RSUI Indemnity Co. v. New Horizon Kids Quest, Inc.
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RSUI Indemnity Co. v. New Horizon Kids Quest, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
INTRODUCTION
In this insurance-coverage action, Plaintiff RSUI Indemnity Company (“RSUI”) seeks a judgment declaring it need not indemnify its insured, Defendant New Horizon Kids Quest, Inc. '(“New; Horizon”), for damages resulting from an incident at a child-care facility New Horizon operated. Presently before the Court are the parties’ cross-Motions for Summary 'Judgment. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant New Horizon’s Motion and deny RSUI’s Motion.
BACKGROUND
The'relevant facts are undisputed. New Horizon operates a child-care facility, Kids Quest, located in the Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, Minnesota. (Doc. No. 46 (hereafter “Stip.”) ¶ 3.)
On January 23, 2008, an incident occurred between two minor children, J.K. and N.B., while under' New Horizon’s supervision at Kids Quest. (Id. ¶¶ 2-3.) J.K. (age 3) claimed 'that N.B; (age 9) had assaulted him physically and sexually. (Id.) After the incident, J.K.’s parent sued New Horizon in the Hennepin County District Court (the “Underlying Lawsuit”), alleging that New Horizon negligently' supervised J.K. and N.B, resulting in a physical and sexual assault. New Horizon tendered the claim to Travelers and RSUI, and “RSUI does not dispute that it received timely notice of the claim.” (Id. ¶¶ 4-5.) Travelers, as New Horizon’s primary insurer, defended it in the Underlying Lawsuit under a reservation of rights, while RSUI did not communicate its position regarding coverage under the Policy. (Id. ¶¶ 4, 6.)
The Underlying Lawsuit proceeded to trial in January 2015, where New Horizon stipulated as follows:
On January 23, 2008, [J.K.], then age 3, was left in the care, custody, and control of the [New -Horizon] drop-in daycare facility ... located on the premises of the Grand Casino Mille Lacs. While he was there, [J.K.] was assaulted, by another male child at the daycare center who was 9 years old.
[New Horizon] admits that it owed a duty to [J.K.] and that it was- solely*912 responsible for his supervision, safety and security while he was in [its] daycare facility. And that it was negligent and failed to fulfill those obligations to [J.K.] on January 23, 2008.
[New Horizon] has accepted responsibility to pay for all the damages that the jury in this case finds to be sustained by [J.K] as a result of the incident or incidents that occurred while he was at the [New Horizon] facility.
However, [New Horizon] disputes the nature, type, and extent of [J.K.] ’s injuries and the damages arising from the incidents.
(Id. ¶ 8.) Prior to entering this stipulation, a Travelers representative discussed it with RSUI’s claims representative, John Graham, who “wrote that the strategy made sense to him.” (Id. ¶ 9.) No RSUI representative participated in the trial, but Travelers provided RSUI updates. (Id. ¶10.) After hearing evidence on J.K.’s damages, on January 30, 2015, a jury awarded over $13 million, an amount that exceeded the limits of New Horizon’s coverage through Travelers. (Id. ¶ 11.) However, the jury did not—and was not asked to—specify what portion of the award resulted from a sexual assault, if any.
Five days after the jury’s verdict, RSUI issued a reservation of rights letter, providing that the verdict “rendered in [the Underlying Lawsuit] ... raises serious coverage issues under the [Policy].” (Id. ¶ 12 & Ex. B.) Specifically, RSUI took the position that the Undeiiying Lawsuit “may be barred from coverage by the application of the ... Exclusion.” (Id. Ex. B.)
Meanwhile, New Horizon filed a motion for a new trial in the Underlying Lawsuit. (Id. ¶ 16.) The court granted the motion and, in November 2015, a second trial occurred. (Id.) Travelers again supplied primary defense counsel, but this time, RSUI played a more active role; it hired a jury consultant to work with the defense team, and Graham observed portions of the trial. (Id. ¶¶ 17, 20.) As in the first trial, New Horizon stipulated to liability and tried only the issue of damages. (Id. ¶ 18.) After hearing the evidence, the second jury awarded $6,032,585, composed of damages for J.K.’s past and future healthcare expenses and “pain, disability, embarrassment and emotional distress.” (Id. ¶21.) Once again, the jury did not (and was not asked to) specify what portion of the award, if any, arose from a sexual assault.
Travelers paid $4,192,350.75 toward the judgment (the limits of New Horizon’s policy plus interest) (id. ¶ 23), and New Horizon turned to RSUI for the remainder. RSUI denied coverage, claiming that, “[b]ased upon the evidence presented at trial ... and the damages awarded by the jury, the ... Exclusion likely bars coverage for the amount of a judgment ... exceeding the limits of the Travelers policies.” (Jd. Ex. C.) It then commenced this action, seeking a declaration that the Exclusion defeats coverage. New Horizon has counterclaimed, alleging RSUI breached the Policy and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Both parties now move for summary judgment. The Motions have been fully briefed and are ripe for disposition.
STANDARD OF DECISION
Summary judgment is proper if, drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party bears the burden of showing the material facts in the case are undisputed. Id. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Johnson v. Wheeling Mach. Prod., 779 F.3d 514, 517 (8th Cir. 2015). The Court must view the
Where the Court confronts cross-motions for summary judgment, this approach is only slightly modified. When considering RSUI’s Motion, the Court views the record in the light most favorable to New Horizon, and when considering New Horizon’s Motion, the Court views the record in the light most favorable to RSUI. “Either way, summary judgment is proper if the record demonstrates that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact.” Seaworth v. Messerli, Civ. No. 09-3437, 2010 WL 3613821, at *3 (D. Minn. Sept. 7, 2010) (Kyle, J.), aff'd, 414 Fed.Appx. 882 (8th Cir. 2011).
ANALYSIS
The Court begins with the terms of the Policy. Travelers Indem. Co. v. Bloomington Steel & Supply Co., 718 N.W.2d 888, 894 (Minn. 2006).
RSUI simply cannot do so. It has submitted no evidence that the jury determined sexual abuse had occurred or that one cent of the award was based on such a determination. As noted, RSUI consented to New Horizon’s stipulation in the Underlying Lawsuit that an “assault” had occurred. Hence, the jury made no factual findings regarding the incident between J.K. and N.B., including whether a sexual assault had taken place. In fact, there is no evidence RSUI or New Horizon even attempted to put this question before the jury, and neither party ’has articulated an explanation for this failure. See NewMech Cos., Inc. v. Transp. Ins. Co., Civ. No. 04-4484, 2006 WL 2632096, at *14 (D. Minn. Sept. 12, 2006) (Frank, J.) (“The Court is troubled by this case because it was entirely avoidable. The parties are all responsible for the failure to .request that the arbitrators make findings of fact” sufficient to allocate an award.). Instead, they now turn to this Court to unscramble the egg. In the absence of an allocated award or jury interrogatory, however, there is no evidence any portion of the award arose from sexual abuse.
In an attempt to rectify, this failure, RSUI cites the trial record from the Underlying Lawsuit and, in particular, evi-1 dence from which the jury may have concluded sexual abuse had occurred. (PL’s
The court, in TIG Insurance Co. v. Premier Parks, Inc., No. CIV.A.02C04126JRS, 2004 WL 728858 (Del. Super. Ct. Mar. 10, 2004), confronted precisely the same problem. There, TIG Insurance Company (“TIG”) sought a judgment declaring that its insured’s failure to obtain an allocated jury award in third-party litigation defeated coverage. TIG argued, as RSUI does here, that “[bjecause the jury did not allocate ... between covered and non-covered claims, ... the Court must either conclude that no coverage is available ... or, alternatively, must allocate the damages in a manner consistent with the evidence presented” to that jury. Id. at *1.
The court squarely rejected TIG’s argument: “[T]he Court cannot reasonably be expected to perform a post-verdict allocation of damages as between coveréd and non-covered claims when the record provides little,-if any, evidence of the jury’s methodology in reaching its damages awards.” Id. Despite having received records, from the underlying trial, TIG Insurance refused to revisit the jury’s determination of damages and allocate its award:
The Court has no basis . upon which to make a logical assessment of the'jury’s purpose when it awarded lump sum damages. And the Court will not engage in unguidéd .speculation with respect to this issue, particularly when the dilemma now confronting. TIG is 'of its own making.
Id. at *8. Because it was undisputed that a portion of the award was covered, and TIG had no evidence “that the ... verdict included damages for non-covered acts,” the court held that the “entire ... award relates to a coveréd claim” and “coverage should bé afforded.” Id. This Court finds TIG Insurance persuasive and perceives no reason why a different result should obtain here.
RSUI relies upon Remodeling Dimensions, Inc. v. Integrity Mutual Insurance Co., 819 N.W.2d 602 (Minn. 2012), to support the notion that the Court can now revisit the jury’s determination in the Underlying Lawsuit. That case involved an insurance-coverage dispute over an unallocated arbitration award. The Minnesota Supreme Court first reviewed the claims presented to the arbitrator and concluded that “the arbitration award may be attributable, in whole or in part, to a covered claim.” Id. at 610-613. The Court then held, under certain conditions, that “both parties may present evidence and the district court must, as best it can, establish the allocation the arbitrator would have made if allocation had been requested.” Id. at 618. However, in the undersigned’s
Furthermore, the Court deems it significant that RSUI had abundant opportunity in the Underlying Lawsuit to flesh out the issue it now relies upon to defeat, coverage. Indeed, the absence of evidence on this question is striking given RSUI’s involvement in the case. It is undisputed RSUI enjoyed a right under the Policy to participate in the defense of any claims brought against New Horizon. (Stip. Ex. E at 19.) New Horizon timely tendered the Underlying Lawsuit to RSUI (Stip. ¶¶ 5-6), and despite receiving no coverage determination from RSUI, it provided RSUI a copy of trial counsel’s claim analysis and information on settlement discussions. (Graham Dep. 69-71, 73, 78-79.) RSUI consented to stipulate to an “assault.”
Despite RSUI’s (i) right to participate, (ii) involvement in trial preparation, (iii) consent to stipulate to an “assault,” (iv) knowledge that a verdict might exceed the limits of New Horizon’s coverage with Travelers, and (v) awareness that the Exclusion could apply, it took no steps to discover—and, hence, it has no evidence— whether the jury concluded that sexual abuse had occurred. This record “darkened by ambiguity,” TIG Ins. Co., 2004 WL 728858, at *8, compels the conclusion that RSUI cannót now show the Exclusion bars coverage. See Pharmacists Mut. Ins. Co. v. Myer, 187 Vt. 323, 993 A.2d 413, 419 (2010) (absent contemporaneous allocation, insurer “cannot meet its burden to demonstrate that the award was for [claims] entirely excluded from coverage under the policy”); Liquor Liab. Joint Underwriting Ass’n of Mass. v. Hermitage Ins. Co., 419 Mass. 316, 644 N.E.2d 964, 969 (1995) (“Hermitage cannot satisfy [its] burden, and any attempt on its part to do so would be speculative and arbitrary, essentially amounting to an attempt to determine the particular amount that happened to be in the jur[ors’] mind[s] as [they] returned the verdict.”) (internal quotations and citations omitted); Butterfield v. Giuntoli, 448 Pa.Super. 1, 670 A.2d 646, 658 (1995) (where insurer “fully participated in litigation short of entering [its] appearance” but did not “pursue any means available to
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, and all the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS ORDERED that New Horizon’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 47) is GRANTED and RSUI’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 80) is DENIED.
This should end the matter. However, the parties’ Motion papers do not address the precise impact of the Court’s determination that the Exclusion is inapplicable. For example, what becomes of New Horizon’s claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing? Accordingly, the parties shall meet and confer regarding what remains of this matter in light of the Court’s decision, whether judgment should be entered, and if so, its precise form. The parties shall file written positions with the Court regarding these issues, either jointly or separately, by August 17, 2017. This is not an invitation to reargue the propriety of summary judgment, and no further submissions (whether by memorandum, letter, affidavit, or otherwise) will be permitted on the matters addressed herein absent further Order of the Gourt.
. The parties have stipulated to many of the relevant facts.
. The parties cite Minnesota law in their memoranda and neither has asked the Court to apply a different state's law. See BBSerCo, Inc. v. Metrix Co., 324 F.3d 955, 960 n.3 (8th Cir. 2003).
. That acknowledgement was consistent with RSUI's pre-litigation position, as on two occasions prior to this lawsuit, it acknowledged it could not determine whether the Exclusion applied: on February 5, 2015, it wrote New Horizon that the Exclusion "may” bar coverage, and on December 3, 2015, it wrote that the Exclusion "likely” barred coverage. (Stip. Exs. B-C.)
. RSUI complains that it “was not provided with the actual language of the stipulation’ before the first trial” (Pl.’s Mem. in Opp'n 7), but it cites no evidence that it requested a copy. Instead, RSUI’s representative, Graham, simply "wrote that the strategy made sense to him.” (Stip. ¶ 9.)
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
INTRODUCTION
In this insurance-coverage action, Plaintiff RSUI Indemnity Company (“RSUI”) seeks a judgment declaring it need not indemnify its insured, Defendant New Horizon Kids Quest, Inc. '(“New; Horizon”), for damages resulting from an incident at a child-care facility New Horizon operated. Presently before the Court are the parties’ cross-Motions for Summary 'Judgment. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant New Horizon’s Motion and deny RSUI’s Motion.
BACKGROUND
The'relevant facts are undisputed. New Horizon operates a child-care facility, Kids Quest, located in the Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, Minnesota. (Doc. No. 46 (hereafter “Stip.”) ¶ 3.)
On January 23, 2008, an incident occurred between two minor children, J.K. and N.B., while under' New Horizon’s supervision at Kids Quest. (Id. ¶¶ 2-3.) J.K. (age 3) claimed 'that N.B; (age 9) had assaulted him physically and sexually. (Id.) After the incident, J.K.’s parent sued New Horizon in the Hennepin County District Court (the “Underlying Lawsuit”), alleging that New Horizon negligently' supervised J.K. and N.B, resulting in a physical and sexual assault. New Horizon tendered the claim to Travelers and RSUI, and “RSUI does not dispute that it received timely notice of the claim.” (Id. ¶¶ 4-5.) Travelers, as New Horizon’s primary insurer, defended it in the Underlying Lawsuit under a reservation of rights, while RSUI did not communicate its position regarding coverage under the Policy. (Id. ¶¶ 4, 6.)
The Underlying Lawsuit proceeded to trial in January 2015, where New Horizon stipulated as follows:
On January 23, 2008, [J.K.], then age 3, was left in the care, custody, and control of the [New -Horizon] drop-in daycare facility ... located on the premises of the Grand Casino Mille Lacs. While he was there, [J.K.] was assaulted, by another male child at the daycare center who was 9 years old.
[New Horizon] admits that it owed a duty to [J.K.] and that it was- solely*912 responsible for his supervision, safety and security while he was in [its] daycare facility. And that it was negligent and failed to fulfill those obligations to [J.K.] on January 23, 2008.
[New Horizon] has accepted responsibility to pay for all the damages that the jury in this case finds to be sustained by [J.K] as a result of the incident or incidents that occurred while he was at the [New Horizon] facility.
However, [New Horizon] disputes the nature, type, and extent of [J.K.] ’s injuries and the damages arising from the incidents.
(Id. ¶ 8.) Prior to entering this stipulation, a Travelers representative discussed it with RSUI’s claims representative, John Graham, who “wrote that the strategy made sense to him.” (Id. ¶ 9.) No RSUI representative participated in the trial, but Travelers provided RSUI updates. (Id. ¶10.) After hearing evidence on J.K.’s damages, on January 30, 2015, a jury awarded over $13 million, an amount that exceeded the limits of New Horizon’s coverage through Travelers. (Id. ¶ 11.) However, the jury did not—and was not asked to—specify what portion of the award resulted from a sexual assault, if any.
Five days after the jury’s verdict, RSUI issued a reservation of rights letter, providing that the verdict “rendered in [the Underlying Lawsuit] ... raises serious coverage issues under the [Policy].” (Id. ¶ 12 & Ex. B.) Specifically, RSUI took the position that the Undeiiying Lawsuit “may be barred from coverage by the application of the ... Exclusion.” (Id. Ex. B.)
Meanwhile, New Horizon filed a motion for a new trial in the Underlying Lawsuit. (Id. ¶ 16.) The court granted the motion and, in November 2015, a second trial occurred. (Id.) Travelers again supplied primary defense counsel, but this time, RSUI played a more active role; it hired a jury consultant to work with the defense team, and Graham observed portions of the trial. (Id. ¶¶ 17, 20.) As in the first trial, New Horizon stipulated to liability and tried only the issue of damages. (Id. ¶ 18.) After hearing the evidence, the second jury awarded $6,032,585, composed of damages for J.K.’s past and future healthcare expenses and “pain, disability, embarrassment and emotional distress.” (Id. ¶21.) Once again, the jury did not (and was not asked to) specify what portion of the award, if any, arose from a sexual assault.
Travelers paid $4,192,350.75 toward the judgment (the limits of New Horizon’s policy plus interest) (id. ¶ 23), and New Horizon turned to RSUI for the remainder. RSUI denied coverage, claiming that, “[b]ased upon the evidence presented at trial ... and the damages awarded by the jury, the ... Exclusion likely bars coverage for the amount of a judgment ... exceeding the limits of the Travelers policies.” (Jd. Ex. C.) It then commenced this action, seeking a declaration that the Exclusion defeats coverage. New Horizon has counterclaimed, alleging RSUI breached the Policy and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Both parties now move for summary judgment. The Motions have been fully briefed and are ripe for disposition.
STANDARD OF DECISION
Summary judgment is proper if, drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party bears the burden of showing the material facts in the case are undisputed. Id. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Johnson v. Wheeling Mach. Prod., 779 F.3d 514, 517 (8th Cir. 2015). The Court must view the
Where the Court confronts cross-motions for summary judgment, this approach is only slightly modified. When considering RSUI’s Motion, the Court views the record in the light most favorable to New Horizon, and when considering New Horizon’s Motion, the Court views the record in the light most favorable to RSUI. “Either way, summary judgment is proper if the record demonstrates that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact.” Seaworth v. Messerli, Civ. No. 09-3437, 2010 WL 3613821, at *3 (D. Minn. Sept. 7, 2010) (Kyle, J.), aff'd, 414 Fed.Appx. 882 (8th Cir. 2011).
ANALYSIS
The Court begins with the terms of the Policy. Travelers Indem. Co. v. Bloomington Steel & Supply Co., 718 N.W.2d 888, 894 (Minn. 2006).
RSUI simply cannot do so. It has submitted no evidence that the jury determined sexual abuse had occurred or that one cent of the award was based on such a determination. As noted, RSUI consented to New Horizon’s stipulation in the Underlying Lawsuit that an “assault” had occurred. Hence, the jury made no factual findings regarding the incident between J.K. and N.B., including whether a sexual assault had taken place. In fact, there is no evidence RSUI or New Horizon even attempted to put this question before the jury, and neither party ’has articulated an explanation for this failure. See NewMech Cos., Inc. v. Transp. Ins. Co., Civ. No. 04-4484, 2006 WL 2632096, at *14 (D. Minn. Sept. 12, 2006) (Frank, J.) (“The Court is troubled by this case because it was entirely avoidable. The parties are all responsible for the failure to .request that the arbitrators make findings of fact” sufficient to allocate an award.). Instead, they now turn to this Court to unscramble the egg. In the absence of an allocated award or jury interrogatory, however, there is no evidence any portion of the award arose from sexual abuse.
In an attempt to rectify, this failure, RSUI cites the trial record from the Underlying Lawsuit and, in particular, evi-1 dence from which the jury may have concluded sexual abuse had occurred. (PL’s
The court, in TIG Insurance Co. v. Premier Parks, Inc., No. CIV.A.02C04126JRS, 2004 WL 728858 (Del. Super. Ct. Mar. 10, 2004), confronted precisely the same problem. There, TIG Insurance Company (“TIG”) sought a judgment declaring that its insured’s failure to obtain an allocated jury award in third-party litigation defeated coverage. TIG argued, as RSUI does here, that “[bjecause the jury did not allocate ... between covered and non-covered claims, ... the Court must either conclude that no coverage is available ... or, alternatively, must allocate the damages in a manner consistent with the evidence presented” to that jury. Id. at *1.
The court squarely rejected TIG’s argument: “[T]he Court cannot reasonably be expected to perform a post-verdict allocation of damages as between coveréd and non-covered claims when the record provides little,-if any, evidence of the jury’s methodology in reaching its damages awards.” Id. Despite having received records, from the underlying trial, TIG Insurance refused to revisit the jury’s determination of damages and allocate its award:
The Court has no basis . upon which to make a logical assessment of the'jury’s purpose when it awarded lump sum damages. And the Court will not engage in unguidéd .speculation with respect to this issue, particularly when the dilemma now confronting. TIG is 'of its own making.
Id. at *8. Because it was undisputed that a portion of the award was covered, and TIG had no evidence “that the ... verdict included damages for non-covered acts,” the court held that the “entire ... award relates to a coveréd claim” and “coverage should bé afforded.” Id. This Court finds TIG Insurance persuasive and perceives no reason why a different result should obtain here.
RSUI relies upon Remodeling Dimensions, Inc. v. Integrity Mutual Insurance Co., 819 N.W.2d 602 (Minn. 2012), to support the notion that the Court can now revisit the jury’s determination in the Underlying Lawsuit. That case involved an insurance-coverage dispute over an unallocated arbitration award. The Minnesota Supreme Court first reviewed the claims presented to the arbitrator and concluded that “the arbitration award may be attributable, in whole or in part, to a covered claim.” Id. at 610-613. The Court then held, under certain conditions, that “both parties may present evidence and the district court must, as best it can, establish the allocation the arbitrator would have made if allocation had been requested.” Id. at 618. However, in the undersigned’s
Furthermore, the Court deems it significant that RSUI had abundant opportunity in the Underlying Lawsuit to flesh out the issue it now relies upon to defeat, coverage. Indeed, the absence of evidence on this question is striking given RSUI’s involvement in the case. It is undisputed RSUI enjoyed a right under the Policy to participate in the defense of any claims brought against New Horizon. (Stip. Ex. E at 19.) New Horizon timely tendered the Underlying Lawsuit to RSUI (Stip. ¶¶ 5-6), and despite receiving no coverage determination from RSUI, it provided RSUI a copy of trial counsel’s claim analysis and information on settlement discussions. (Graham Dep. 69-71, 73, 78-79.) RSUI consented to stipulate to an “assault.”
Despite RSUI’s (i) right to participate, (ii) involvement in trial preparation, (iii) consent to stipulate to an “assault,” (iv) knowledge that a verdict might exceed the limits of New Horizon’s coverage with Travelers, and (v) awareness that the Exclusion could apply, it took no steps to discover—and, hence, it has no evidence— whether the jury concluded that sexual abuse had occurred. This record “darkened by ambiguity,” TIG Ins. Co., 2004 WL 728858, at *8, compels the conclusion that RSUI cannót now show the Exclusion bars coverage. See Pharmacists Mut. Ins. Co. v. Myer, 187 Vt. 323, 993 A.2d 413, 419 (2010) (absent contemporaneous allocation, insurer “cannot meet its burden to demonstrate that the award was for [claims] entirely excluded from coverage under the policy”); Liquor Liab. Joint Underwriting Ass’n of Mass. v. Hermitage Ins. Co., 419 Mass. 316, 644 N.E.2d 964, 969 (1995) (“Hermitage cannot satisfy [its] burden, and any attempt on its part to do so would be speculative and arbitrary, essentially amounting to an attempt to determine the particular amount that happened to be in the jur[ors’] mind[s] as [they] returned the verdict.”) (internal quotations and citations omitted); Butterfield v. Giuntoli, 448 Pa.Super. 1, 670 A.2d 646, 658 (1995) (where insurer “fully participated in litigation short of entering [its] appearance” but did not “pursue any means available to
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, and all the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS ORDERED that New Horizon’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 47) is GRANTED and RSUI’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 80) is DENIED.
This should end the matter. However, the parties’ Motion papers do not address the precise impact of the Court’s determination that the Exclusion is inapplicable. For example, what becomes of New Horizon’s claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing? Accordingly, the parties shall meet and confer regarding what remains of this matter in light of the Court’s decision, whether judgment should be entered, and if so, its precise form. The parties shall file written positions with the Court regarding these issues, either jointly or separately, by August 17, 2017. This is not an invitation to reargue the propriety of summary judgment, and no further submissions (whether by memorandum, letter, affidavit, or otherwise) will be permitted on the matters addressed herein absent further Order of the Gourt.
. The parties have stipulated to many of the relevant facts.
. The parties cite Minnesota law in their memoranda and neither has asked the Court to apply a different state's law. See BBSerCo, Inc. v. Metrix Co., 324 F.3d 955, 960 n.3 (8th Cir. 2003).
. That acknowledgement was consistent with RSUI's pre-litigation position, as on two occasions prior to this lawsuit, it acknowledged it could not determine whether the Exclusion applied: on February 5, 2015, it wrote New Horizon that the Exclusion "may” bar coverage, and on December 3, 2015, it wrote that the Exclusion "likely” barred coverage. (Stip. Exs. B-C.)
. RSUI complains that it “was not provided with the actual language of the stipulation’ before the first trial” (Pl.’s Mem. in Opp'n 7), but it cites no evidence that it requested a copy. Instead, RSUI’s representative, Graham, simply "wrote that the strategy made sense to him.” (Stip. ¶ 9.)
Reference
- Full Case Name
- RSUI INDEMNITY COMPANY v. NEW HORIZON KIDS QUEST, INC.
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- 1 case
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- Published