Harbor Ins. Co. v. Trammell Crow Co., Inc.

• Decision Date: 06 September 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-1876,87-1876
• Citation: 854 F.2d 94
• Parties: HARBOR INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff-Counterclaim, Defendant-Appellee, v. TRAMMELL CROW COMPANY, INC., and Chasewood Construction Company, Defendants-Counterclaim, Plaintiffs-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 94

854 F.2d 94

12 Fed.R.Serv.3d 50

HARBOR INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff-Counterclaim, Defendant-Appellee, v. TRAMMELL CROW COMPANY, INC., and Chasewood Construction Company, Defendants-Counterclaim, Plaintiffs-Appellants.

No. 87-1876.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

Sept. 6, 1988.

Michael V. Powell, Karen F. Gray, Timothy E. Kelley, Dallas, Tex., for defendants-counterclaim, plaintiffs-appellants.

P. Michael Jung, Dallas, Tex., for plaintiff-counterclaim, defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Before REAVLEY, JOHNSON and JONES, Circuit Judges.

REAVLEY, Circuit Judge:

Harbor Insurance Company ("Harbor") brought this declaratory judgment action against Trammell Crow and the Chasewood Construction Company (collectively "Chasewood") seeking a declaration that it was not liable to Chasewood under an excess liability policy. Chasewood filed a counterclaim against Harbor seeking contractual and exemplary damages. The district court granted Harbor's motion for summary judgment and awarded attorneys' fees to Harbor. Holding that a genuine issue of material fact exists, we reverse and remand.

I

The controversy is over Harbor's liability to Chasewood on an excess insurance policy (the "policy"). Chasewood's primary insurance carrier was United States Fire Insurance Company ("U.S. Fire"), which provided coverage up to $500,000. Harbor's policy provided excess coverage at levels above $500,000. While Harbor contends that it is not liable because Chasewood did not provide it with timely notice ¹ of a suit filed against Chasewood in which the damages sought exceeded $500,000, Chasewood contends that timely notice was provided.

In 1981 Chasewood, a general contractor, entered into subcontracts with the Rico Construction Company ("Rico") which provided that Rico would perform the framing and trim work on an apartment complex in San Antonio. Due to deficiencies in performance and allegations that Rico employees had been stealing materials from the job site, Chasewood terminated its subcontracts with Rico in December 1981.

On May 17, 1982, Rico filed suit against Chasewood alleging breach of contract and seeking $50,000 in damages (the "San Antonio action"). In November 1982, Rico filed a first amended complaint alleging that its reputation had been impaired by Chasewood's termination, and in May 1983, in response to Chasewood's discovery requests, Rico alleged damages of at least $300,000 for loss of reputation, integrity and standing in the community. Chasewood notified its primary insurance carrier, U.S. Fire, which, in turn, retained a prominent San Antonio attorney to defend Chasewood against Rico's loss of reputation claim.

On June 9, 1983, Rico filed a second amended complaint in which it characterized Chasewood's conduct as libelous and slanderous and increased its prayer for actual damages to "in excess of $500,000" and requested $1,000,000 in punitive damages. After filing numerous additional amended complaints, Rico filed a seventh amended complaint on August 29, 1983, in which it increased its request for punitive damages to $2,000,000.

On September 22, 1983, the jury in the San Antonio action returned a $2,487,000 verdict in favor of Rico, which included $650,000 in actual damages and $1,750,000 in punitive damages on Rico's libel and slander claim. After remitting $250,000 of the punitive damage award, the state district court entered judgment for Rico on September 26, 1983, which judgment was later affirmed on appeal. On September 27, Chasewood provided Harbor with the first written notice of the adverse judgment. On the following day, Harbor advised Chasewood that it was reserving its rights under the policy.

II

On February 2, 1984, Harbor filed this action against Chasewood seeking a declaratory judgment that it had no obligation to Chasewood under the policy and for reasonable attorney's fees. Chasewood filed a counterclaim against Harbor seeking $1,656,372.66 on the policy, $5,000,000 in exemplary damages, and $150,000 in attorney's fees.

On January 16, 1987, Harbor filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that it was not liable under the policy because Chasewood failed to provide it with timely notice of the San Antonio action. The policy's notice provision specifies that

Whenever [Chasewood] has information from which [it] may reasonably conclude that an occurrence covered [under the policy] involves injuries or damages which, in the event that [Chasewood] should be held liable, is likely to involve this Policy, notice shall be sent ... as soon as practicable, provided, however, that failure to give notice of any occurrence which at the time of its happening did not appear to involve this Policy but which, at a later date, would appear to give rise to claims hereunder, shall not prejudice such claims.

(emphasis added). The policy also provides that while Harbor does not have the right to assume the defense of suits against Chasewood, it has the right "to associate with [Chasewood] or [Chasewood's] underlying insurer, or both, in the defense and control of any claim ... where the claim ... involves, or appears reasonably likely to involve [Harbor]."

Responding to Harbor's motion, Chasewood asserted that its duty to provide Harbor with notice of the San Antonio action was not triggered until the jury's adverse verdict was returned on September 22, 1983, because prior to that point it did not possess information from which it could reasonably conclude that the San Antonio action would likely involve the policy. To support its position, Chasewood introduced numerous excerpts from depositions taken from attorneys involved in the San Antonio action which expressed the opinion, held throughout trial and until the verdict was returned, that Rico's defamation claim was meritless and that Rico's claims would not result in a judgment exceeding $500,000. Chasewood concluded that summary judgment was not appropriate because there were genuine issues of material fact concerning when its duty to provide notice arose and whether notice was provided "as soon as practicable" under the policy. Alternatively, Chasewood contended that Texas law required Harbor to establish that the lack of timely notice resulted in prejudice and that Harbor failed to make this showing.

In an order filed September 14, 1987, the district court granted Harbor's motion for summary judgment. The court first held that compliance with the notice provision is a condition precedent to liability, and that issues concerning the timeliness of notice and prejudice to an insurer are generally questions of fact. See, Greyhound Corp v. Excess Ins. Co. of Am., 233 F.2d 630, 636 (5th Cir.1956). The court then pointed out that where the facts asserted by the insured, if established, preclude recovery, or where undisputed facts preclude recovery, the question becomes one of law for determination by the court. See id. Applying the latter rule, the court held that by August 10, 1983, ² a reasonably prudent person in Chasewood's position, taking all facts and defenses into consideration, would have considered a judgment in excess of $500,000 likely. To support this conclusion, the district court noted that by August 10 Chasewood knew that: (1) Rico's attorney in the San Antonio action was "very able and experienced"; (2) Bexar County juries had awarded verdicts in excess of $500,000 to plaintiffs in libel and slander cases; and (3) Rico's attorney had been successful in obtaining verdicts from Bexar County juries in excess of $500,000. The district court did not discuss any summary judgment evidence favorable to Chasewood's position. ³

The court, using the August 10 date as a basis, then held that the September 26 provision of notice was not given "as soon as practicable" under the policy. In response to Chasewood's contention that Harbor must establish that it was prejudiced by the untimely notice, the court held that Texas law did not require this showing and that, in any event, Harbor had established prejudice.

On September 30, 1987, the district court, pursuant to the parties' consent, referred Harbor's claim for attorney's fees to a magistrate for resolution and entered an interlocutory judgment (on Harbor's motion for summary judgment) pending resolution of the attorney's fees claim. On October 21, 1987, final judgment was entered awarding attorney's fees to Harbor in the amount of $67,747.50. Chasewood timely appealed this judgment.

Citing Budinich v. Becton Dickinson & Co., --- U.S. ----, 108 S.Ct. 1717, 1720-22, 100 L.Ed.2d 178 (1988), for the proposition that a decision on the merits is "final" for purposes of appeal regardless of whether a request for attorney's fees remains for adjudication, and noting that Chasewood's notice of appeal was not filed within 30 days of the district court's entry of the interlocutory judgment (granting Harbor's summary judgment motion), Harbor contends that we are without jurisdiction to decide this appeal. We reject this contention because, while the district court's judgment did dispose of the merits, it was labeled "interlocutory" and specifically provided that "this Judgment is an Interlocutory Judgment only." We find nothing in the Supreme Court's writing to remove the district court's control...