Warrantech Corp. v. Steadfast Insurance Co.

210 S.W.3d 760, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 10241, 2006 WL 3438033
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 30, 2006
Docket2-05-351-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 210 S.W.3d 760 (Warrantech Corp. v. Steadfast Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Warrantech Corp. v. Steadfast Insurance Co., 210 S.W.3d 760, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 10241, 2006 WL 3438033 (Tex. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

ANNE GARDNER, Justice.

I. Introduction

This is an insurance dispute involving a claims-made professional liability policy issued by Appellee Steadfast Insurance Company to Appellants Warrantech Corporation and Warrantech Consumer Product Services, Inc. (“Warrantech”). Warrantech sued Steadfast for breach of contract and insurance code violations when Steadfast refused to defend War-rantech in another lawsuit (“the underlying claim”). Steadfast filed a counterclaim for declaratory judgment, seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend Warrantech. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court denied Warrantech’s motion, granted Steadfast’s, and awarded attorney’s fees to Steadfast. Warrantech appealed. We modify the trial court’s judgment to delete the award of attorney’s fees to Steadfast, and we affirm the judgment as modified.

II. The Underlying Claim

Various reinsurers (“the Reinsurers”) alleged claims against Warrantech in the underlying suit for fraud and negligent misrepresentation arising out of Warran-tech’s administration of consumer product warranties on behalf CompUSA, a national retailer of electronics goods. The following paragraphs summarize the allegations made by the Reinsurers.

Warrantech is in the business of administering extended service plans and consumer warranty programs on computers and other retail goods. In 1995, Warran-tech contracted with CompUSA to administer CompUSA’s warranty program. To cover the cost of the warranty claims it was required to pay, Warrantech obtained insurance coverage from Houston General Insurance Company. Under that insurance coverage, Warrantech submitted the warranty claims it paid to Houston General for reimbursement. Houston General obtained reinsurance for the risk from the Reinsurers for claims paid in 1996 and 1997. In essence, Houston General and the Reinsurers paid for warranty repairs made to CompUSA products and authorized by Warrantech. The insuring agreements prohibited Warrantech from paying unsubstantiated warranty claims.

CompUSA’s warranty program was entirely paperless; warranty information existed only in its computer database. The warranty database was incomplete and inaccurate. Many of the electronic records of warranties CompUSA claimed to have sold did not identify the customer, the product, or they type of warranty sold. Warrantech called these unidentifiable warranties “shell contracts.”

When a CompUSA customer called Warrantech with a warranty claim, it was frequently impossible for Warrantech to locate the caller’s CompUSA warranty. Initially, Warrantech would not authorize a product repair unless the customer could provide proof-of-purchase documentation identifying the product and warranty pur *764 chased from CompUSA. When the proof-of-purchase requirement proved burdensome, Warrantech began to authorize repairs on unvalidated or “non-val” warranty claims. Warrantech would then attempt to manually match the repair invoice to a specific CompUSA warranty in the War-rantech database. This process was time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Warrantech began to link non-val warranty claims to the unidentifiable shell contracts. In 1996, it developed computer software to automate the linking process and developed a second version of the software in 1997. This automated linking process allowed Warrantech to pay non-val claims with insurance money.

When the CompUSA warranty claims paid by Warrantech greatly exceeded what the Reinsurers expected to pay, the Rein-surers arranged to have Warrantech audited in 1998. The audit did not discover the automated finking software, and Warran-tech did not disclose its existence. Nonetheless, as a result of the audit, Houston General accused Warrantech of significant overpayment of claims and demanded reimbursement from Warrantech for more than $19 million. Likewise, the Reinsur-ers refused to reimburse Houston General for Warrantech claims.

Houston General began an arbitration proceeding in June 2000 against the Rein-surers, seeking reimbursement for $46 million paid by Houston General to War-rantech for CompUSA warranty claims. During the arbitration discovery process, Warrantech denied the existence of the automated Unking software. But during the arbitration hearing in January 2002, the Reinsurers learned that the finking software existed, and Warrantech produced the first version of the software. Soon thereafter, the Reinsurers learned that Warrantech had intentionally destroyed the second version of the finking software. The arbitration panel awarded $39 million to Houston General in August 2002.

The Reinsurers sued Warrantech on September 19, 2002, for fraud and negligent misrepresentation, seeking to recover an unspecified sum for the unsubstantiated warranty claims paid by Warrantech.

III. The Insurance Policy

Steadfast issued a professional liability policy to Warrantech -with a coverage period of July 30, 2002, to July 30, 2003. The policy contains the following potentially relevant provisions:

I. COVERAGE
[Steadfast] will pay on behalf of the “Insured” all sums, in excess of the Deductible, which the “Insured” shall become liable to pay as “Damages” arising from each “Claim” made during the “Policy Period” ... unless as of the inception date of this Policy any “Insured” knew or could reasonably foresee that such “Claim” would be made ... during the “Policy Period.”
II. DEFENSE AND SETTLEMENT; POLICY TERRITORY
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A. [Steadfast] shall defend any “Claim” against the “Insured” seeking “Damages” which are payable under the terms of this policy, even if such “Claim” is groundless, false or fraudulent.
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VI. DEFINITIONS
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B. “Claim” means any written demand received by the “Insured” for “Damages” or services, including but not limited to service of suit or other process, alleging a “Wrongful Act” by the “Insured”.
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*765 D. “Damages” means a monetary judgment or award the “Insured” is legally obligated to pay[.]
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J. “Wrongful Act” means any:
1. actual or alleged error, omission, neglect, misstatement or misleading statement;
2. breach of duty;
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unintentionally committed by any “insured”, or a person for whom the Named “insured” is legally liable, solely in the rendering of professional services.
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Endorsement No. 1
AMENDMENT OF EXCLUSION A.
[This policy does not apply to any “Claim” based upon or arising out of:]
A.

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Bluebook (online)
210 S.W.3d 760, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 10241, 2006 WL 3438033, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/warrantech-corp-v-steadfast-insurance-co-texapp-2006.