WH Holdings, L.L.C. v. ACE American Insurance

574 F. App'x 383
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit·Decided June 26, 2014·No. No. 13-30676·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

The question in this case is whether the plaintiffs-appellants have pointed to extrin[384] sic evidence sufficient to show that there is a genuine fact issue material to resolving a patent ambiguity in a construction contract. The ambiguity at issue concerned whether a construction contractor, Gootee Construction Company, was contractually obligated to purchase property insurance covering the interest of a building owner, WH Holdings, L.L.C., in renovations the contractor was performing. The district court determined that the plaintiffs-appellants failed to show that there was a genuine fact issue material to resolving the contractual ambiguity in their favor, and entered summary judgment for Gootee’s insurer, defendant-appellee ACE American Insurance Company. We AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, WH Holdings, L.L.C. (“WH Holdings”)1, owner of the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans (“the Ritz”), contracted with Gootee Construction Company (“Gootee”) to perform renovation work at the Ritz. ACE American Insurance Company (“ACE”) provided Gootee with a builder’s risk insurance policy, which was in force when Hurricane Katrina struck. The storm caused damage to the Ritz’s window system and terra cotta fagade.

In August 2007, WH Holdings brought suit against ACE in Louisiana state court, seeking $3,264,812.54 in coverage for damage to the exterior of the Ritz during Hurricane Katrina, less a $7,500 deductible. ACE removed the case to federal court in October 2007. In the summer of 2010, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The parties agreed that their construction contracts incorporated and were governed by the General Conditions of the Contract for Construction, as amended by the parties (“General Conditions”). The parties also agreed that Gootee is the only named insured under ACE’s builder’s risk policy. As such, WH Holdings could only be covered if it fell under the policy’s “Broad Named Insured Endorsement,” which provided that “any party in interest which the insured is responsible to insure” is an insured under the policy.

The district court granted ACE’s motion for summary judgment, concluding that WH Holdings was not an insured under the builder’s risk policy. WH Holdings appealed. A panel of this Court vacated the ruling and judgment in ACE’s favor and remanded the case with instructions to consider extrinsic evidence. WH Holdings, L.L.C. v. ACE Am. Ins. Co., 481 Fed.Appx. 894, 899 (5th Cir.2012) (per curiam) (unpublished). The panel explained that the parties’ contract was ambiguous as to whether Gootee was obligated to purchase property insurance covering WH Holdings’s interests in the renovation work performed at the Ritz. Id. at 898.

On remand, the parties again filed cross-motions for summary judgment, each arguing that extrinsic evidence resolved the contractual ambiguity in its favor. In May 2013, after considering the evidence presented by the parties, the district court again granted ACE’s motion for summary judgment. The court concluded that WH Holdings had failed to show that there was [385] a fact issue as to whether the extrinsic evidence resolved the ambiguous General Conditions in Gootee’s favor. Because WH Holdings failed to show that the General Conditions required Gootee to procure builder’s risk coverage to insure WH Holdings’s interest in the renovation work at the Ritz, WH Holdings did not qualify as an insured under the Broad Named Insured endorsement and was therefore not entitled to recovery. The court concluded that, since WH Holdings could not carry its burden, summary judgment for ACE was appropriate. WH Holdings timely appealed the district court’s decision.

II. JURISDICTION AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

The district court, which had diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, issued a final judgment; this Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

The Court reviews “a grant of summary judgment de novo, viewing all evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and drawing all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor.” Pierce v. Dep’t of the U.S. Air Force, 512 F.3d 184, 186 (5th Cir.2007). “[Sjummary judgment is proper if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp.v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). “Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment. Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

In applying state law in a diversity case, a federal court must follow the substantive decisions of the state’s highest court— here, the Louisiana Supreme Court. Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 78, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938); Am. Int’l Specialty Lines Ins. Co. v. Canal Indem. Co., 352 F.3d 254, 260 (5th Cir.2003).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Louisiana Contract Law

The sole issue on appeal is whether the district court properly concluded that WH Holdings failed to point to extrinsic evidence material to resolving, in its favor, the contractual ambiguity as to whether Gootee was obligated to insure WH Holdings’s interest in the renovation work.

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WH Holdings, L.L.C. v. ACE American Insurance, 574 F. App'x 383 (5th Cir. 2014).

574 F. App'x 383 (WH Holdings, L.L.C. v. ACE American Insurance) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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