Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America v. Federal Recovery Services, Inc.
Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America v. Federal Recovery Services, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs Travelers Property Casualty Company of America and Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America’s (collectively, “Travelers”) Motion for Summary Judgment. Travelers request the Court dismiss Federal Recovery Services, Inc. (“FRS”) and Federal Recovery Acceptance, Inc.’s (“FRA”) dba Paramount Acceptance (“Paramount”) (collectively, “Defendants”) counterclaims for (1) breach of contract, (2) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and (3) breach of fiduciary duty. The Court will grant in part and deny in part Travelers’ Motion for the reasons discussed below.
I. BACKGROUND
Defendants are in the business of providing processing, storage, transmission, and other handling of electronic data for its customers. Travelers issued a Cyber-First Technology Errors and Omissions Liability Form Policy (the “CyberFirst Policy”) to Defendants and Defendants are the named insureds under the policy.
Global Fitness Holdings, LLC (“Global Fitness”) owns and operates fitness centers in several states. As part of its operations, Global Fitness had numerous members who contracted with Global Fitness for access to its fitness centers. Members provided either credit card or bank account information to Global Fitness for billing purposes (“Member Accounts Data”).
Global Fitness entered into a Servicing Retail Installment Agreement with FRA that required FRA to process the Member Accounts and transfer the members’ fees to Global Fitness. Global Fitness alleged that FRA retained possession of Member Accounts Data and interfered with its business dealings, thereby causing Global Fitness irreparable harm and loss. On October 10, 2012, Global Fitness filed suit against Defendants claiming tortious interference, promissory estoppel, conversion, breach of contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Global Fitness sought attorney fees and punitive damages.
On December 17, 2012, FRA informed Travelers of its lawsuit with Global Fitness via email to its insurance broker, Mike Rice.
FRA requested reconsideration of the denial on July 26, 2013, and again on August 27, 2013.
On March 7, 2014, Travelers filed the instant action for declaratory relief against Defendants seeking determination of its duty to defend under the CyberFirst Policy. On April 10, 2014, Defendants again tendered defense of the Global Fitness action to Travelers.
On November 13, 2014, Defendants filed a motion for partial summary judgment seeking the Court’s determination as to whether Travelers owed a duty to defend Defendants under the CyberFirst Policy. The Court issued its ruling on May 11, 2015, denying Defendants’ motion. The Court found that Travelers did -not owe Defendants a duty to defend under the CyberFirst Policy.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
Summary judgment is appropriate “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.”
Travelers moves for summary judgment and request this Court dismiss Defendants’ counterclaims for (1) breach of contract, (2) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and (3) breach of fiduciary duty. Each will be discussed in turn below.
1. Breach of Contract
“The elements of a prima facie case for breach of contract are (1) a contract, (2) performance by the party seeking recovery, (3) breach of the contract by the other party, and (4) damages.”
In its Response, Defendants argue that Travelers incorrectly interprets the Court’s May 11, 2015 Order. Defendants argue that the “the narrow issue before the Court in that motion was whether viewing only the ‘eight corners’ of the complaint and policy triggered the duty to defend.”
In its May 11, 2015 Order, the Court stated that “[a]s a general rule, ‘an insurer’s duty to defend is determined by comparing the language of the insurance policy with the allegations in the complaint.”
The policy states that coverage is provided if the loss is caused by an “errors and omissions wrongful act.”
Having lost its earlier motion, Defendants cannot seek to relitigate the same issue. It is improper for Defendants to now argue that extrinsic evidence must
Generally, once a court decides an issue, the same issue may not be relitigated in subsequent proceedings in the same case. Unlike res judicata, the law of the case doctrine is not an inexorable command, but is to be applied with good sense. Accordingly, the doctrine is subject to three exceptions: (1) when the evidence in a subsequent trial is substantially different; (2) when controlling authority has subsequently made a contrary decision of the law applicable to such issues; or (B) when the decision was clearly erroneous and would work a manifest injustice .... [Tjhese exceptions [are read] narrowly, requiring district courts to apply the law of the case unless one of the exceptions specifically and unquestionably applies.24
Here, none of the above exceptions specifically and unquestionably apply.
Under Utah law, consideration of extrinsic evidence to determine the scope of an insurer’s duty to defend is generally prohibited, but may be considered if the parties contractually make the duty to defend dependent on whether there is actually a covered claim or suit.
The Therkelsen court provided examples to illustrate when the policy language contractually makes the duty to defend dependent on the allegations within a complaint and when the policy language indicates that consideration of extrinsic evidence is necessary in determining whether a claim is actually covered. In the first example, when a standard homeowner’s policy provides that the insurer will “provide a defense at [the insurer’s] expense by counsel of [the insurer’s] choice, even if the suit is groundless, false or fraudulent,” the duty to defend is dependent upon the allegations within the complaint against the insured.
In Mid-America Pipeline Co., LLC v. Mountain States Mutual Casualty,
Here, the relevant provision of the CyberFirst Policy states,
We will have the right and duty to defend the insured against any claim or “suit” seeking damages for loss to which the insurance provided under one or more of “your cyber liability coverage forms” applies .... However, we will have no duty to defend the insured against any claim or “suit” seeking damages for loss to which the insurance provided under “your cyber liability coverage forms” does not apply.37
The term “suit” is defined as,
A civil proceeding that seeks damages or injunctive relief. Suit includes:
a. An arbitration proceeding that seeks such damages or injunctive relief and to which the insured must submit or submits with our consent; and
b. Any other alternative dispute resolution proceeding that seeks such damages or injunctive relief and to which the insured submits with our consent.38
In the same way that courts have interpreted substantially similar duty-to-defend clauses and rejected the use of extrinsic evidence, this Court also rejects the use of extrinsic evidence in determining the duty to defend. The duty to defend here is conditioned on “any claim or ‘suit’ seeking damages for loss to which the insurance provided ... applies.” As in the cases referenced above, the policy language indicates that the duty to defend is determined with reference to what a claim or suit seeks. Therefore, Travelers must defend a suit that alleges liability within the Cyber-First Policy. Thus, consideration of extrin
Defendants rely on Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association v. Carolina Casualty Insurance Company
Such an ambiguity does not exist here. A comparison of the policy language and the allegations in the complaint eliminates a duty to defend, which makes extrinsic evidence irrelevant. Here, the complaint alleges that Defendants knowingly withheld information and refused to turn it over until Global Fitness met certain demands. Thus, the complaint alleges knowledge, willfulness, and malice while the CyberFirst Policy covers only errors, omissions, and negligent acts. As the Utah Supreme Court said in Equine, “an insurer would have no duty to defend an insured based on a complaint sounding solely in battery when the policy excludes intentional torts from coverage. Under these circumstances, the duty-to-defend analysis ... focus[es] on two documents: the insurance policy and the complaint ... and extrinsic evidence plays no part in the analysis.”
Accordingly, the Court maintains its May 11, 2015 Order finding that Travelers does not owe a duty to defend Defendants under the CyberFirst Policy. Without a duty to defend, Defendants cannot prevail on its breach of contract counterclaim. Thus, the Court will grant summary judgment on this issue and dismiss Defendants’ counterclaim for breach of contract.
2. Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
Travelers argues that a claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing fails where the insurer’s denial of coverage was proper and the insurer did not breach the contract. However, “[i]n Utah, a plaintiff may sue on a contract for: (1) breach of the contract’s express terms; and/or (2) breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, which is an implied duty that inheres in every contractual relationship.”
The Utah Supreme Court has held that “ “when an insured’s claim is fairly debatable, the insurer is entitled to debate it and cannot be held to have breached the implied covenant of good faith if it chooses to do so.’ ”
Under this framework, the Court will deny summary judgment on this claim. Defendants allege that Travelers breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by (1) improperly and untimely denying coverage; (2) “failing to diligently investigate, fairly evaluate, and promptly and reasonably communicate with FRA since the claim was initially tendered in December 2012;”
To the extent Defendants’ bad faith arguments root in Travelers’ denial of coverage, such arguments will not be considered because an insurer cannot be held to have breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing if the claim was fairly debatable at the time it was denied.
Additionally, Defendants’ argument that Travelers’ threat to obtain reimbursement of defense costs evidences bad faith also fails because it is unsupported by law and by the record. Defendants cite to U.S. Fidelity v. U.S. Sports Specialty
However, to the extent Defendants argue that Travelers (1) inappropriately required Defendants to first receive suit papers before initiating a claim and (2) failed to “diligently investigate, fairly evaluate, and promptly and reasonably communicate with FRA since the claim was initially tendered in December 2012”
Defendants provide expert testimony stating that Travelers’ conduct did not measure up to the standard required for insurance claim investigations.
SECTION Y-CYBER LIABILTY CONDITIONS
2. Duties In the Event of a Claim or Suit
*1339 a. if a claim or “suit” is made or brought against any insured, you must:
(1) Immediately record the specifics of the claim or “suit” and the date received; and
(2) Notify us in writing of the claim or “suit” as soon as practicable, but in no event after the policy period or the Basic Extended Reporting Period, or the Supplemental Extended Reporting Period if such reporting period is provided.54
Defendants’ expert witness, Paul Brenk-man, argues that it was inappropriate to require FRA to first receive suit papers before initiating a claim under the policy language. Mr. Brenkman asserts that the policy provisions differentiate between a claim and a suit, and therefore, “a ‘suit’ is not a necessary condition before there is a duty to defend.”
Defendants argue that by inappropriately requiring the filing of suit papers before initiating its investigation into Defendants’ claim, Travelers’ denial of its claim in June 2013 was dilatory and resulted in severe financial consequences to Defendants. In his report, Mr. Brenkman asserts, “Travelers’ claim handling processes, or the lack thereof, left [Defendants] to fend for [themselves] during critical time periods with severe financial consequences to [Defendants].”
Under the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, “a party must act consistently with the agreed common purpose and the justified expectations of the other party.”
Under .Utah law, “ ‘[w]hether there has been a breach of good faith and fair dealing is a factual issue, generally inappropriate for decision as a matter of law.’ ”
S. Breach of Fiduciary Duty
“In a third-party situation, the insurer controls the disposition of claims against its insured, who relinquishes any right to negotiate on his own behalf.”
IV. CONCLUSION
It is therefore
ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 49) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. A.
. Id.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. B, at 68.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. D.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. E.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. F; Docket No. 60 Ex. G.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. H.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. I.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. J.
.Docket No. 60 Ex L.
. Docket No. 60 Ex. M.
. Docket No. 45.
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Clifton v. Craig, 924 F.2d 182, 183 (10th Cir. 1991).
. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Wright v. Sw. Bell Tel. Co., 925 F.2d 1288, 1292 (10th Cir. 1991).
. Bail v. Axiom Design, L.L.C., 20 P.3d 388, 392 (Utah 2001).
. Docket No. 57, at ii.
. Id. at 1.
. Docket No. 45, at 7 (quoting Fire Ins. Exch. v. Estate of Therkelsen, 27 P.3d 555, 560 (Utah 2001)).
. Id. (quoting Equine Assisted Growth & Learning Ass’n v. Carolina Cas. Ins. Co., 266 P.3d 733, 737 (Utah 2011)).
. Docket No. 28, Ex. B, CyberFirst Technology Errors and Omissions Liability Coverage Form, Section I, 2, at Bates number PRMT000923.
. Id. CyberFirst Technology Errors and Omissions Liability Coverage Form, Section II, 3, at Bates number PRMT000926.
. Docket No. 65, at vii.
. Wessel v. City of Albuquerque, 463 F.3d 1138, 1143 (10th Cir. 2006) (citations, alternations, and internal quotations omitted).
. See Estate of Therkelsen, 27 P.3d at 560-61.
. Id. at 560 (quoting Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. Forty-Eight Insulations, Inc., 633 F.2d 1212, 1214-25 (6th Cir. 1980)).
. Id. at 561.
. Id. (alteration in original).
. Id. (quoting Fire Ins. Exch. v. Rosenberg, 930 P.2d 1202, 1203 (Utah Ct.App. 1997)).
. 618 F.3d 1153 (10th Cir. 2013).
. Id. at 1172.
. Id.
. Id. (quoting Estate of Therkelsen, 27 P.3d at 561).
. No. 2:05-CV-153, 2006 WL 1278748 (D.Utah May 8, 2006).
. Id. at *2.
. Id.
. Docket No. 28, Ex. B, CyberFirst General Provisions Form, Section I, 1, at bates number PRMT000911.
. Id., CyberFirst General Provisions Form, Section VII, 20, at Bates number PRMT000922.
. Id. at 733.
. Id. at 736.
.Id. at 738.
. Id. at 736 (citation and internal quotation omitted).
. Blakely v. USAA Cas. Ins. Co., 633 F.3d 944, 947 (10th Cir. 2011).
. Prince v. Bear River Mut. Ins. Co., 56 P.3d 524, 533 (Utah . 2002) (citations, alterations, and internal quotations omitted).
. Jones v. Farmers Ins. Exch., 286 P.3d 301, 304 (Utah 2012) (quoting Billings ex ret Billings v. Union Bankers Ins. Co., 918 P.2d 461, 465 (Utah 1996)).
. Id. (citation and internal quotation omitted).
. Docket No. 57, at 6.
. Id. at 7.
. Billings, 918 P.2d at 465.
. 270 P.3d 464 (Utah 2012).
. Docket No. 57, at 8.
. Id. at 6.
. Docket No. 57 Ex. C.
. Docket No. 28, Ex. B, CyberFirst Technology Errors and Omissions Liability Coverage Form, Section V, 2, at Bates number PRMT000916.
. Docket No. 57 Ex. C, at 9.
. Docket 57, at 15.
. Id. at 21.
. Prince, 56 P.3d at 533 (citations and internal quotations omitted).
. Beck v. Farmers Ins. Exch., 701 P.2d 795, 801 (Utah 1985).
. Oman v. Davis Sch. Dist., 194 P.3d 956, 968 (Utah 2008) (quoting Republic Grp., Inc. v. Won-Door Corp., 883 P.2d 285, 291 (Utah Ct.App. 1994)).
. Id. at 968-69.
. Beck, 701 P.2d at 799.
. Id. at 799-800.
.Giles v. Mineral Res. Int'l, Inc., 338 P.3d 825, 827 (Utah Ct.App. 2014).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- TRAVELERS PROPERTY CASUALTY COMPANY OF AMERICA, a Connecticut corporation, and Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America v. FEDERAL RECOVERY SERVICES, INC., a Utah corporation, and Federal Recovery Acceptance, Inc., a Utah coporation doing business as Paramount Acceptance
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published