Bank of California, N. A. v. Opie

• Decision Date: 14 December 1981
• Docket Number: No. 80-3157,80-3157
• Citation: 663 F.2d 977
• Parties: BANK OF CALIFORNIA, N. A., Plaintiff/Appellee, v. W. H. OPIE, et al., Defendants, California Union Insurance Company, Defendant/Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 977

663 F.2d 977

BANK OF CALIFORNIA, N. A., Plaintiff/Appellee, v. W. H. OPIE, et al., Defendants, California Union Insurance Company, Defendant/Appellant.

No. 80-3157.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted Sept. 10, 1981.

Decided Dec. 14, 1981.

Edward S. Winskill, Davies, Pearson, Anderson, Seinfeld, Gadbow, Hayes & Johnson, P. S., Tacoma, Wash., for defendant/appellant.

Stephen P. Ryder, Thom, Navoni, Hoff, Pierson & Ryder, Seattle, Wash., for plaintiff/appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Before PREGERSON and BOOCHEVER, Circuit Judges and KELLAM, ^* District Judge.

BOOCHEVER, Circuit Judge:

This case concerns the liability of an errors-and-omission insurer of a mortgage banking corporation for losses due to the corporation's failure to apply properly the proceeds of loans secured for its normal business purposes from a commercial bank.

W.H. Opie & Company (Opie) borrowed money from the Bank of California (Bank) for operating expenses in connection with its mortgage-banking business, but violated the loan agreement as to the proper application of the funds. Opie was found liable for damages in state court, and the Bank commenced the present garnishment action against California Union Insurance Company (Union), Opie's errors-and-omissions insurance carrier. The action was removed to federal court on diversity. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Bank, holding that, under Washington law, Opie's liability to the Bank arose "by reason of (an) act, error or omission in professional services" within the meaning of Union's policy. Because we agree with the district court that Union's policy covered Opie's conduct and that summary judgment was appropriate, we affirm.

I. Facts

Opie entered into a series of financial transactions with the Bank to secure financing for its mortgage-banking business. The Bank provided "lines of credit" for Opie to draw upon to finance construction projects in the Tacoma, Washington area. In return, Opie assigned to the Bank as security the trust deeds, notes and mortgages covering the properties Opie financed with the loan proceeds.

Pursuant to the loan agreements, Opie was obligated to maintain the assigned interests as the first liens against the properties. To accomplish this, Opie was required to use the loan proceeds to discharge the construction liens and other encumbrances on the properties covered by the instruments assigned as collateral.

In violation of its agreement with the Bank, Opie used the proceeds of certain loans received in 1971 for unspecified business purposes, and failed to discharge the construction liens and encumbrances on four of the properties secured by assignments to the Bank. Opie's failure to apply properly the loan proceeds to discharge the underlying construction debts eventually resulted in the Bank's security being impaired.

The Bank sued Opie in state court in 1975, alleging that Opie's misapplication of the loan proceeds constituted breach of contract and fraud. ¹ The jury found for the Bank and awarded damages, that, together with prejudgment interest, resulted in a total award of $28,004.47.

Opie apparently proved unable to pay the judgment, so the Bank filed a writ of garnishment against Union in state court, alleging that the professional liability policy issued to Opie by Union covered the conduct that gave rise to the state court judgment. Union's errors-and-omissions policy covered Opie for "any act, error or omission in professional services ... in the conduct of the insured's business as: ... mortgage banker, mortgage correspondent, (and) mortgage broker...."

After removal to the district court, the Bank moved for summary judgment based upon a pretrial stipulation, that included as exhibits the jury instructions and judgment from the state court action and a copy of Union's insurance policy. In opposition to the Bank's motion, Union filed two affidavits of its counsel, the first of which incorporated lengthy portions of the transcript from the underlying action.

The district court held that Union's policy covered Opie's conduct and granted summary judgment in favor of the Bank in the amount of the underlying state court judgment. The sole issue presented by Union's appeal is whether Opie's liability to the Bank for the misapplication of loan proceeds arose "by reason of any act, error or omission in professional services" within the meaning of Union's policy.

II. Summary Judgment

Although this is a diversity case, federal law alone governs whether evidence is sufficient to raise a question for the trier-of-fact. Sankovich v. Life Insurance Co. of North America, 638 F.2d 136, 138 n.1 (9th Cir. 1981); Neely v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 584 F.2d 341, 345 (9th Cir. 1978). Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), summary judgment is appropriate only where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Heiniger v. City of Phoenix, 625 F.2d 842, 843 (9th Cir. 1980). This court reviews de novo decisions granting summary judgment. State ex rel. Edwards v. Heimann, 633 F.2d 886, 888 n.1 (9th Cir. 1980); Reed v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., 613 F.2d 757, 759 (9th Cir. 1980). Moreover, regardless of the procedural posture of the case on appeal, construction of a contractual provision is ordinarily a question of law subject to de novo review. Waggoner v. Northwest Excavating, Inc., 642 F.2d 333, 337 (9th Cir. 1981); Transport Indemnity Co. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 620 F.2d 1368, 1370 (9th Cir. 1980). Accord, United Pacific Insurance Co. v. McCarthy, 15 Wash.App. 70, 546 P.2d 1226, 1228 (1976); State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. v. Phillips, 2 Wash.App. 169, 467 P.2d 189, 193 (1970).

Because the parties failed to address the question of summary judgment in their briefs, we directed them to do so at oral argument. Counsel for both parties acknowledged at oral argument that the underlying facts are uncontroverted, that the evidence offered in regard to the motion for summary judgment affords an adequate basis for resolving the case, ² and argued that their respective clients were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. ³

III. Opie's Professional Services

The substantive issue on appeal is a narrow one; namely, whether Opie was performing "professional services" within the meaning of the policy when it breached its loan agreement with the Bank. Union implicitly concedes that Opie's liability arose out of an "error or omission," and that the policy exclusion for "dishonest, fraudulent, criminal or malicious" acts is inapplicable. Union further concedes that a breach of contract can, under the proper circumstances, constitute an error or omission of professional service. ⁴

The parties agree that Union's policy should be construed, to the extent possible, under Washington law. See, e. g., First Insurance Co. of Hawaii v. Continental Casualty Co., 466 F.2d 807, 809 (9th Cir. 1972); Larson Construction Co. v. Oregon Automobile Ins. Co., 450 F.2d 1193, 1195 (9th Cir. 1970). The basic rules for construing insurance policies under Washington law are typical of the rules found in most states: policy language should be interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, Dairyland Insurance Co. v. Ward, 83 Wash.2d 353, 517 P.2d 966, 968-69 (1974); Frontier Lanes v. Canadian Indemnity Co., 26 Wash.App. 342, 613 P.2d 166, 168 (1980); in construing key clauses and words, the court must attempt to ascertain what was probably contemplated by the parties when the contract was written, Harris v. Fireman's Fund Indemnity Co., 42 Wash.2d 655, 257 P.2d 221, 226 (1953); and ambiguities in the policy must be construed in favor of the insured, Witherspoon v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 86 Wash.2d 641, 548 P.2d 302, 308 (1976); McDonald Industries, Inc. v. Rollins Leasing Corp., 26 Wash.App. 376, 613 P.2d 800, 802-03 (1980).

This court normally accords deference to a district court's interpretation of the substantive state law in the state in which the court sits, and reverses such interpretations only if "clearly wrong." Power v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 655 F.2d 1380 at 1382 (9th Cir. 1981); Clark v. Musick, 623 F.2d 89, 91 (9th Cir. 1980). Although we agree with the district court's decision, we note that its interpretation of Washington law is entitled to little or no special deference in this case. As noted later, infra at n. 5, Washington authority offers little more than general guidance in this case and was not expressly relied upon by the district court.

The few decisions anywhere that construe the term "professional services" offer little more than general guidance. ⁵ The definition of "professional service" most commonly employed stems from Marx v. Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co., 183 Neb. 12, 13-14, 157 N.W.2d 870, 871-72 (1968), where the Nebraska Supreme Court defined the term as:

Something more than an act flowing from mere employment or vocation is essential. The act or service must be such as exacts the use or application of special learning or attainments of some kind. The term "professional" in the context used in the policy provision means something more than mere proficiency in the performance of a task and implies intellectual skill as contrasted with that used in an occupation for production or sale of commodities. A "professional" act or service is one arising out of a vocation, calling, occupation, or employment involving specialized knowledge, labor, or skill, and the labor or skill involved is predominantly mental or intellectual, rather than physical or manual (citations omitted). In determining whether a particular act is of a professional nature or a "professional service" we must look not to the title or character of the party performing the act...