Wagner v. Tammany Holding Co., LLC

135 So. 3d 77, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0374, 2013 WL 7173569, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2902
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 9, 2013
DocketNo. 2013-CA-0374
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 135 So. 3d 77 (Wagner v. Tammany Holding Co., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wagner v. Tammany Holding Co., LLC, 135 So. 3d 77, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0374, 2013 WL 7173569, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2902 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ROSEMARY LEDET, Judge.

| ¶ This is an insurance coverage dispute. From the trial court’s judgment granting the motion for summary judgment filed by the third-party defendant, Houston Specialty Insurance Company (“Houston”), the third-party plaintiff, St. Tammany Holding Company, LLC (“THC”), appeals. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In September 2010, THC leased to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (“DOTD”) approximately seventy of the three thousand acres of undeveloped vacant land that THC owned in St. Tammany Parish (the “Leased Property”). According to the lease agreement, the purpose of the lease was as follows:

The leased premises will be used as a mobilization, lay-down and staging area for DOTD and CPRA/OCPR [Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of the State of Louisiana/Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration] projects to demolish, store, and degrade a portion of the Existing Twin Span Bridge across eastern Lake Pontchartrain between St. Tammany and Orleans Parishes, which is no longer open as a highway for vehicular traffic.1

|2The lease also provided for the placement on the Leased Property of “[t]wo (2) triple-wide jobsite trailers with heating and air conditioning systems, approximately thirty-six (36') feet in width by sixty (60') feet in length” for the use of DOTD’s [79]*79contractors. Thus, the purpose of the lease was to use the Leased Property as the staging area for DOTD’s contractors’ concrete crushing operations.

In January 2012, four individuals who reside in the residential area adjacent to the Leased Property (the “Plaintiffs”) commenced the instant suit against, among others, THC. The allegations contained in Plaintiffs’ petition pertinent to the instant coverage dispute are as follows:

• In connection with the demolition of the original 1-10 Twin Spans, [THC] entered into a lease in September 2010 with the DOTD, whereby an undeveloped portion of [THC’s property — the Leased Property] that is directly adjacent to Lakeshore Estates would be used as a staging area.
• Once bridge pieces are placed at the staging area, they are sorted, reduced in size, ground into smaller sizes, placed in metal rebar mattresses, and transported from the staging area to a land bridge in Lake Borgne and/or to Bayou Savage.
• The work performed by [DOTD’s contractors] ... produces extremely high levels of concrete dust and particulate matter composed of quartz and other forms of crystalline silica. Uncontrolled dust becomes airborne and is blown from the staging area. This dust accumulates on the properties of the Petitioners, including, but not limited to, on their homes, cars, boats, etc., in their pools and ponds, and in their homes. The airborne dust also causes adverse health effects to the Petitioners via contact to the skin and eyes and via inhalation.
• The work performed by [DOTD’s contractors] ... generates high level of vibrations and movement of the ground.... The vibrations, movement of the ground and/or pile driving has resulted in cracks at various points in the concrete slabs and homes of Petitioners.
• On a typical day and/or night, the dust, noise, and vibrations emanating from the concrete crushing operations can be seen, heard, and felt throughout the Areas of Concern. The dust, noise, and vibrations are sufficient to cause | ¡¡physical discomfort and annoyance to Petitioners, and any person of ordinary sensibilities, thereby constituting a nuisance.
• Pursuant to La. C.C. arts. 667-669, THC ... ha[s] an affirmative duty not to use the property in a manner that unreasonably deprives their neighbors of reasonable enjoyment of their neighboring home and/or property.

Plaintiffs prayed for injunctive relief, a declaratory judgment, class certification, and damages.

In April 2012, THC filed a third party demand against its insurer, Houston. In its third party demand, THC alleged that the following facts supported its claim: (i) it had answered and denied the allegations of Plaintiffs’ petition; (ii) it had incurred, and will continue to incur (despite its denial of liability), costs in defending Plaintiffs’ suit; (iii) Houston had in effect for the policy period of April 16, 2011, through April 16, 2012, a commercial general liability (“CGL”) policy that provided THC with defense and coverage for Plaintiffs’ alleged damages; (iv) THC notified Houston of Plaintiffs’ claim and made a demand for defense and coverage under its policy; (v) on March 16, 2012, Houston denied THC’s claim for coverage and defense. THC averred that Houston’s denial of coverage and defense was unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious and prayed for penalties and attorneys’ fees under La. R.S. 22:1892. It also averred that Houston breached its [80]*80duty of good faith and fair dealing under La. R.S. 22:1973.

In response, Houston filed an answer admitting that it issued a policy of insurance to THC, that it was notified of Plaintiffs’ claims against THC, that certain demands had been made by THC, and that a written denial of coverage was made by Houston to THC in March 2012. Houston also filed a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of THC’s claims. In support of its motion, Houston submitted the following statement of uncontested facts:

|41. Plaintiffs have sued THC on allegations that it owned and leased immovable property (the Leased Property) to the DOTD and that it has legal liability arising out of the activities and operation of the DOTD and others on the Leased Property.
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION:
LOCATION NUMBER
1
CLASSIFICATION AND PREMIUM
2. There are no allegations that the legal liability of THC arises out of activities or operations conducted on the Leased Property by THC itself.
3. THC, in truth and fact, neither occupied the Leased Property nor performed any operations or activities of any nature on the leased property-
4. Houston issued a Commercial Lines Policy with a term of 4/16/11 to 4/16/12 to THC, but the policy provided inter alia:
NAMED INSURED ADDENDUM IT IS HEREBY AGREED AND UNDERSTOOD THAT THE NAMED INSURED SHALL READ AS FOLLOWS:
Tammany Dirt Company, LLC Tammany Holding Company Lakeshore Estates Building, Inc.
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DIRT EXCAVATION & SALES
ADDRESS OR ALL PREMISES YOU OWN, RENT OR OCCUPY
3600 Lakeshore, Slidell, LA 70461
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THESE DECLARATIONS, TOGETHER WITH THE COMMON POLICY CONDITIONS AND COVERAGE FORM(S) AND ANY ENDORSEMENT^), COMPLETE THE ABOVE NUMBERED POLICY.
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CLASSIFICATION LIMITATION
[81]*81This endorsement modifies insurance provided under the following part:

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135 So. 3d 77, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0374, 2013 WL 7173569, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wagner-v-tammany-holding-co-llc-lactapp-2013.