WMS Industries, Inc. v. Federal Insurance

588 F. Supp. 2d 730, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98429, 2008 WL 4829638
District Court, S.D. Mississippi·Decided October 28, 2008·No. Civil Action No. 1:06CV977-LG-JMR·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

LOUIS GUIROLA, JR., District Judge.

BEFORE THE COURT is Defendant Federal Insurance Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment [181]. Plaintiff WMS Industries, Inc., initiated this bad faith action against its property and business income insurer Federal, following a dispute over WMS’s Hurricane Katrina claims. While the parties agree that the Business Income/Extra Expenses (“BI/ EE”) coverage applies, they disagree to what extent. The Court has considered the parties’ submissions, the record, and the relevant legal authority. The motion is denied.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

WMS manufactures electronic slot machines in Waukegan, Illinois. WMS has a distribution facility in Gulfport, Mississippi, (“Premises 24”), which services its Mississippi and Louisiana casino customers. From this facility, WMS sells, leases, and installs the machines and sells conversion kits and parts to these casinos. Depending on the contract, the leased “stand alone” machines are rented for either a set amount per day, or a percentage of the money wagered on each machine.

In addition, Premises 24 operates and monitors its Wide Area Progressive (‘WAP”) network for its Mississippi casino customers. By law, the WAP monitoring facility is required to be in Mississippi. The WAP network consists of a group of inter-casino linked slot machines, which contribute to a shared progressive jackpot. For every wager placed on a particular1 WAP slot machine, the progressive jackpot for all participating WAP machines in all participating Mississippi casinos is increased immediately. WMS leases these WAP machines to the respective casino for a percentage of the wagers placed on each such machine. A customer will place a bet on the particular machine. The slot machine electronically transmits this data to the WAP monitoring facility in Gulfport. Its computers record the coin-in information, calculate the new progressive jackpot total, and calculate the amount of that wager owed to WMS as rent. The Gulf-port facility computers then transmit the new jackpot information to all participat[732] ing WAP machines and overhead signs2 in all participating casinos. The Gulfport facility also transmits the rental information to the Waukegan office, which will in turn invoice the casino for that amount. In the event a jackpot is won on any WAP machine, the monitoring facility computer, upon receipt of that information, electronically resets the jackpot amounts on all relevant machines. WMS employees provide twenty-four hour monitoring of all activity on the WAP network, from the monitoring facility.

To protect Premises 24’s business income, WMS purchased insurance from Federal. WMS was insured up to $100,000,000 for BI/EE coverage. The policy provided additional business income coverages, with lesser limits, as well. For example, there was Loss of Utilities coverage, which covered a loss of operations from a loss of utilities (power, telephone, etc.). There was Dependent Business Premises coverage, which covered loss of operations from damage to customer’s premises, for example. This policy was in force at the time of Hurricane Katrina.

On August 29, 2005, Katrina struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Katrina caused physical damage to the Gulfport facility, as well as to eleven3 of its casino customers in Mississippi. The damage to Premises 24 included a damaged roof, doors, and exterior glass, computers and servers, and interior water damage. It is undisputed that the damage caused an impairment of operations, resulting in lost business income and extra expenses.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission temporarily allowed WMS to relocate its WAP monitoring facility to Reno, Nevada, which WMS did on September 11. WAP operations thus resumed for the fifteen “undamaged”4 casino customers. On October 21, WMS’s Gulfport landlord sent it a letter that Premises 24 was ready for re-occupancy. On November 14, WMS moved back. On December 2, it resumed WAP monitoring from the Gulfport facility, consistent with Mississippi regulations.

WMS filed a claim for, among other things, $39.3 million in lost income, and several hundred thousand dollars in extra expenses. Federal denied that BI/EE coverage applied and paid $1,000,000 in Dependent Business Premises and $54,744.36 in Loss of Utilities coverage, and paid a portion of the extra expense claim. After Federal concluded that over six million dollars in lost income was associated with the “damaged” casinos, it paid the $1,000,000 for this loss. The $54,744.36 was for the “undamaged” casinos.

DISCUSSION

Standard for Summary Judgment

A motion for summary judgment shall be granted “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.” Fed.R.CivP. 56(c). The Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Abarca v. Metro. Transit. Auth., 404 F.3d 938, 940 (5th Cir.2005). A “material fact” is one that might affect the outcome of the suit [733] under the governing law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A genuine dispute about a material fact exists when the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Id.

The party that bears the burden of proof at trial also bears the burden of proof at the summary judgment stage. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of identifying those portions of the pleadings and discovery on file, together with any affidavits, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Once the movant carries its burden, the burden shifts to the non-movant to show that summary judgment should not be granted. Id. at 324-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548. “[Wjhen a motion for summary judgment is made and supported ... an adverse party may not rest upon ... mere allegations or denials ... but ... must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

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WMS Industries, Inc. v. Federal Insurance, 588 F. Supp. 2d 730, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98429, 2008 WL 4829638 (S.D. Miss. 2008).

588 F. Supp. 2d 730 (WMS Industries, Inc. v. Federal Insurance) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Abarca v. Metropolitan Transit Authority
404 F.3d 938 (Fifth Circuit, 2005)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)