Utica Mutual Insurance v. Cohen

32 Mass. L. Rptr. 393
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedApril 4, 2014
DocketNo. WOCV201400120
StatusPublished

This text of 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 393 (Utica Mutual Insurance v. Cohen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Utica Mutual Insurance v. Cohen, 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 393 (Mass. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Gordon, Robert B., J.

By motion filed on January 17, 2014, the defendant has moved to dismiss all three counts of the plaintiffs First Amended Complaint pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.R 12(b)(6). In the alternative, the defendant has moved for summary judgment pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.R 56. The plaintiff has opposed the motion. For the following reasons, the defendant’s motion is DENIED on all counts.

BACKGROUND

A. The Underlying Litigation

The underlying litigation in the instant matter began on April 14, 2006, when the defendant, Alyson H. Cohen (“Cohen”), filed a lawsuit against The Alfred & Adele Davis Academy, Inc. (“the Academy”) in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia.1 Approximately four months after the litigation was initiated, the Academy made an offer of judgment in the amount of $750. Cohen did not respond to this offer.

In Georgia, offers of judgment for settlement during litigation are governed by state statute. See O.C.G.A. §9-11-68.2 According to the statute, if a defendant makes an offer of judgment in accordance with O.C.G.A. §9-1 l-68(a), and the plaintiff rejects it, then:

the defendant shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys fees and expenses of litigation incurred by the defendant or on the defendant’s behalf from the date of the rejection of the offer of settlement through the entry of judgment if the final judgment is one of no liabilily or the final judgment obtained by the plaintiff is less than 75 percent of such offer of settlement.

O.C.G.A. §9-ll-68(b)(l). The statute further provides that the trial court “shall order the payment of attorneys fees and expenses of litigation upon receipt of proof that the judgment is one to which the provisions of . . . [section 9-1 l-68(b)(l)] . . . apply.” O.C.G.A. §9-ll-68(d)(l). However, if the court determines that the offer was not made in good faith, the court “may disallow an award of attorneys fees and costs.” O.C.G.A. §9-11-68(d)(2).

After Cohen failed to respond to the Academy’s offer of settlement, the Academy filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Cohen appealed the summary judgment order, but later dismissed her appeal. Following the entry of summary judgment in its favor, the Academy filed a motion for attorneys fees and litigation expenses pursuant to O.C.G.A. §9-11-68. Cohen opposed the Academy’s [395]*395motion, and argued that the offer of settlement had not been made in good faith and should thus not activate the assessment of fees and costs. On May 14, 2010, the trial court granted the Academy’s motion, and ordered Cohen to pay $84,104.63 in attorneys fees and expenses of litigation to the Academy (hereinafter referred to as “the Judgment”). Cohen appealed from the Judgment on multiple grounds, all of which were rejected by the Court of Appeals of Georgia on June 17, 2011. See Cohen v. The Alfred and Adele Davis Academy, Inc., 714 S.E.2d 350, 351-53 (Ga.App. 2011) (affirming award of fees and costs to the Academy).

B. The Instant Case

On January 13, 2014, the plaintiff in the present action, Utica Mutual Insurance Co. (“Utica”), filed a “First Amended Complaint — Suit on Judgment” with this Court, seeking an order recognizing and enforcing the Judgment. What follows is a recitation of those facts alleged in the Complaint that plausibly suggest an entitlement to relief, taking them as true for the purposes of ruling on the defendant’s motion to dismiss. See Lopez v. Commonwealth, 463 Mass. 696, 699 (2012); Iannacchino v. Ford Motor Co., 451 Mass. 623, 635-36 (2008).

The plaintiff incurred $84,104.63 in legal fees and costs to defend the Academy in the underlying litigation. This is the amount of the Judgment in issue. On April 19, 2013, the Academy assigned its right to enforce the Judgment against Cohen to the plaintiff. The plaintiff is duly licensed to insure risks in the Commonwealth, has a principal place of business in Utica, New York, and maintains a regional office in Wakefield, Massachusetts. The defendant, Allyson H. Cohen, is a resident of Grafton, Massachusetts, and the reach and apply defendant, Daniel Jacob (“Jacob”), is the defendant’s husband and resides with Cohen in Grafton. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2-3, 14.)

On May 4, 2010, the defendant acquired a piece of real estate located at 3 Valley View Drive in Grafton, Massachusetts (“the Property”) in consideration of her payment of Five Hundred Sevenly-Five Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($575,500.00) to the seller. On May 11, 2010, the defendant recorded a declaration of an estate of homestead in the Property. On May 14, 2010, the Judgment was entered against the defendant in the underlying litigation. On June 28, 2010, the defendant conveyed her interest in the Property to her husband for One Dollar ($1.00) (hereinafter referred to as the “2010 Conveyance”).

On June 17, 2011, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the Judgment entered against the defendant in the underlying litigation, and denied a petition for reconsideration two days later.3 On November 22, 2011, Jacob conveyed his interest in the Property to himself and the defendant, to have and to hold as married tenants by the entirety, for One Dollar ($1.00) (hereinafter referred to as the “2011 Conveyance”). On that same day, the defendant and Jacob recorded a declaration of estate of homestead for the Property.

DISCUSSION

Under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure, courts must dismiss a claim that fails to present a set of facts that would entitle the plaintiff to relief. Mass.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), as amended by 365 Mass. 754 (1974). In determining whether the claims in a plaintiffs complaint are sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss, courts must accept as true “the factual allegations in the plaintiffs complaint, as well as any favorable inferences reasonably drawn from them.” Lopez v. Commonwealth, 463 Mass. 696, 700 (2012), quoting Ginther v. Comm’r of Ins., 427 Mass. 319, 322 (1998). Although detailed factual allegations are not required, a valid claim must consist of more than mere labels or legal conclusions cast in the form of factual allegations. Id. at 701; Schaer v. Brandeis University, 432 Mass. 474, 477-78 (2000). Rather, the factual allegations of the claim must rise above a speculative level, plausibly suggesting an entitlement to relief. Lopez, 463 Mass. at 701; Iannacchino v. Ford Motor Co., 451 Mass. 623, 636 (2008).

II. Count I: Asserting Recognition and Enforcement of the Judgment

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Bluebook (online)
32 Mass. L. Rptr. 393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/utica-mutual-insurance-v-cohen-masssuperct-2014.