West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. People

CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 27, 2010
Docket1-08-1693, 1-08-3055, 1-08-3057, 1-08-3058 Cons. Rel
StatusPublished

This text of West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. People (West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. People) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. People, (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Fourth Division May 27, 2010

Nos. 1-08-1693, 1-08-3055, 1-08-3057, 1-08-3058 (Cons.)

WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) ) THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) ) Defendant ) No. 06 CH 19015 ) (Father and Sons Contractors, Inc., ) ) Defendant-Appellant). ) ________________________________________________) ) WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, ) ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) ) BARRY BATIA and KAREN BATIA, ) ) Defendants ) No. 06 CH 19155 ) (Father and Sons Contractors, Inc., ) ) Defendant-Appellant). ) ________________________________________________) ) WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, ) ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) 1-08-1693, 1-08-3055, 1-08-3057, 1-08-3058 (Cons.)

v. ) ) ELENA ZUNIGA and FEDERICO ZUNIGA, ) ) Defendants ) No. 06 CH 19415 ) (Father and Sons Contractors, Inc., ) ) Defendant-Appellant). ) ________________________________________________) ) WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, ) ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) ) ISIDORA ROBLES and ERNESTO ROBLES, ) ) Defendants ) No. 06 CH 19418 ) (Father and Sons Contractors, Inc., ) Honorable ) Kathleen M. Pantle, Defendant-Appellant). ) Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE NEVILLE delivered the opinion of the court:

In four separate actions consolidated for this appeal, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company

filed four complaints and requested four separate judgments declaring it had no duty to defend its

insureds, Father & Sons Contractors, Inc., and Father & Sons Remodelers, Inc. (collectively, Father

& Sons), in four separate underlying lawsuits. The trial court entered four orders which granted

West Bend summary judgment on all four of its complaints because the court found the underlying

lawsuits alleged no occurrences within the purview of the provisions of the insurance policies. In

this appeal, Father & Sons contends that the insuring agreements do not include the term

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“occurrence.” We affirm for the following reasons: (1) we find that the underlying complaints fail

to allege an "occurrence" within the purview of the provisions in the policies; (2) we find that the

underlying complaints fail to allege property damage within the purview of the provisions in

policies; and (3) we find the policies’ exclusions for expected or intended injury also preclude

coverage for the acts alleged in the underlying complaints.

BACKGROUND

West Bend sold Father & Sons commercial general liability insurance policies to cover the

period from January 2004 through July 2006. Father & Sons paid extra premiums to obtain separate

endorsements to cover liability for home repair and remodeling. The endorsements modify the

coverage provided under the general liability policies. In the endorsements’ separate insuring

agreements, West Bend promised:

“We will pay those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as

damages because of ‘improper home repair and remodeling’ to which this insurance

applies. *** We may at our discretion, investigate any incident and settle any claim

or ‘suit’ that may result. But:

(1) The most we will pay for ‘improper home repair and

remodeling’ at any one ‘residence’ is $10,000 *** unless other

amounts are indicated in the Schedule of this endorsement.”

The schedule for the endorsement provides:

"Limit of Liability for ‘property damage’ arising out of ‘improper home repair and

remodeling’ – $10,000 per ‘occurrence.’ "

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The home repair and remodeling endorsements also had their own exclusions for expected or

intended injury, incomplete work, and the work of subcontractors. The general liability policies

define an “occurrence” as “an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially

the same general harmful conditions.” The policies define “property damage” as “[p]hysical injury

to tangible property *** [or l]oss of use of tangible property that is not physically injured.” The

endorsement explains, under the exclusion for expected or intended injury, that the insurance does

not cover “ ‘improper home repair and remodeling’ knowingly performed by the insured.”

In 2006, the Attorney General of Illinois filed a lawsuit on behalf of the People of Illinois

against Father & Sons Contractors and Ronald Kafka, who allegedly controlled both Father & Sons

Contractors and Father & Sons Remodelers. The Attorney General alleged that in 1980 the State

sued Kafka for violations of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (Consumer

Fraud Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 121 1/2, par. 261 et seq.). The court entered an injunction

prohibiting certain abuses by corporations Kafka operated. The State sued Kafka and his

corporations a second time in 1985. A consent decree ended that case, with Kafka agreeing to

disclose all uses of subcontractors and to refrain from intentionally violating building codes. In

2000, Kafka agreed to the entry of another consent decree that barred him from continuing his

practice of abusing and deceiving his customers.

According to the 2006 complaint, the pattern of abuse and deception did not stop. The

Attorney General alleged:

“a. [Father & Sons Contractors] misrepresented the start and/or completion

date of many projects, and if consumers complained about delays, [Father & Sons

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Contractors] cited the printed provision of the contract which provides for no start

or completion date(s).

b. [Father & Sons Contractors] misrepresented that they had not had

complaints about their construction work ***.

***

f. [Father & Sons Contractors] misrepresented that certain work would be

included in construction projects, which was not included.

i. [Father & Sons Contractors] entered into contracts for certain work and,

after taking a deposit, refused to do the project unless money in excess of the contract

price was paid.

j. [Father & Sons Contractors] misrepresented the nature of documents.

k. [Father & Sons Contractors] misrepresented the type and quality of

materials that would be used on construction projects.

l. [Father & Sons Contractors] performed work in a shoddy and

unworkmanlike manner and caused damage to the homes of the consumers that often

went unrepaired, which included, inter alia, leaky roofs, damaged walls, improperly

installed gutters and windows, and plumbing defects.

m. [Father & Sons Contractors] misrepresented to consumers that [it] would

not use subcontractors *** when, in fact, [it] used subcontractors to do the work.”

The Attorney General listed some of the customers Kafka and Father & Sons Contractors

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allegedly defrauded in 2004 and 2005. According to the Attorney General's complaint, Father &

Sons Contractors installed a roof for one customer, and the roof leaked, damaging the floor, a ceiling,

and some cabinets. For another customer, Father & Sons Contractors installed warped hardwood

floors. For another customer, Father & Sons Contractors constructed a porch on rotting support

beams. Subcontractors constructing new bedrooms for another customer “incorrectly raised the roof

line by 18 inches, eliminating an entire room.”

In the lawsuit, the Attorney General sought a finding that Kafka and Father & Sons

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West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. People, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/west-bend-mutual-insurance-co-v-people-illappct-2010.