William Klepper, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Ace American Insurance Company

999 N.E.2d 86, 2013 WL 6333532, 2013 Ind. App. LEXIS 602
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 5, 2013
Docket15A05-1212-CC-645
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 999 N.E.2d 86 (William Klepper, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Ace American Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
William Klepper, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Ace American Insurance Company, 999 N.E.2d 86, 2013 WL 6333532, 2013 Ind. App. LEXIS 602 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinions

OPINION

BARNES, Judge.

Case Summary

William Klepper, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated ("the Class"), appeals the trial court's order adopting the special master's reports and entering partial final judgment in favor of ACE American Insurance, Inc., (CACE"). [88]*88ACE cross-appeals, challenging the special master's resolution of some of the issues and the entry of partial final judgment. This case also involves Pernod Ricard USA, LLC, d/b/a Seagram Lawrenceburg Distillery ("Pernod"), who was insured by ACE and XL Insurance America ("XL"). We affirm.

Issues

The Class and ACE raise several issues. We address the following dispositive issues:

I. whether the special master properly concluded that ACE was not bound by a settlement agreement between the Class, Pernod, and XL because Pernod breached its obligations under the ACE policy; and
II. whether ACE is entitled to final judgment on all outstanding claims.

Facts

Pernod owned and operated a distillery in Lawrenceburg from January 2002 until June 2007. With the exception of a major fire in 1983, the distillery has been operating since 1847. During the distillation process, ethanol was released into the air, causing mold to grow on the exterior of nearby buildings. Klepper owns property near the distillery that was damaged by the emissions. Pernod was insured by XL from January 1, 2001, to January 1, 2003, and by ACE under a commercial general liability policy ("the Policy") from January 1, 2008, until January 1, 2004.

The Policy included a "legally obligated to pay" provision, which stated that ACE "will pay those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of 'bodily injury' or 'property damage' to which this insurance applies." App. p. 394. The Policy also included a "voluntary payment" provision, which stated, "No insured will, except at the insured's own cost, voluntarily make a payment, assume any obligation, or incur any expense, other than for first aid, without our consent." Id. at 404.

In 2005, Klepper brought a class action lawsuit against Pernod on behalf of similarly situated property owners. The see-ond amended complaint alleged nuisance, negligence, trespass, and illegal dumping. The costs of remediation varied from Pernod's estimate of approximately $115,000 to the Class's estimate of $20,500,000.1

When Pernod tendered the claim to ACE in March 2005, "ACE mistakenly classified the claim as an underage drinking matter and closed its file." Id. at 668. In October 2007, ACE was advised that it was not an underage drinking claim and that XL had been providing Pernod with a defense. XL sought contribution from ACE for the costs of the defense it had been providing. ACE agreed to contribute 49% of Pernod's defense costs under a full reservation of rights. In a May 2008 letter, Pernod's deputy general counsel recognized and acknowledged that ACE was agreeing to provide Pernod with a defense. |

ACE reimbursed XL $40,857.44 for its portion of the previously-incurred defense costs. From the time ACE agreed to contribute to the defense until September 21, 2009, ACE paid an additional $44,232.60 to cover its share of the defense. On September 21, 2009, ACE received an email from Pernod's defense counsel explaining that ACE's billing system had unacceptably reduced the approved payment amounts. Defense counsel totaled the amounts owed by ACE for immediate full payment. On September 23, 2009, ACE issued payment for the full amount owed, $58,974.89. On September 25, 2009, ACE [89]*89received an email from defense counsel's legal assistant thanking it for its "quick response" to the bills sent earlier in the week.2 Id. at 677. ACE later paid another $23,900.24 for its share of the defense. In total, ACE contributed $167,965.17 toward Pernod's defense.

The dispute was unsuccessfully mediated on August 19, 2008. In January 2009, the trial court granted summary judgment for Pernod on the illegal dumping claim. During settlement discussions, XL and Pernod asked ACE to contribute $1,000,000 toward a settlement agreement, but ACE refused and offered to contribute $250,000.

A second mediation was held on April 14, 2009. ACE attended the meditation but left before it was over. The Class, XL, and Pernod reached a settlement agreement. They agreed that judgment against Pernod would be entered in the amount of $5,200,000. Specially, Pernod would contribute $1,200,000 and XL would contribute $1,000,000 to a common fund for the immediate use and benefit of the Class. The remaining $3,000,000 was to be collected from ACE "to the extent the damages fall within the seope of ACE Commercial General Liability Policy...." Id. at 870. The settlement agreement provided that the litigation costs and expenses incurred by the Class "shall be paid from the Common Fund before any distributions to Class Members are made." Id. at 371.

On May 11, 2009, the Class filed a third amended complaint, which included a claim for declaratory judgment regarding coverage under the Policy for the damages sought by the Class. In August 2009, the Class agreed to release Pernod and XL from any claims and to dismiss its claims against Pernod with prejudice upon the receipt of the $2,200,000 payment from Pernod and XL. The release specifically provided:

Effective upon the Class's and its counsels' receipt of the $2,200,000.00 Payment from Pernod identified in Paragraph C above, the Class for themselves individually and for their respective members, release Pernod ... and XL ... from any claims, demands, rights of actions or liabilities, known or unknown, arising from Pernod's acts or omissions during the Claim Period that were asserted or could have been asserted in this cause, except as required to effectuate the settlement. The parties represent and agree that this Release is not intended to, and does not, eliminate or compromise any claims, demands, rights of action or liabilities between and among the Class against [ACE] or any other insurer. of Pernod (with the sole exception of XL) which may implicate any insurance policy or any other source of funds from which the Agreed Judgment or any part of it might be paid.

Id. at 775-76. The Class also agreed that, upon the receipt of the $2,200,000, it would not execute any unsatisfied portion of the agreed judgment against Pernod and XL.3 At some point, Pernod assigned its claims to the Class.

In September 2009, after a hearing to determine the fairness of the settlement agreement, the trial court approved it. The trial court also approved the payment of $733,333.33 in attorney fees and [90]*90$106,909.87 in expenses incurred by the Class from the common fund.

On December 29, 2010, the Class filed a fourth amended complaint asking the trial court to declare that up to $3,000,000 in damages, attorney fees, and post-judgment interest may be collected from ACE under the Policy. The Class also made bad faith and unfair claims handling allegations against ACE.

Eventually, the case was assigned to a special master.

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999 N.E.2d 86, 2013 WL 6333532, 2013 Ind. App. LEXIS 602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/william-klepper-on-behalf-of-himself-and-all-others-similarly-situated-v-indctapp-2013.