." A plaintiff need not provide " 'detailed factual allegations' " to meet that standard but must plead "more than *818an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ).

"To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Id.

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Bluebook (online)
374 F. Supp. 3d 813, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/topps-mech-inc-v-kinsale-ins-co-ned-2019.