Vozzcom v. Great American Ins. Co. of New York

666 F. Supp. 2d 1332, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104866, 2009 WL 3486306
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 18, 2009
DocketCase 09-60922-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 666 F. Supp. 2d 1332 (Vozzcom v. Great American Ins. Co. of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vozzcom v. Great American Ins. Co. of New York, 666 F. Supp. 2d 1332, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104866, 2009 WL 3486306 (S.D. Fla. 2009).

Opinion

ORDER

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court on Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiff, Vozzcom, Inc. (“Vozzcom”) [D.E. 22]; and Defendant, Great American Insurance Company (“Great American”) [D.E. 21]. The Court has carefully considered the parties’ written submissions and applicable law.

*1333 I. BACKGROUND

This case arises from a dispute over insurance coverage. Plaintiff, Vozzcom, was issued an employment practices liability policy by Beazley Insurance Company (“Beazley”). (See Great American’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“Great American’s Mot.”) at 3). 1 This policy includes an endorsement covering defense costs incurred by Vozzcom in lawsuits by its employees for violations of wage and hour laws. (See Order Granting and Part and Denying in Part Motions for Summary Judgment (“Order on Summary Judgment”) [D.E. 58], Vozzcom v. Beazley Ins. Co. (“Vozzcom I”), Case No. 08-62044-Civ-AItonaga). 2 The policy period ran from January 1, 2007 through January 1, 2008.

On June 4, 2007, a former Vozzcom employee, Claudio Teixeira (“Teixeira”), filed a lawsuit against Vozzcom. Teixeira had been employed by Vozzcom from approximately November 2006 until April 2007, performing cable installation and related services for Vozzcom. In his lawsuit, Teixeira claimed that during his employment with Vozzcom, Vozzcom engaged in violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. Beazley secured defense counsel for Vozzcom and paid Vozzcom’s legal bill:;- defending the Teixeira claim.

The following year, rather than renew its policy with Beazley, Vozzcom obtained a similar employment practices liability policy from Great American. The Great American policy had a coverage period from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008.

On January 17, 2008, another former Vozzcom employee, Francisco DaSilva (“DaSilva”), filed suit against Vozzcom alleging FLSA violations. DaSilva worked for Vozzcom between September 2006 and April 2007, and, like Teixeira, had performed cable installation and related services.

Vozzcom notified Beazley about the DaSilva claim, seeking coverage for the defense of the lawsuit. Beazley denied coverage on the ground that the DaSilva claim was commenced after the expiration of the Beazley policy period. Vozzcom then notified Great American of the claim, again seeking coverage for the defense of the claim. Great American denied coverage on the ground that the claim “arose” during the Beazley coverage period.

The policy issued to Vozzcom by Great American contains certain relevant provisions:

Section I. Insuring Agreements
A. The Insurer shall pay on behalf of the Insured Persons all Loss which the Insured Persons shall be legally obligated to pay as a result of a Claim (including an Employment Practices Claim or a Securities Claim) first made against the Insured Persons during the Policy Period or the Discovery Period for a Wrongful Act, except for any Loss which the Company actually pays as indemnification.
B. The Insurer shall pay on behalf of the Company all Loss which the Insured Persons shall be legally obligated to pay as a result of a Claim (including an Employment Practices Claim or a Securities Claim) first *1334 made against the Insured Persons during the Policy Period or the Discovery Period for a Wrongful Act, but only to the extent the Company is required or permitted by law to indemnify the Insured Persons.
A. “Claim” shall mean:
(1) a written demand for monetary or non-monetary relief made against any Insured and reported to the Insurer pursuant to Section VIII. A.(l); or
(2) a civil, criminal, administrative or arbitration proceeding made against any Insured seeking monetary or non-monetary relief and commenced by the service of a complaint or similar pleading, the return of an indictment, or the receipt or filing of notices of charges or similar document, including any proceeding initiated against any Insured before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or any similar governmental body.
* * *
0. “Related Wrongful Acts” shall mean Wrongful Acts which are logically or causally connected by reason of any common fact, circumstance, situation, transaction, casualty, event or decision.
R. “Wrongful Act” shall mean:
(1) any actual or alleged act, omission, error, misstatement, misleading statement, neglect or breach of duty, or Employment Practices Wrongful Act, by any Insured Person in their capacity with the Company;
(2) any actual or alleged act, omission, error, misstatement, misleading statement, neglect or breach of duty by the Insured Entity, but only
with respect to Insuring Agreement I-C;....
Section IV. Exclusions
The Insurer shall not be liable to make any payment for Loss in connection with any Claim made against any Insured:
B. based upon, arising out of, relating to, directly or indirectly resulting from or in consequence of, or in any way involving any Wrongful Act or Related Wrongful Act or any fact, circumstance or situation which has been the subject of any notice or Claim given under any other policy of which this Policy is a renewal or replacement;
C. based upon, arising out of, relating to, directly or indirectly resulting from or in consequence of, or in any way involving any prior and/or pending civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceeding involving the Company and/or and Insured Persons as of the date stated in Item 7 of the Declarations, or any fact, circumstance or situation underlying or alleged in such proceeding;....
AMENDMENT TO SECTION VI. RETENTION
It is understood and agreed that Section VI. B. of the Policy is hereby deleted and replaced with the following:
Section VI.B.
More than one Claim involving the same Wrongful Act or Related Wrongful Acts of one or more Insureds shall be considered a single Claim. All such Claims constituting a single Claim shall be deemed to have been made on the earlier of the following dates: (1) the *1335 earliest date on which any such Claim was first made; or (2) the earliest date on which any such Wrongful Act or Related Wrongful Act was reported under this Policy or any other policy providing similar coverage.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
666 F. Supp. 2d 1332, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104866, 2009 WL 3486306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vozzcom-v-great-american-ins-co-of-new-york-flsd-2009.