Vasquez v. Ameriprise Insurance Company

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedMarch 31, 2021
Docket4:19-cv-00536-CKJ
StatusUnknown

This text of Vasquez v. Ameriprise Insurance Company (Vasquez v. Ameriprise Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vasquez v. Ameriprise Insurance Company, (D. Ariz. 2021).

Opinion

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 Maria Vasquez, ) 9 ) Plaintiff, ) No. CIV 19-536-TUC-CKJ 10 ) vs. ) 11 ) ORDER Ameriprise Insurance Company, ) 12 ) Defendant. ) 13 ) 14 Pending before the Court is the Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 16) filed by 15 Defendant Ameriprise Insurance Company (“Ameriprise”). Plaintiff Maria Vasquez 16 (“Vasquez”) has filed a response and Ameriprise has filed a reply. 17 18 Factual and Procedural Background 19 On or about December 31, 2018, Vasquez's polybutylene plumbing system ruptured 20 causing water damage to Vasquez’s residence. Defendant’s Statement of Facts (“DSOF”) 21 (Doc. 17, ¶¶ 1-2). At the time, Vasquez was insured by Ameriprise under policy number 22 HI01975533 (“Policy”). Id. at ¶ 1. This Policy covered Vasquez’s residence. Id. Vasquez 23 replaced the entire plumbing system, including portions that were not leaking. Id. at ¶ 4. 24 Ameriprise denied coverage of the replacement costs. Complaint (Doc. 1-3, ¶ 6). 25 The Policy covers property damage which is defined as “physical injury to, 26 27 28 1 destruction of or loss of use of tangible property.” DSOF, Ex. A (Doc. 17-1, p. 15 of 27).1 2 The Policy states: 3 Exclusions 4 We do not cover loss caused directly or indirectly by any of the following, whether or not any other cause or happening contributes concurrently or in any sequence to 5 the loss: 6 * * * * * 7 Under Dwelling and Other Structures Coverages, we do not cover loss resulting directly or indirectly from: 8 * * * * * 9 3. faulty, inadequate or defective: 10 a) construction, reconstruction, repair, remodeling or renovation; 11 b) materials used on construction, reconstruction. repair, remodeling or renovation; 12 c) design, workmanship, specifications; d) siting, surveying, zoning, planning, development, grading or 13 compaction; or e) maintenance of a part or all of the residence premises or any other 14 property; 15 4. wear and tear; marring or scratching; deterioration; damage which occurs over a period of time, or from lack of normal maintenance; 16 defective materials and workmanship; inherent vice; latent defect; mechanical breakdown; rust; mold; fungus; wet or dry rot; discharge, 17 dispersal or release of pollutants or contaminants; smog; smoke from agricultural smudging or industrial operations; settling, cracking, 18 shrinkage, bulging or expansion of pavement, patios, foundations, walls, floors, roofs or ceilings; birds, vermin. rodents, insects or 19 domestic animals. 20 If any of these cause water damage not otherwise excluded, from a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic fire protective 21 sprinkler system or household appliance, we cover loss caused by the water including the cost of tearing out and replacing any part of a 22 building necessary to repair the system or appliance. We do not cover loss to the system or appliance from which this water escaped; 23 * * * * * 24 Id. at 19 of 27, emphasis in original. Vasquez acknowledges the Policy “does not cover 25 replacement of a defective system, [but asserts] it does provide coverage to access the 26 27 1The Court references the ECF pagination in referring to the exhibits attached to the 28 DSOF. 1 system which required nearly $30,000 to access, remove and replace.” Complaint (Doc. 1-3, 2 ¶ 5). 3 Vasquez filed a Complaint against Ameriprise alleging claims of breach of contract 4 and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing in the Pima County Superior Court. 5 Complaint (Doc. 1-3). Vasquez seeks “tear-out” coverage for the cost of accessing the 6 entire system for replacement. The action was removed to this Court. 7 Ameriprise has filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (“MSJ”) (Doc. 16) in which 8 Ameriprise argues the Policy does not provide coverage for the replacement of the plumbing 9 system. Vasquez has filed a response; she argues the Policy provides coverage to access the 10 plumbing system. Ameriprise has filed a reply. 11 12 Summary Judgment Legal Standard 13 Summary judgment may be granted if the movant shows “there is no genuine dispute 14 as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” 15 Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party has the initial responsibility of informing the court 16 of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of “the pleadings, depositions, 17 answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,” 18 which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. 19 v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986); Scheuring v. Traylor Bros., 476 F.3d 781, 784 (9th 20 Cir. 2007). 21 Once the moving party has met the initial burden, the opposing party must "go 22 beyond the pleadings" and "set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine [material] 23 issue for trial." Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 248, internal quotes omitted; see also United 24 States v. $133,420.00 in U.S. Currency, 672 F.3d 629, 638 (9th Cir. 2012) (“a plaintiff 25 cannot rely on mere allegations but rather must “set forth” by affidavit or other evidence 26 “specific facts”). The nonmoving party must demonstrate a dispute “over facts that might 27 affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law” to preclude entry of summary 28 1 judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). Further, the disputed 2 facts must be material. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322-23. Further, "a party cannot 3 manufacture a genuine issue of material fact merely by making assertions in its legal 4 memoranda." S.A. Empresa de Viacao Aerea Rio Grandense (Varig Airlines) v. Walter 5 Kiddle & Co., 690 F.2d 1235, 1238 (9th Cir. 1982). 6 A dispute over material facts must be genuine. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 7 at 2510. A dispute about a material fact is genuine if “the evidence is such that a reasonable 8 jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Id. A party opposing a properly 9 supported summary judgment motion must set forth specific facts demonstrating a genuine 10 issue for trial. Id. “[M]ere allegation and speculation do not create a factual dispute for 11 purposes of summary judgment.” Loomis v. Cornish, 836 F.3d 991, 997 (9th Cir. 2016) 12 (citation omitted). “If the evidence is merely colorable or is not significantly probative, 13 summary judgment may be granted.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50. However, the evidence 14 of the nonmoving party is to be believed and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his 15 favor. Id. at 255. Further, in seeking to establish the existence of a factual dispute, the non- 16 moving party need not establish a material issue of fact conclusively in his favor; it is 17 sufficient that “the claimed factual dispute be shown to require a jury or judge to resolve the 18 parties’ differing versions of the truth at trial.” Giles v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp., 494 19 F.3d 865, 872 (9th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted). 20 Additionally, the Court is only to consider admissible evidence. Moran v. Selig, 447 21 F.3d 748, 759-60 (9th Cir. 2006) (pleading and opposition must be verified to constitute 22 opposing affidavits); FDIC v. New Hampshire Ins.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Kevin Scheuring v. Traylor Brothers, Inc.
476 F.3d 781 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
Sparks v. Republic National Life Insurance
647 P.2d 1127 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1982)
Arizona Property & Casualty Insurance Guaranty Fund v. Helme
735 P.2d 451 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1987)
Harris v. Harris
991 P.2d 262 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1999)
Cooper v. American Family Mutual Insurance
184 F. Supp. 2d 960 (D. Arizona, 2002)
Keggi v. Northbrook Property & Casualty Insurance
13 P.3d 785 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2000)
Liristis v. American Family Mutual Insurance
61 P.3d 22 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2002)
Will Loomis v. Jessica Cornish
836 F.3d 991 (Ninth Circuit, 2016)
Kinney v. Lundy
89 P. 496 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1907)
Ohio Casualty Insurance v. Henderson
939 P.2d 1337 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1997)
Pemberthy v. Beyer
19 F.3d 857 (Third Circuit, 1994)
American Family Mutual Insurance v. Schmitz
2010 WI App 157 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2010)
Fraser v. Goodale
342 F.3d 1032 (Ninth Circuit, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Vasquez v. Ameriprise Insurance Company, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vasquez-v-ameriprise-insurance-company-azd-2021.