USA Gymnastics v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc.

CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedSeptember 29, 2020
Docket19-50012
StatusUnknown

This text of USA Gymnastics v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc. (USA Gymnastics v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
USA Gymnastics v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc., (Ind. 2020).

Opinion

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IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION In re: Chapter 11 USA GYMNASTICS,! Case No. 18-9108-RLM-11 Debtor.

USA GYMNASTICS, Adv. Pro. No. 19-50012 in 18-09108-RLM-11 Plaintiff, Vv. ACE AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY f/k/a CIGNA INSURANCE COMPANY, GREAT AMERICAN ASSURANCE COMPANY, LIBERTY INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS INC., NATIONAL CASUALTY COMPANY, RSUI INDEMNITY COMPANY, TIG INSURANCE COMPANY, VIRGINIA SURETY COMPANY, INC. f/k/a COMBINED SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, WESTERN WORLD INSURANCE COMPANY,

| The last four digits of the Debtor’s federal tax identification number are 7871. The location of the Debtor’s principal office is 130 E. Washington Street, Suite 700, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204.

ENDURANCE AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, AMERICAN HOME ASSURANCE COMPANY, and DOE INSURERS,

Defendants.

BANKRUPTCY COURT'S PROPOSED FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS WITH RESPECT TO USAG'S MOTION TO ENTER MONEY JUDGMENT AND TO ENFORCE ORDER

In accordance with 28 U.S.C. 157(c(1), the Bankruptcy Court now tenders its proposed findings and conclusions 2 : This matter came before the Court upon the (“the Motion”), filed by Plaintiff USA Gymnastics "USAG"). The Motion seeks to enforce the District Court’s January 13, 2020 order granting partial summary judgment to USAG on the duty to defend and ordering LIU to pay specifically enumerated past defense costs of USAG. LIU opposes the Motion. The parties have filed their respective briefs in support of their positions as well as their proposed orders as directed by the Court at the conclusion of the August 10, 2020 hearing. The Motion is now ripe for decision.

I. UNDERLYING MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DISTRICT COURT ORDER

USAG was named as a defendant in hundreds of lawsuits involving sexual abuse perpetrated upon gymnasts by Dr. Larry Nassar, a USAG volunteer, and

2 The Motion is corollary to this Court's proposed findings and conclusions issued on October 24, 2019 with respect to the parties' underlying summary judgment motions. As with those motions, LIU does not consent to entry of final order or judgment by the Bankruptcy Court with respect to this Motion. This Court must submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, which the district court must review before entering final judgment. See. , 135 S.Ct. 1932, 1947 (2015). This Court therefore makes its proposed findings and conclusions for review by the District Court. 28 U.S.C. § 157(c)(2); , 135 S. Ct. at 1951-52. others. USAG filed its voluntary chapter 11 case on December 5, 2018 to provide a single forum in which to equitably and completely resolve all sexual abuse claims. USAG filed this adversary proceeding on February 1, 2019 against several of its insurers seeking coverage for (1) Nassar-related lawsuits including the "Revocation Lawsuits" brought by two sets of coaches and gyms for losses arising out of Nassar's sexual misconduct (Bankr. AP ECF #131, p. 5); 3 (2) investigations by committees in both houses of Congress, the Indiana Attorney General ("IAG"), and the U.S. Olympic Committee ("USOC") which employed the law firm of Ropes & Gray to prepare a report on the investigation, as well as USOC's commencement of decertification proceedings which sought to revoke USAG’s status as the national governing body for gymnastics; and (3) various other civil and criminal defense matters involving USAG personnel for matters precipitated by Nassar's sexual misconduct. On October 24, 2019 this Court issued its proposed findings and conclusions, with recommendation to the District Court that a substantial portion of USAG's motion for partial summary judgment seeking defense coverage be granted. [Bankr. AP ECF #260.] The Court recommended that LIU be required to defend (1) the Nassar Athlete Lawsuits, (2) the Revocation Lawsuits, (3) the IAG Investigation, (4) the Congressional Investigations, and (5) the USOC Investigation, including the USOC decertification proceeding. [Bankr. AP ECF #260, p. 32] 4 On January 13, 2020, the district court agreed, accepted all of this Court’s proposed findings, declared that LIU has a duty to defend the above matters, and issued two orders: (1) “The court . . . ORDERS LIU to provide a complete defense to USAG

3 The Court will refer to documents filed and appearing on a case docket as "Bankr. AP ECF ___" ( documents in this proceeding, Adversary Proceeding 19-50012); "Bankr. ECF ___" (documents in USAG's chapter 11 case, No. 18-9108-RLM-11) and "Dist. Ct. ECF ___" (documents in Dist Ct. case no. 1:18-cv-1306-RLY-MPB).

4 This Court also recommended that LIU's defense coverage included the "White deposition matter". USAG has informed this Court that another insurer has paid the costs associated with this matter and thus, USAG no longer seeks damages on this claim and its former employees as to those matters;” and (2) “The court . . . ORDERS LIU to reimburse USAG its defense costs, plus prejudgment interest (8% simple interest) . . . .” [Dist. Ct. ECF #146 at 5.] LIU sought stays of the January 13 order pending appeal in the district court and the Seventh Circuit. Its requests were denied. [Dist. Ct. ECF #200, 202.]. USAG in its motion for partial summary judgment alleged that, at that point, it had incurred $1,427,624.90 in out of pocket costs for attorney and legal research fees. [Bankr. AP ECF #26 at 3.] Neither this Court nor the district court expressly addressed the issue of damages and neither this Court's proposed judgment nor the district court's judgment specified a sum certain. [Bankr. AP ECF #260 at 32; Dist Ct. ECF#146 at 5.] LIU has paid nothing since entry of the district court’s January 13, 2020 order other than the small percentage of the litigation bills it had been paying all along in coordination with other insurance carriers. As a result, USAG brought the Motion which now brings the issue of a sum certain squarely before the Court. 5 II. GOVERNING LAW AND LEGAL STANDARD This court has previously found, and the district court has agreed, that substantive Indiana law applies here. [ Bankr AP ECF #260.] As a federal court exercising diversity jurisdiction, this Court is required to follow the law as articulated by the Indiana Supreme Court. See , 165 F.3d 1087, 1090 (7th Cir. 1999). If that Court has not spoken to the issue, a federal court must predict how the Indiana Supreme Court would decide the question. . “[I]n the absence of prevailing authority from the state’s highest court, federal courts ought to give great weight to the holdings of the state’s intermediate appellate courts.” , 285 F.3d 630, 637

5 The Motion was initially brought pursuant to Rules 58 and 70 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court has converted the Motion into a proceeding under FED. R. BANKR. P. 9014 (governing contested matters). [Bankr. AP ECF #363, 396.] (7th Cir. 2002). In an insurance dispute, whether fees are reasonable and necessary is a matter of state law, because it involves the application of state insurance law and state law governing what attorneys may charge for their services.

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USA Gymnastics v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/usa-gymnastics-v-liberty-insurance-underwriters-inc-insb-2020.