Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Elec. Me. LLC
Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Elec. Me. LLC
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff-Counterdefendant Zurich American Insurance Company ("ZAIC ") brings this suit seeking declaratory judgment that it does not have a duty to defend the four individual and corporate Defendants-Counterclaimants Electricity Maine LLC, Spark Holdco LLC, Emile Clavet, and Kevin Dean ("the Defendants ") in a lawsuit brought against the Defendants by Katherine Veilleux and Jennifer Chon (No. 1:16-cv-571-NT). Before me are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. (ECF Nos. 40-41). For the following reasons, ZAIC's motion is DENIED and the Defendants' motion is GRANTED .
LEGAL STANDARD
Courts grant motions for summary judgment where the movant shows that "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Courts consider the merits of cross-motions for summary judgment separately.
APPLYING THE COMPARISON TEST
Maine law on the duty to defend is well established. Courts apply a comparison test between "two documents: the insurance policy and the underlying complaint against the insured." Harlor v. Amica Mut. Ins. Co. ,
An insurer has a duty to defend an insured when the complaint, read broadly in conjunction with the policy, reveals the existence of any legal or factual basis that could potentially be developed at trial and result in an award of damages covered by the terms of the policy. Although courts do not speculate about causes of action that were not stated[,] ... our rules of notice pleading favor a broad construction of the duty to defend.
*200The facts alleged in the complaint need not make out a claim that specifically and unequivocally falls within the coverage. Rather, where the events giving rise to the complaint may be shown at trial to fall within the policy's coverage, an insurer must provide the policyholder with a defense. We have explained the comparison test and its low threshold for triggering an insurer's duty to defend, as a test and a threshold designed to discourage mini-trials on the issue of the duty to defend.
I. The Insurance Policies
The parties stipulate to the factual record, which is composed of three insurance policies and the operative complaint. ZAIC issued two insurance policies ("the Zurich Policies ") and is a successor by merger to Assurance Company of America ("ACA ") with respect to a third insurance policy ("the Assurance Policy "). Specifically:
1. The ACA issued a commercial insurance policy to Electricity Maine, effective November 1, 2011-November 1, 2012. Ex. B (ECF Nos. 39-4-39-7). This Assurance Policy included commercial general liability coverage and commercial umbrella coverage. The ACA and Electricity Maine cancelled this policy April 25, 2012, however ZAIC has since succeeded to the remaining rights and responsibilities under the Assurance Policy.
2. ZAIC issued a commercial insurance policy to Nudevco Partners, LLC, effective April 27, 2015-April 27, 2016 ("Zurich Policy # 1 "). Ex. C (ECF Nos. 39-8-39-9). This policy included commercial general liability coverage. Spark Holdco was added as a named insured on this policy, effective July 8, 2015.
3. ZAIC issued a commercial insurance policy to TexEx Energy Investments, LLC, effective April 27, 2016-April 27, 2017. This policy included commercial general liability coverage. Electricity Maine was added as a named insured, effective July 14, 2016. ("Zurich Policy # 2 "). Ex. D (ECF No. 39-10).
All three policies provide commercial liability coverage for "bodily injury" or "property damage" caused by an "occurrence." Ex. B § I(A)(1); Ex. C at 6.
II. Pending Claims
The operative SAC in the lawsuit against the Defendants includes eight counts: violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO ") and conspiracy to violate RICO (Counts I and II); violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act ("UTPA ") (Count III); negligence (Count IV); negligent misrepresentation (Count V); fraudulent misrepresentation (Count VI); unjust enrichment (Count VII); and breach of contract (Count VIII). SAC (No. 16-cv-571-NT, ECF No. 50).
III. Discussion
The Defendants argue that because they are "sued for claims of negligence and negligent misrepresentation," ZAIC owes them a duty to defend in the pending lawsuit. Defs.' Mot. 2. (ECF No. 40). ZAIC argues that the allegations do not fall within the insurance policy's requirement of an "occurrence" because the conduct was not accidental nor is there a possibility that the events giving rise to the lawsuit are within the policy coverage for "bodily injury." Pl.'s Mot. 5, 13-14 (ECF No. 41).
The Defendants' motion turns primarily on the negligence claim, and therefore I begin by applying the comparison test to the negligence count
*202ZAIC contends that the SAC forecloses the possibility of either an "occurrence" or of any "bodily injury," both of which are required for coverage under the policies. With regard to an occurrence, defined in the policy as "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions," Ex. B § I(1)(a); Ex. C § V(13), the SAC's negligence claim alleges that the Defendants breached their duty "not to engage in fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive conduct, and not to misrepresent the cost of their services." SAC ¶ 112. ZAIC asserts that the SAC is exclusively focused on intentional (as opposed to negligent) conduct, as it describes the Defendants' "scheme," "fraud," and "deception" to rope electricity customers into long-term and above-market-rate service contracts. SAC ¶¶ 1, 17-38. Because the conduct alleged is intentional, ZAIC argues, the negligence count is a throwaway. The Defendants rightly respond, however, that parties are permitted to plead in the alternative, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(d)(2)-(3), and that the duty to defend is so broadly conceived that even legally insufficient claims may give rise to a duty to defend if it possibly fits within the policy. Travelers Indem. Co. ,
I turn to whether there exists a possibility of recovery for bodily injury.
The Defendants rely particularly on Harlor , a Maine case in which emotional distress damages were not plead, but recovery of emotional damages was found to be possible.
ZAIC "agrees ... [that] the correct test for determining the duty to defend in this case" is whether "the claims asserted in the [SAC] can give rise to emotional distress damages." Pl.'s Reply 6 (ECF No. 47).
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the Court DENIES ZAIC's motion for summary judgment and GRANTS the Defendants' motion for summary judgment.
SO ORDERED.
The parties have stipulated that, with limited exceptions not relevant to my disposition of the cross-motions for summary judgment, Zurich Policy # 1 and Zurich Policy # 2 are identical. Stipulation of Material Facts ¶ 4 (ECF No. 39).
Following a motion to dismiss by Spark Holdco LLC, I granted dismissal of Counts One, Two, Four, Five, Six, and Eight of the SAC as against Spark (No. 16-cv-571-NT, ECF No. 49). The SAC's plaintiffs, Katherine Veilleux and Jennifer Chon, were instructed to file the SAC after I issued my order. Veilleux and Chon filed the SAC as it had been proposed and without making clear that Spark was no longer a defendant on the dismissed claims.
There is also, following discovery, a motion for leave to file a Third Amended Complaint ("TAC ") to include the addition of plaintiff James Tilton and new allegations of fraudulent conduct by Spark and Electricity Maine. (No. 16-cv-571-NT, ECF No. 81-1). The proposed TAC would reassign Spark as a defendant in the RICO Counts I and II, maintain the UTPA and Unjust Enrichment claims in Counts III and IV, and add a civil conspiracy claim at Count V against all Defendants. The TAC would not seek to revive the negligence, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, or breach of contract claims.
The parties have not asked me to address the motion to dismiss order or the TAC through the dispute at bar and accordingly I do not.
The phrasing of the negligence count is as follows:
111. Plaintiffs repeat and reallege the allegations in every previous paragraph of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein.
112. Defendants owed Plaintiffs and Class Members a duty not to engage in fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive conduct, and not to misrepresent the cost of their services.
113. Defendants breached that duty by engaging in the conduct alleged above in this Complaint.
114. Defendants' negligent conduct proximately caused Plaintiffs and Class Members to incur significant economic harm in that Plaintiffs and Class Members have substantially overpaid for electricity supply services.
115. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and all persons similarly situated, respectfully request that the Court enter judgment jointly and severally against all Defendants and award Plaintiffs and Class Members actual damages in an amount to be proven at trial, reasonable attorney fees, costs, punitive damages, and any other relief that the Court deems just and proper.
SAC ¶¶ 111-15.
The Defendants concede they would not be entitled to compensation for property damage for any of the causes of action. Defs.' Opp'n 7 n.1 (ECF No. 42).
ZAIC thereby also appears to agree that the policies consider "mental anguish" a form of "bodily injury."
"Because an insurer has a duty to defend if any cause of action alleged in a complaint could fall within the policy's liability coverage, [I] need not consider whether other theories of liability set forth in the [SAC] ... would have independently given rise to a duty to defend." Mitchell v. Allstate Ins. Co. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY v. ELECTRICITY MAINE LLC, Spark Holdco LLC, Emile Clavet, Kevin Dean, Katherine Veilleux, and Jennifer Chon, Electricity Maine LLC, Spark Holdco LLC, Emile Clavet, and Kevin Dean, Counterclaimants v. Zurich American Insurance Company, Counterdefendant.
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published