Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Centex Corp.
Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Centex Corp.
Opinion of the Court
This Order addresses Plaintiff Zurich American Insurance Company's ("Zurich") motion for summary judgment [13], Defendant Centex Corporation's ("Centex") motion for summary judgment [16], and Zurich's motion for leave to file a surreply [25]. Because Centex breached its insurance policy with Zurich, the Court grants summary judgment for Zurich.
I. THE ORIGINS OF THE DISPUTE
This case arises from Centex's settlement of a lawsuit concerning the defective construction of a residential complex called the Element Project.
The Element Litigation implicated three insurance policies held by Centex and its subsidiaries. First, the Lexington Insurance Company ("Lexington") issued a wrap-up policy (the "Lexington Wrap Policy") to Centex Homes providing coverage for the Element Project. Id. at 602. The Lexington Wrap Policy has a self-insured retention ("SIR") amount of $ 500,000 and a $ 5 million limit of liability for each occurrence. Zurich App. 00003; Centex App. 602. The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania ("ISOP") also issued a wrap-up policy to Centex Homes (the "ISOP Wrap Policy"). Centex App. 639. The ISOP Wrap Policy is excess to the Lexington Wrap Policy and has a $ 5 million limit of liability. Zurich App. 00040; Centex App. 639. Finally, Zurich issued a commercial general liability policy (the "Zurich Policy") to Centex providing coverage excess to the Lexington Wrap Policy and the ISOP Wrap Policy. Centex App.
*695678. The Zurich Policy's limit of liability is $ 6 million per occurrence, and it has a $ 1 million deductible. Id. at 678, 734.
Centex, Centex Homes, Lexington, ISOP, and Zurich each contributed substantial sums to the Element Litigation. First, upon receiving EOA's pre-suit notice of claim, Centex Homes attempted to repair the Element Project. Centex claims the pre-suit repairs totaled $ 97,787.01. Id. at 004, 774. After EOA filed its lawsuit against the Centex Subsidiaries, Centex undertook initial responsibility for their defense, incurring $ 485,112.09 in defense costs. Id. at 836-39. Later, Lexington assumed responsibility for the defense, paying an additional $ 1,086,881. Id. at 005, 920-23.
On the eve of trial, EOA executed two settlements with the defendants and their insurers. In the first settlement, "[EOA]/Subcontractor Settlement Agreement," Lexington and ISOP pledged the remaining proceeds of their wrap policies for a release of all claims against the subcontractors. Id. at 795, 798-99. Centex represents that Lexington and ISOP ultimately paid $ 8,982,378 under this agreement. Id. at 005, 920-23. In the second settlement, "[EOA]/Centex Settlement Agreement," Zurich secured a release of all claims against the Centex Subsidiaries in exchange for a supplemental payment not to exceed $ 3.1 million, yielding a total settlement value of $ 11.5 million. Id. at 820-22. After a final accounting, Zurich paid $ 2,517,621.71 under this agreement. Id. at 005, 834-35.
The instant dispute concerns the deductible requirement of the Zurich Policy. Zurich argues that, having footed the bill for Centex's defense beyond the $ 10.5 million level, Centex now must reimburse it $ 1 million. Centex disputes this reading of the policy and argues that payments made by itself, Centex Homes, Lexington, and ISOP over the course of the Element Litigation satisfied the deductible requirement. To date, Centex has made two payments to Zurich totaling $ 172.57. Zurich Br. in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J. 5 [14]. Zurich filed suit against Centex to recover the remainder of the $ 1 million deductible, asserting breach of contract. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment in support of their respective positions.
II. THE COURT GRANTS ZURICH LEAVE TO FILE A SURREPLY
After the parties completed briefing on their cross-motions for summary judgment, Zurich moved for leave to file a surreply. Local Civil Rule 56.7 provides that "a party may not, without the permission of the presiding judge, file supplemental pleadings, briefs, authorities, or evidence" in support of or in response to a motion for summary judgment. "Leave to file a surreply is unwarranted ... where the proposed surreply merely restates the arguments made in the party's initial response." Lombardi v. Bank of America ,
Zurich's proposed surreply makes three claims: (1) that allowing Centex to credit payments from other entities towards the deductible would expand the Zurich Policy's liability limit; (2) that any claimed attorney's fees must be reasonable; and (3) that the deductible does not apply to defense costs or attorney's fees of any kind. The first two claims merely rehash arguments that Zurich made in its Motion for Summary Judgment and Reply/Response to Centex's Cross-Motion for Summary *696Judgment. The third claim, however, asserts a new argument. Notably, Zurich bases this claim on a contractual provision in the Zurich Policy regarding allocated loss adjustment expenses ("ALAE") - the same provision Centex cites for the very first time in its Reply in support of its argument that defense costs should count towards the deductible. Because Centex asserted a new legal theory based on the ALAE provision in its Reply, the Court will afford Zurich an opportunity to respond. Accordingly, the Court grants Zurich's motion for leave to file a surreply.
III. THE COURT GRANTS SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO ZURICH
The Court now turns to the cross-motions for summary judgment. A breach of contract claim requires proof of: (1) the existence of a valid contract; (2) performance or tendered performance by the plaintiff; (3) breach of the contract by the defendant; and (4) damages to the plaintiff resulting from that breach." Prudential Sec., Inc. v. Haugland ,
A. The Summary Judgment Standard
Courts "shall grant summary judgment if 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) ; Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. ,
When a party bears the burden of proof on an issue, "he must establish beyond peradventure all of the essential elements of the claim or defense to warrant judgment in his favor." Fontenot v. Upjohn Co. ,
*697Olabisiomotosho v. City of Hous. ,
B. Interpretation of Insurance Policies Under Texas Law
The parties agree that Texas law applies to this breach of contract claim. Under Texas law, the interpretation of an insurance policy is a question of law. Lawyers Title Ins. Corp. v. Doubletree Partners, L.P. ,
"Whether a contract is ambiguous is also a question of law." Doubletree ,
C. Centex Has Not Satisfied the Zurich Policy's $ 1 Million Deductible
The Zurich Policy is subject to a deductible of $ 1 million. The Deductible Endorsement portion of the Zurich Policy describes the deductible requirement. It states: "You will reimburse us for the deductible amounts that we pay on your behalf." Centex App. 734. The "Rights and Duties" section of the Deductible Endorsement explains that "[t]he first Named Insured shown in the declarations is authorized to and shall reimburse us for all amounts paid by us on behalf of all Named Insureds." Id. at 736. The "Rights and Duties" section further provides that "[y]ou must promptly pay us for all amounts for which you are responsible under this endorsement and promptly reimburse us for any such amounts that we pay upon receipt of a billing from us." Id.
This case is much simpler than those cited by the parties. It involves a single policy year and a single tower of coverage with a single carrier at every layer. As illustrated in the diagram below, Zurich's liability is not triggered until $ 10.5 million is paid, with its deductible kicking in from $ 10.5 million to $ 11.5 million:
*698The fact that Centex or Lexington or ISOP may have made payments of amounts below $ 10.5 million is of no importance. Centex's deductible under the Zurich policy does not start until $ 10.5 million, and continues up to $ 11.5 million. The parties' cases involving multiple carriers at a particular layer or multiple years of policies do not alter this simple fact: Zurich is entitled to reimbursement from Centex of amounts Zurich paid between $ 10.5 million and $ 11.5 million. See Fed. Ins. Co. v. Srivastava ,
Centex asserts that payments made by itself, Centex Homes, Lexington, and ISOP have satisfied the Zurich Policy's deductible requirement. In particular, Centex argues that Texas law permits other entities to satisfy a deductible on the insured's behalf, even where the language of the policy appears to require payment by the insured itself. Centex's principal source of authority is Continental Casualty Co. v. North American Capacity Insurance Co. ,
In Continental Casualty , the insured held two insurance policies providing primary coverage and two policies providing excess coverage.
Before getting to the parties' legal arguments, the Court notes that Continental Casualty is factually distinguishable from this case. Zurich probably does not care who pays its deductible, it just wants somebody to pay it. If Lexington or ISOP had paid the amounts between $ 10.5 million and $ 11.5 million, there might be no lawsuit. If Centex had separately insured its deductible with another carrier, there definitely would be no lawsuit. Zurich's problem here is that nobody has paid the deductible. Zurich is therefore entitled under its policy to look to its insured, Centex, for reimbursement of amounts Zurich paid between $ 10.5 million and $ 11.5 million.
Zurich contends that Continental Casualty is not applicable to this case because it concerned a SIR requirement and not a deductible. The deductible here is distinguishable from the SIR in Continental Casualty in one crucial respect. With an SIR, the insured must meet the SIR amount before the insurer becomes responsible for any payment under the policy. See Cont'l Cas. ,
But the Zurich Policy requires Centex to reimburse the deductible to Zurich. The Fifth Circuit has noted that "reimbursement requires one to put forth something in order to be paid back." TIG Ins. Co. v. Eagle Inc. , 294 Fed. App'x 920, 923 (5th Cir. 2008) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The language of the Deductible Endorsement comports with this definition of "reimbursement." It specifically requires Centex to reimburse Zurich "for deductible amounts that [Zurich] pay[s] on [Centex's] behalf." Centex App. 734. In other words, the policy requires Centex to pay back deductible amounts that Zurich puts forth, obliging Centex to meet the reimbursable requirement after Zurich covers the deductible amount, not before. As a result, the Zurich Policy deductible does not "represent[ ] the amount of the loss that the insured is responsible for before the coverage is triggered," Cont'l Cas. ,
Centex posits that the SIR/deductible distinction is immaterial because courts in other states have reached similar holdings with respect to policies that required a deductible. See, e.g., Gen. Star Nat'l Ins. Corp. v. World Oil Co. ,
Centex also argues that Zurich's interpretation of the policy violates anti-stacking *700and apportionment rules. Once again, the authorities that Centex cites are inapposite. Lafarge Corp. v. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co. ,
The Court agrees that some of the payments made by Centex, Centex Homes, Lexington, and ISOP may reduce the amount of reimbursement due. The Zurich Policy provides that "[Centex] will reimburse [Zurich] for the deductible amounts that [Zurich] pay[s] on [Centex's] behalf." Centex App. 734. This provision, like the SIR provision at issue in Continental Casualty , contains no limitation on the ability of Centex or entities other than Zurich to pay "deductible amounts" on Centex's behalf.
However, this credit does not extend to payments that fall outside the scope of the risk that Zurich agreed to cover. "The purpose of a deductible or SIR is to have the insured share the risk that has been undertaken by the insurance company. Accordingly, if the insured makes a payment that is not encompassed by the risk undertaken by the insurer, that payment should not apply against the deductible/SIR ...." 3 ALLAN D. WINDT, INSURANCE CLAIMS AND DISPUTES § 11:31 (6th ed.). As explained above, the Zurich Policy's deductible represents the amount of the loss that Centex is responsible for after coverage is triggered. Here, the Zurich Policy provides excess coverage for claims exceeding Centex's $ 500,000 SIR with Lexington, Lexington's $ 5 million limit of liability, and ISOP's $ 5 million limit of liability. Centex asserts that Centex Homes and itself paid $ 582,899.09 in pre-suit repairs and defense costs and that Lexington and ISOP contributed $ 10,069,259 to the defense and settlement of the Element Litigation. In aggregate, then, only $ 152,158.09 of these funds might be considered part of the risk that Zurich agreed to cover. This credit falls well below the $ 1 million deductible amount.
*701The amount of the credit must be further reduced, however, because the Zurich Policy's deductible does not apply to defense costs and attorney's fees. The Deductible Endorsement provides that "all ALAE [allocated loss adjustment expense] is reimbursed in addition to the Deductible Amount." Centex App. 734. The Deductible Endorsement defines ALAE as "an expense directly allocable to a specific claim," including "all court costs, fees and expenses," "costs of all attorneys," and "any other fees, costs or expenses reasonably chargeable to the investigation, negotiation, settlement or defense of a claim or a loss under the Policy."
Although Centex argued in its Response/Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment that defense costs apply towards the deductible, Centex did not cite any provision of the Zurich Policy that establishes coverage for such losses. The Court holds that the Zurich Policy unambiguously provides that defense costs and attorney's fees are inapplicable to the deductible. Excluding defense costs and attorney's fees, then, Lexington and ISOP contributed $ 8,982,378 to the settlement of the Element Litigation, Centex Homes contributed $ 97,787.01 to the pre-suit repairs, and Centex contributed nothing. Because Zurich's excess coverage did not kick in until the $ 10.5 million mark, these contributions were not within the scope of the risk that Zurich agreed to cover.
In conclusion, Centex has failed to satisfy its $ 1 million deductible. Centex's breach of the Zurich Policy resulted in damages to Zurich in the amount of $ 999,827.43. Accordingly, the Court enters summary judgment in favor of Zurich.
CONCLUSION
The Court concludes that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that Zurich is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The Court grants Zurich's motion for summary judgment and denies Centex's motion for summary judgment. The Court grants Zurich's motion for leave to file a sur-reply.
Zurich and Centex do not dispute these facts. All references are to the Appendix in Support of Zurich American Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment [15] ("Zurich App.") and the Appendix in Support of Centex Corporation's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Response to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment [18] ("Centex App.").
Zurich contends that Centex's statement to Lexington and ISOP during settlement negotiations that Centex would be "willing to fund the $ 1 million deductible to trigger the Zurich excess policy," Centex App. 212, is inconsistent with this interpretation. However, Centex never specified how it intended to "fund" the deductible. Moreover, "the best evidence of what the parties agreed to is found in the [contract] itself ...." Houston Lighting & Power Co. v. Int'l Broth. of Elec. Workers, Local Union No. 66 ,
This interpretation conforms with another provision in the Deductible Endorsement, under the section entitled "Effect of Deductible(s) on Limits of Liability," that states: "[a]ll sums payable for other than 'ALAE' within the deductible amounts shall be included in determining the most we will pay ...." Centex App. 735. This provision essentially says that ALAE does not count against the liability limit, thereby protecting Centex against a double-charge.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY v. CENTEX CORPORATION
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published