Zurich American Insurance Company v. Aspen Specialty Insurance Company

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided August 6, 2021·No. 2:20-cv-01374·Unknown

Opinion

ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE Case No.: 2:20-cv-01374-APG-DJA COMPANY, Order Granting in Part Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff [ECF No. 7] v. ASPEN SPECIALTY INSURANCE

Defendant

Both Zurich American Insurance Company and Aspen Specialty Insurance Company issued insurance policies that covered The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino for an incident that occurred in the hotel’s Marquee nightclub. Zurich alleges that Aspen breached its insurance contract because it failed to provide The Cosmopolitan with a conflict-free defense and then failed to accept a settlement offer that fell within Aspen’s policy limits. The underlying litigation ultimately settled for several hundred thousand dollars more than the rejected settlement offer, and Zurich contributed over $300,000 to the settlement. Zurich sues Aspen for equitable subrogation based on Aspen’s alleged breach of the insurance contract and for violations of Nevada’s unfair claims practices act. Zurich also asserts claims for contractual subrogation, equitable contribution, and equitable indemnity based on the same facts. Aspen moves to dismiss, contending that Zurich’s claims fail as a matter of law because Nevada does not recognize these claims in the context of a dispute between two primary insurers. Aspen also contends that even if such claims exist in this context, Zurich has not plausibly alleged facts to support each element of those claims. I grant Aspen’s motion as to Zurich’s equitable contribution claim, with leave to amend. I deny the remainder of Aspen’s motion. In July 2012, the Steven and Melissa Cochran were guests at The Cosmopolitan, and during their stay they went to the Marquee nightclub located there. ECF No. 1 at 17. They claim

they were attacked by Marquee employees. Id. at 17-19. They sued the owners of The Cosmopolitan and the owners of the Marquee nightclub. Id. at 3, 15-16. Marquee is a named insured in an Aspen primary commercial general liability policy with limits of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million general aggregate. Id. at 3. The Cosmopolitan is an additional insured under the Aspen policy with respect to the Cochran’s lawsuit. Id. at 4. The Cosmopolitan tendered the lawsuit to Aspen, and Aspen acknowledged coverage subject to a reservation of rights. Id. Aspen offered to either fully fund a joint defense with Marquee or to fund only 50 percent of an independent defense of The Cosmopolitan.1 Id. The Cosmopolitan agreed to the joint defense to save money, “despite the fact that indemnity

provisions in the relevant contracts between Marquee and Cosmopolitan created a conflict of interest that should have disqualified one law firm from representing” the two jointly. Id. The Cosmopolitan is also insured by Zurich under a commercial general liability policy. Id. Zurich’s policy contains a subrogation clause “which transfers all of Cosmopolitan’s rights of recovery against any other person or organization to Zurich for all or part of any payment made by Zurich under the Zurich policy.”2 Id. Marquee is not an insured under the Zurich policy. Id. at 5.

1 Zurich alleges Aspen breached its obligation to The Cosmopolitan with this offer. 2 The Zurich policy is not provided. The quoted language is Zurich’s allegation in the complaint. Aspen controlled the defense in the Cochran lawsuit, including settlement negotiations on behalf of both Marquee and The Cosmopolitan. Id. Zurich alleges that Aspen was presented with evidence and expert opinions supporting the Cochrans’ claims. Id. In May 2017, the Cochrans offered to settle the case against Marquee and The Cosmopolitan for $975,000. Id. at 5. Zurich demanded Aspen settle within the available limits of Aspen’s policy, but Aspen refused.

Id. at 6. Zurich contends this refusal was unreasonable and in bad faith. Id. The lawsuit later settled for $1.4 million, with Aspen contributing $988,000, Zurich contributing $323,187.66, and The Cosmopolitan’s excess insurer contributing $88,812.34. Id. Zurich alleges that its contribution to the settlement was made under a reservation of rights. Id. Based on these allegations, Zurich asserts five claims against Aspen: (1) equitable subrogation – breach of the duty to settle; (2) equitable subrogation – violations of Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) § 686A.310; (3) subrogation – breach of the Aspen insurance contract; (4) equitable contribution; and (5) equitable indemnity. Aspen moves to dismiss all claims.

In considering a motion to dismiss, I take all well-pleaded allegations of material fact as true and construe the allegations in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Kwan v. SanMedica, Int’l, 854 F.3d 1088, 1096 (9th Cir. 2017). However, I do not assume the truth of legal conclusions merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations. Navajo Nation v. Dep’t of the Interior, 876 F.3d 1144, 1163 (9th Cir. 2017). A plaintiff must make sufficient factual allegations to establish a plausible entitlement to relief. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556 (2007). Such allegations must amount to “more than labels and conclusions, [or] a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Id. at 555. / / / / A. Equitable Subrogation Aspen argues that Zurich’s equitable subrogation claims fail because the Supreme Court of Nevada has not recognized a claim for equitable subrogation amongst insurers and this court should not do so. Aspen contends that even if the claim exists, Zurich has not plausibly alleged the elements of a claim as established in jurisdictions that recognize it. Aspen contends that for

subrogation, Zurich would step into its insured’s shoes, and The Cosmopolitan suffered no damages because it did not pay anything toward the settlement. Aspen also contends that Zurich was The Cosmopolitan’s primary insurer and the facts do not put Zurich in a more equitable position than Aspen, so equitable subrogation would not apply. Zurich responds that the Supreme Court of Nevada has recognized subrogation as a general equitable doctrine and would apply it in any circumstance where it was appropriate, including between insurers. Zurich also contends it has adequately alleged the circumstances that would support equitable subrogation. Zurich contends the question is whether the insured would have had to make up the difference in the settlement if it had not been insured, so the fact

that The Cosmopolitan suffered no loss because Zurich paid it instead does not defeat a subrogation claim. The Supreme Court of Nevada has “recognized the doctrine of equitable subrogation in a variety of situations.” In re Fontainebleau Las Vegas Holdings, 289 P.3d 1199, 1209 n.8 (Nev. 2012) (en banc). But it has not addressed whether it would recognize equitable subrogation in the context of two insurance companies and, if so, what an insurer claiming subrogation would have to prove. I therefore must predict how that court would rule if the issue were presented to it. See Orkin v. Taylor, 487 F.3d 734, 741 (9th Cir. 2007). I may use “decisions from other jurisdictions, statutes, treatises, and restatements as guidance.” Assurance Co. of Am. v. Wall & Assocs. LLC of Olympia, 379 F.3d 557, 560 (9th Cir. 2004) (quotation omitted). Subrogation “is an equitable doctrine created to accomplish what is just and fair as between the parties.” AT & T Techs., Inc. v. Reid, 855 P.2d 533, 535 (Nev. 1993) (quotation omitted). “It arises when one party has been compelled to satisfy an obligation that is ultimately

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Zurich American Insurance Company v. Aspen Specialty Insurance Company, (D. Nev. 2021).

Zurich American Insurance Company v. Aspen Specialty Insurance Company (Zurich American Insurance Company v. Aspen Specialty Insurance Company) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Bohemia, Inc. v. The Home Insurance Company
725 F.2d 506 (Ninth Circuit, 1984)
Richard McGary v. City of Portland
386 F.3d 1259 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
At & T TECHNOLOGIES, INC. v. Reid
855 P.2d 533 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1993)
Medallion Development, Inc. v. Converse Consultants
930 P.2d 115 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1997)
Tweet v. Webster
610 F. Supp. 104 (D. Nevada, 1985)
Troost v. Estate of DeBoer
155 Cal. App. 3d 289 (California Court of Appeal, 1984)
State Farm General Insurance v. Wells Fargo Bank
49 Cal. Rptr. 3d 785 (California Court of Appeal, 2006)
Progressive West Insurance v. Superior Court
37 Cal. Rptr. 3d 434 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)
American Sterling Bank v. Johnny Management LV, Inc.
245 P.3d 535 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2010)
The Doctors Co. v. Vincent
98 P.3d 681 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2004)
Maxwell v. Allstate Insurance Companies
728 P.2d 812 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1986)
Allstate Ins. Co. v. Miller
212 P.3d 318 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2009)
Canfora v. Coast Hotels & Casinos, Inc.
121 P.3d 599 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2005)
AMCO Insurance v. All Solutions Insurance Agency, LLC
244 Cal. App. 4th 883 (California Court of Appeal, 2016)