Mt. Hawley Ins. Co. v. Slay Eng'g, Tex. Multi-Chem, & Huser Constr. Co.
Mt. Hawley Ins. Co. v. Slay Eng'g, Tex. Multi-Chem, & Huser Constr. Co.
Opinion of the Court
On this day, the Court considered Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment on the Duty to Defend (docket no. 11) ("Defendant's Motion") and Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (docket no. 13)
BACKGROUND
The present case concerns a coverage dispute between a general contractor, Defendant Slay Engineering / Texas Multi-Chem / Huser Construction ("Defendant" or "Huser"), and its insurer, Plaintiff Mt. Hawley Insurance Company ("Plaintiff" or "Mt. Hawley"). Before beginning its substantive analysis of the Motions, the Court will first briefly summarize the relevant factual background and the parties' underlying insurance agreements.
A. Project Background and Relevant Chronology
On July 20, 2015, the City of Jourdanton (the "City") entered into a construction contract with Defendant Huser (a joint venture) to design and construct a municipal sports complex (the "Project"). The Project consisted of four little league baseball fields, a softball field, parking lots, and a new swimming pool. Huser entered into a subcontract with Cody Pools, Inc. ("Cody Pools") to design and build the swimming pool. Huser also entered a subcontract with Q-Haul, Inc. ("Q-Haul") to perform earthwork, grading, and storm drainage work at the site, including for the planned paved parking lots.
On January 10, 2015, after substantial completion of the Project, a Huser employee noticed cracks in the pool and in the parking lot paving. Huser placed Cody Pools on notice of the defective work and requested that Cody Pools provide a repair solution. Huser did not immediately place Q-Haul on notice because the parking lot cracks appeared to be minor. Cody Pools began repair work on the pool shortly thereafter. However, in early March 2015, a Huser employee again noticed that the pool cracks appeared to be worsening. Cody Pools and Huser were unable to agree on a future repair solution for the pool.
On May 3, 2017, the City notified Huser of several alleged deficiencies involving the swimming pool structure, asphalt paving, concrete flatwork and curbing, and overall site drainage. Throughout the summer of 2017, the City, Huser, Cody Pools and Q-Hall engaged engineers and conducted ongoing discussion as to how any defects to the Project could best be cured. Cody Pools asserted-through an engineer it had hired to evaluate the pool-that the pool structure was stable and that minor crack repairs would allow the pool to be operational for several years. However, on August 30, 2017, the City rejected Cody Pools' repair proposal.
On December 21, 2017, the City filed a lawsuit against Huser alleging breach of contract and negligence claims. See City of Jourdanton v. Slay Engineering / Texas Multi-Chem / Huser Construction, LLC and North American Specialty Ins. Co. , No. 17-12-1181-CVA (81st Judicial District Court of Atascosa County, Texas) (hereinafter, the "Underlying Suit"). On February 13, 2018, the City filed its First Amended Petition, which alleged-in part-that the "work performed by [Huser], its subcontractors and suppliers, was [ ] defective and not in compliance with the requirements of the agreement with the City or with the duties of care arising thereunder." Docket no. 11-12 ¶ 4.7. Specifically, the City alleged "substantial cracks in the swimming pool, parking lot, drives and other paved surfaces ... and deficient site drainage." Id. at ¶ 3.3.
On February 21, 2018, following receipt of the First Amended Petition, Huser notified Plaintiff Mt. Hawley of the claims filed by the City and provided Mt. Hawley with the First Amended Petition. Five *880days later, the City filed a Second Amended Petition, which contained allegations substantially similar to those in the First Amended Petition. See docket no. 1-1 (the "Second Amended Petition" or "Petition"). Huser also provided Mt. Hawley with the City's Second Amended Petition, and it is the live pleading in the Underlying Suit. See id.
On March 14, 2018, Mt. Hawley acknowledged that it had received the Second Amended Petition and that its coverage analysis would be conducted based on the updated complaint, rather than based on the City's prior pleadings. See docket no. 11-15. On March 16, 2018, Mt. Hawley denied coverage to Huser based on certain exclusions in Huser's insurance policies with Mt. Hawley. See docket no. 11-16.
On March 16, 2018, Mt. Hawley filed this instant lawsuit seeking a judgment declaring that it has no duty to indemnify or defend Huser with respect to the allegations in the City's Underlying Suit. See docket no. 1. On April 6, 2018, Mt. Hawley served Huser with this federal lawsuit. Defendant's Motion notes that on the same day, Mt. Hawley also served Huser with a separate federal complaint seeking a similar declaratory judgment (that will require the interpretation of the same underlying contract language) with respect to a separate Huser-related state court litigation in Harris County, Texas.
On April 27, 2018, Huser answered Mt. Hawley's federal complaint and filed counterclaims asserting that Mt. Hawley breached its agreement with Huser and violated the Texas Insurance Code by denying coverage and failing to pay Huser's claims and defense costs. See docket no. 6.
B. Governing Mt. Hawley Insurance Policies
With respect to the relevant period, Mt. Hawley issued two types of policies providing certain insurance coverage to Huser (collectively, the "Policies"): Commercial General Liability Policies spanning December 31, 2014 through January 1, 2019, see, e.g. , docket no. 1-2, and Commercial Excess Liability Policies issued for the same period, see, e.g. , docket no. 1-6. The terms of each of the Policies appear to be the same or substantially similar.
As a general matter, the Policies provide insurance coverage for "bodily injury" and "property damage." See, e.g. , docket no. 1-2 p. 4. Coverage under the Policies applies only if the "bodily injury" or "property damage" is caused by an "occurrence" that takes place in the "coverage territory" during the "policy period." Id. An "occurrence," under the Policies, is defined as an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions. See id. at pp. 18-19. "Property damage," as defined by the Policies, is (a) physical injury to tangible property, including all resulting loss of use of that property, and (b) loss of use of tangible property that is not physically injured. See id. at p. 19.
Further, pursuant to Section I.A of the Commercial General Liability Policies, Mt. Hawley "will have the right and duty to defend the insured against any 'suit' seeking ... damages" related to any such covered "property damage" or "bodily injury." Id. at p. 4. However, the Policies state that *881Mt. Hawley has no duty to defend against any suit seeking damages for any "bodily injury" or "property damage" that is excluded from the Policies' coverage. See id.
The Policies' coverage has two relevant exclusions for the purpose of resolving the instant Motions. First, pursuant to Section I.2.1, coverage excludes "Damage To Your Work: " '[p]roperty damage" to 'your work' arising out of it or any part of it and included in the 'products-completed operations hazard." Id. at p. 8 (hereinafter, the "Your Work Exclusion"). However, the Policies provide that "[t]his exclusion does not apply if the damaged work or the work out of which the damage arises was performed on your behalf by a subcontractor." Id.
Second, each of the Policies contains a separate endorsement that specifies that coverage does not extend to any suit for "bodily injury" or "property damage" arising directly or indirectly out of a breach of "express or implied contract, breach of express or implied warranty, or fraud or misrepresentation regarding the formation, terms or performance of a contract." See id. at p. 52 (hereinafter, the "Breach of Contract Exclusion").
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Summary judgment is appropriate as to a claim or part of a claim 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 judgment as a matter of law." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett ,
"Once a movant makes a properly supported motion, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to show that summary judgment should not be granted." S&W Enterprises, L.L.C. v. SouthTrust Bank of Alabama ,
DISCUSSION
Plaintiff's Motion and Defendant's Motion each ask the Court to interpret the Policies, and upon doing so, determine whether the damages claimed in the Underlying Suit are covered by the Policies. Specifically, Plaintiff's Motion seeks an order from this Court declaring that the Policies exclude coverage for the damages arising in the Underlying Suit, and therefore, Mt. Hawley has no duty to defend and no duty to indemnify Huser.
I. Insurance Policy Interpretation Under Texas Law
The parties agree that Texas law governs the Court's substantive analysis in this diversity case. See docket nos. 11 p. 6, 13 p. 6 & 7 pp. 2-3; see also Northfield Ins. Co. v. Loving Home Care, Inc. ,
Moreover, if policy language is ambiguous, courts construe any ambiguity "strictly against the insurer and liberally in favor of the insured," Barnett v. Aetna Life Ins. Co. ,
Finally, when an insurance policy contains an endorsement that directly conflicts with the general policy language, the endorsement is controlling. Westchester Fire Ins. v. Heddington Ins. Ltd. ,
II. Mt. Hawley's Duty to Defend and/or Indemnify Huser
"In liability insurance policies generally, an insurer assumes both the *883duty to indemnify the insured ... and the duty to defend any lawsuit brought against the insured that alleges and seeks damages for an event potentially covered by the policy, even if it is groundless, false, or fraudulent, subject to the terms of the policy." D.R. Horton-Texas, Ltd. v. Markel Intern. Ins. Co., Ltd. ,
However, the duty to defend and the duty to indemnify "are distinct and separate duties." Utica Nat'l Ins. Co. of Tex. v. Am. Indem. Co. ,
A. Duty to Defend
1. "Eight Corners" Rule and Burden-Shifting Framework
To determine whether Mt. Hawley has a duty to defend Huser in the Underlying Suit, the Court must apply the "eight corners" rule. GuideOne Elite Ins. Co. v. Fielder Rd. Baptist Church ,
When applying the "eight corners" rule, any ambiguities regarding the duty to defend are liberally construed in favor of the insured and are generally resolved in favor of the duty. See Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Nokia, Inc. ,
In determining whether Mt. Hawley has a duty to defend under the agreement, the initial burden is placed on Huser to demonstrate that coverage exists considering only the Policies and the City's Petition. See Federated Mut. Ins. Co. v. Grapevine Excavation, Inc. ,
In light of the allegations contained within the four corners of the petition in the Underlying Suit, Mt. Hawley concedes that-at least for the purposes of instant Motions-the first step of the analysis is satisfied.
The parties' asserted interpretations of the Breach of Contract Exclusion and the Court's analysis of the exclusion's impact are discussed in detail below.
2. Analysis of the Breach of Contract Exclusion
In this case, Mt. Hawley argues that it "does not have a duty to defend Huser in the Underlying Action because all of the allegations in the Underlying Action are excluded by Mt. Hawley's Breach of Contract Exclusion." Docket no. 12 p.8. On the other hand, Huser contends that the Breach of Contract Exclusion should not be interpreted so broadly as to preclude coverage related to damages caused by Huser's subcontractors. See docket no. 11 pp. 8-18.
For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that Mt. Hawley has not met its burden of demonstrating that the Breach of Contract Exclusion negates its duty to defend the Underlying Suit.
a. Causal Link Between Huser's Breach and the Underlying Suit
As discussed above, the Breach of Contract Exclusion reads, in relevant part, that coverage "does not apply ... [to] any claim or 'suit' for ... 'property damage' ... arising directly or indirectly out of" a breach of contract or breach of express or implied warranty. See, e.g. , docket no. 1-2 p. 52 (emphasis added).
The Court first must determine the appropriate scope of the term "arising out of" in the Breach of Contract Exclusion. Texas courts read the phrase "arising out of" to require "but for" causation. In interpreting another general commercial liability insurance policy, the Supreme Court of Texas has held that " 'arise out of' means that there is simply a 'causal connection or relation,' which is interpreted to mean that there is 'but for' causation, though not necessarily direct or proximate causation." Utica Nat'l Ins. Co. ,
Apparently recognizing that some "causal" connection must be shown, Mt. Hawley appears to argue that the existence of the contract between Huser and the City may be a sufficient causal link between the alleged property damage and the underlying contract, such that the policy exclusion is triggered. Specifically, Mt. Hawley asserts that "but for the Contract, there would be no cause of action to bring against Huser." Docket no. 13 p. 12; see also docket 12 p. 13 ("[Huser's] liability would not exist but for the Contract.").
*885The problem with Mt. Hawley's comparison is that it conflates Huser's causation of "property damage" with Huser's ultimate contractual liability for economic losses. However, merely because Huser may ultimately be liable for certain of the City's economic losses under a breach of contract theory does not necessarily mean that all of the alleged property damage was causally attributable to Huser's alleged breach of its contract with the City.
Indeed, on that basis, another court has specifically rejected such a broad interpretation of "arising out of" as it is contained in the Mt. Hawley policy. In Mt. Hawley Ins. Co. v. Aguilar , No. SACV 07-00969,
The Court agrees with the general analysis by the Aguilar court (albeit in a slightly different posture), and the Court finds that the "directly or indirectly" and "arising out of" language requires that Mt. Hawley demonstrate that Huser's breach of contract was a "but for" (though not necessarily proximate) cause of the alleged property damage. The fact that all claims contained in the Underlying Suit have some relation to Huser's contract with the City or that Huser has been sued for breach of contract are not alone enough to trigger the Breach of Contract Exclusion. See Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Mt. Hawley Ins.Co. , No. M-10-58,
Applying that standard, the Court agrees with Mt. Hawley that Huser's breach of contract itself may have been one "but for" cause of the underlying "property damage." For example, the City's complaint specifically alleges that Huser breached the contract by failing to correct the defective, non-conforming work performed at the site, and presumably, some of the "property damage" may have arisen from Huser's alleged inaction. See docket no. 1-1 at ¶¶ 3.5 & 4.2. Thus, in an absolute sense, certain of the allegations might-in a vacuum-support Mt. Hawley's exclusion argument.
Unfortunately for Mt. Hawley, however, that alone is not enough to negate Mt. Hawley's duty to defend. For Mt. Hawley's duty to be erased, it would have to also be true that the facts alleged in the Underlying Suit demonstrate that there are no other independent, covered (non-excluded) "but for" causes of the alleged property damage. See Section II.B.2, infra . Therefore, the Court must determine (i) whether there were other independent "but for" causes of the "property damage" at the basis of the Underlying Suit, and (ii) if so, *886whether those causes of the "property damage" are also excluded by the Policies.
b. Subcontractors' Independent Causation of the Injury
"When two separate events-one that is excluded and one that is covered by the general liability policy-may independently have caused the accident, Texas law mandates that the general liability policy also provide coverage despite the exclusion." EMCASCO Ins. Co. v. Am. Intern. Specialty Lines Ins. Co. ,
Therefore, the Court finds that the allegations in the City's Petition in the Underlying Suit leave open the possibility that the property damage may have occurred "even in the absence of" a breach of contract or implied duty by Huser.
c. The Subcontractor Exception to the "Your Work" Exclusion
As discussed above, the Policies contain the Your Work Exclusion which bars coverage for certain "property damage" arising directly from Huser's own work. See Background, supra. However, the Your Work Exclusion contains an exception that explicitly states that coverage is not excluded "if the damaged work or the work out of which the damage arises was performed on your behalf by a subcontractor ." Docket no. 1-2 p. 8 (emphasis added).
Mt. Hawley argues that the subcontractor exception to the Your Work Exclusion is "irrelevant" because it has been overridden by the endorsement containing the Breach of Contract Exclusion. See docket no. 12 p. 14. Thus, according to Mt. Hawley, Huser's subcontractors' alleged failures are also subsumed by the Breach of *887Contract Exclusion because their work was incidentally related to Huser's work and breach of contract. See id. In response, Huser asserts that such an interpretation would be improper because it would require the Court to read the subcontractor exception out of the Policies. See docket no. 11 p. 19.
Although it is true that policy endorsements control over general policy language in cases of direct conflict, Westchester Fire Ins. ,
Under Section I.2.1 of the Policies, the coverage provided by Mt. Hawley excludes damage to "your work arising out of it or any part of it." Id. at p. 8. Courts interpreting "your work" exclusions have stated that they are intended to preclude coverage for property damage to the insured's work. See Am. Home Assur. Co. v. Cat Tech, L.L.C. ,
[T]his exception was added to protect the insured from the consequences of a subcontractor's faulty workmanship causing 'property damage.' Thus, when a general contractor becomes liable for damage to work performed by a subcontractor ... the subcontractor exception preserves coverage that the 'your-work' exclusion would otherwise negate.
As discussed above in Section II.A.2.a of this Order, a natural reading of the Breach of Contract Exclusion is that "it pertains to [the insured's] liability for repairing its own deficient work or to specific contractual obligations that [the insured] has assumed." See Aguilar ,
Accordingly, the Court declines to adopt the sweeping interpretation asserted by Mt. Hawley, and instead finds that the Policies should be interpreted such that the subcontractor exception to the Your Work Exclusion still has meaning.
*8883. Conclusion
In sum, the Court finds that the allegations in the underlying Petition demonstrate that (i) Huser's subcontractors may have been an independent "but for" cause of the "property damage," and (ii) if so, coverage for that damage is not excluded by the Policies' Breach of Contract Exclusion. For that reason, the Court concludes that the allegations in the Underlying Suit "potentially support a covered claim," Zurich Am. Ins. Co. ,
B. Duty to Indemnify
Unlike an insurer's duty to defend-which is determined on the facts alleged in the underlying complaint-an insurer's duty to indemnify is determined by the "facts actually established in the underlying suit." D.R. Horton-Texas ,
The insurer's duty to indemnify depends on the facts proven and whether the damages caused by the actions or omissions proven are covered by the terms of the policy. Evidence is usually necessary in the coverage litigation to establish or refute an insurer's duty to indemnify.
Mt. Hawley's request for summary judgment notes that there is an exception to the general rule that indemnification can only be determined once the scope of liability has been established. Indeed, the Supreme Court of Texas has held that the duty to indemnify may be justiciable before liability is determined "when the insurer has no duty to defend and the same reasons that negate the duty to defend likewise negate any possibility the insurer will ever have a duty to indemnify." See Griffin ,
As set forth in the prior sections, the Court has concluded that the facts alleged in the underlying third-party Petition do not demonstrate that Mt. Hawley's duty to defend has been negated, and instead demonstrate that Mt. Hawley must defend Huser in the Underlying Suit. See Section II.A, supra. Accordingly, the narrow exception set forth in Griffin does not apply, and the Court believes that it would be premature at this stage to determine to what extent-if any-Mt. Hawley must indemnify Huser for damages from the Underlying Suit.
For that reason, Plaintiff's Motion must be denied to the extent it seeks judgment with respect to the question of indemnification. However, the Court's denial is made without prejudice to Mt. Hawley again seeking judgment with respect to its *889indemnification duty if "the facts actually established" in the Underlying Suit demonstrate that the underlying "property damage" is not in fact covered under the Policies.
III. Huser's Texas Insurance Code Claims
Mt. Hawley also seeks summary judgment as to Huser's counterclaims under the Texas Insurance Code, which assert that Mt. Hawley acted in bad faith in denying coverage. See docket no. 13 pp. 16-17. Mt. Hawley's argument is premised on the fact that summary judgment is generally appropriate on statutory bad-faith denial claims if the insurer has prevailed in the dispute regarding coverage. See USAA Texas Lloyds Co. v. Menchaca ,
As discussed in the prior sections, at this stage, the Court is unable to conclude that the "property damage" in the Underlying Suit is not covered by the Policies. Because no other specific bases have been provided as to why Mt. Hawley is entitled to summary judgment with respect to Huser's statutory claims, the Court will deny Plaintiff's Motion as to the Texas Insurance Code claims. However, as with its denial on the issue of indemnification, the Court's denial of Plaintiff's Motion with respect to Huser's Texas Insurance Code claims is also made without prejudice to Plaintiff again seeking judgment on the issue at a later date, if appropriate.
CONCLUSION AND ORDER
As set forth above, the Court finds that Plaintiff Mt. Hawley has a duty to defend Huser in the Underlying Suit. Accordingly, IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant Huser's Motion for Summary Judgment (docket no. 11) is GRANTED, and summary judgment is issued in favor of Huser with respect to Mt. Hawley's request for declaratory judgment on the issue of the duty to defend.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff Mt. Hawley's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings or in the Alternative Motion for Summary Judgment (docket no. 13) is DENIED. However, with respect to the issues of (i) Plaintiff's indemnification of Defendant and (ii) Defendant's Texas Insurance Code counterclaims, the denial of Plaintiff's Motion is made without prejudice to Plaintiff again seeking judgment on those issues at a later date, if appropriate in light of the proceedings in the Underlying Suit.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is asserted, in the alternative, as a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. See docket no. 13.
Defendant's Motion states that Huser's other underlying case-for which it seeks coverage from Mt. Hawley-is Eagle Heights Pleasanton, LLC v. Schaffer Mech. Co., Inc. , No. 2018-09694, in Harris County, Texas. Upon a review of the court docket for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, it appears that the associated federal action in which Mt. Hawley seeks similar declaratory relief is Mt. Hawley Ins. Co. v. Huser Constr. Co., Inc. , No. 4:18-CV-787 (S.D. Tex. filed Mar. 13, 2018).
On the same basis, Mt. Hawley also seeks summary judgment on Defendant's Texas Insurance Code counterclaims. See docket no. 13 pp. 16-17.
The Court notes that Huser's counterclaims do not explicitly assert a claim for declaratory judgment in its favor with respect to the duty to defend. See docket no. 6. Thus, although the Court will necessarily determine whether Mt. Hawley has a duty to defend the Underlying Suit in resolving the instant Motions, the Court's Order will be limited to adjudicating Mt. Hawley's claim for declaratory relief. See Chen v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co. , No. 12-cv-1942-REB-MJW,
Specifically, Mt. Hawley's response to Defendant's Motion states that "[f]or purposes of this summary-judgment motion, Mt. Hawley agrees the Underlying Action potentially alleges property damage covered by the policy's insuring agreement." Docket no. 12 p. 8. Similarly, in its own motion, Mt. Hawley states that the "claims against Huser potentially state a covered claim for property damage under the Mt. Hawley Policies." Docket no. 13 p. 9.
The fact that the property damage was caused by Huser's subcontractors is also what makes this case distinguishable from two cases cited repeatedly by Mt. Hawley in its briefing. In both Sport Supply Group, Inc. v. Columbia Cas. Co. ,
The Court reiterates that this conclusion is based on the allegations in the City's Petition, and the Court is mindful that the evidence in the Underlying Suit may ultimately show otherwise. As an example, the Court is not privy to the details regarding Huser's agreement with the City or Huser's exact obligations pursuant to that contract.
It also appears that the Policies contain copyrighted material from (or are otherwise based on standard material from) the Insurance Services Office. See, e.g. , docket no. 1-2 ("Includes copyrighted material of Insurance Services Office."). Other courts have noted that that the Insurance Services Office issues an endorsement that may be included in commercial general liability policies that explicitly eliminates the subcontractor exception to the "your work" exclusion. See Lamar Homes ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- MT. HAWLEY INSURANCE COMPANY v. SLAY ENGINEERING, TEXAS MULTI-CHEM, AND HUSER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published