Crawford v. Government Employees Ins. Co.

• Decision Date: 26 June 1991
• Docket Number: No. CV 590-284.,CV 590-284.
• Parties: Harold R. CRAWFORD, Plaintiff, v. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Georgia

771 F. Supp. 1230

Harold R. CRAWFORD, Plaintiff, v. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.

No. CV 590-284.

United States District Court, S.D. Georgia, Waycross Division.

June 26, 1991.

John R. Thigpen, Sr., Blackshear, Ga., for plaintiff.

Clayton H. Farnham, Barbara Jo Call, Drew, Eckl & Farnham, Atlanta, Ga., for defendant.

ORDER

EDENFIELD, Chief Judge.

I. Summary Judgment

The plaintiff, Harold R. Crawford ("Crawford"), brought this suit for $69,074.07 in damages in Ware County Superior Court alleging that the defendant, Government Employees Insurance Company ("GEICO"), failed to honor its fire insurance contract with him after a fire occurred in a rental dwelling owned by Crawford and purportedly covered by a GEICO policy. The defendant removed the case to this Court under the provision for diversity jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (1988). Subsequently, the defendant moved for summary judgment on the ground that, as a matter of law, Crawford's use of the premises did not comply with the coverage provision contained in the GEICO-Crawford fire insurance policy. The policy limits coverage to premises "used principally for dwelling purposes." The Court rejects this argument. GEICO's motion for summary judgment is therefore DENIED.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise noted, the facts presented in this order are derived from the plaintiff's affidavit and his deposition testimony. On March 29, 1966, the plaintiff, Harold R. Crawford, and his wife purchased the premises at 1005 Gilmore Avenue in Waycross, Georgia ("the premises"). Crawford and his wife resided at the premises from 1966 until 1969, when they left Waycross to work for the United States government in the Panama Canal Zone. During the following 19 years, the Crawfords rented the premises to a series of different tenants.

The premises were damaged by fire on January 29, 1990. At the time of the fire, no one was actually living at the premises. The previous tenant, Marjorie Hickox, resided at the premises from March or April 1988 until approximately one month before the fire. Hickox ceased living at the premises when her car burned in the driveway at the end of November, in an unrelated fire. According to Hickox's deposition testimony, after the car fire, she was too frightened to remain at the premises. She did, however, return to the premises eight or nine times after the car fire to move her personal belongings out of the house and clean the rooms. In January 1990, when the premises burned, several of Hickox's belongings remained at the premises, including her divorce papers, photographs, and clothing. Hickox also had a key to the premises on the date of the fire.

In December of 1989, after Hickox ceased living at the premises, a water pipe in the shower froze and then burst. Because of the Christmas holidays and the fact that Hickox was not living at the premises, Crawford decided not to repair the pipe immediately. Instead, he simply turned the water off at the street meter to prevent any further damage. He did not turn the other utilities off at that time. In her deposition testimony Hickox states that sometime in the week of January 19th, less than ten days before the fire, she encountered Crawford and Johnny Strickland (one of Crawford's former business partners) at the premises working on the bathroom pipes.

The premises were covered by a fire insurance policy between Crawford and GEICO, with an effective date of April 11, 1989. After the fire, GEICO refused to reimburse Crawford for the loss caused by the fire. At a status conference held in this court on April 19, 1991, the parties stipulated that arson caused the fire. In its summary judgment motion, GEICO argues that it is not required to pay Crawford for fire loss because the exact terms of the policy were not met.

In support of this claim, GEICO points to the "Coverages" section of the policy which indicates that the policy covers "the dwelling on the Described Location, used principally for dwelling purposes". No definition of the phrase "used principally for dwelling purposes" is contained in the policy. Further, the GEICO-Crawford insurance policy does not include a provision, often present in fire insurance policies, which would suspend coverage of the insured premises for fire loss if the insured premises became vacant. GEICO's broad form insurance contract does, however, contain so called "vacancy exclusion" provisions for other perils (e.g., burglary and vandalism or malicious mischief) for which GEICO offers insurance.

ANALYSIS

The "purpose of summary judgment is to `pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial.'" Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting Advisory Committee Note). The Court "must determine whether there is any genuine issue of material fact and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Warren v. Crawford, 927 F.2d 559, 561 (11th Cir.1991); Regan v. United States Small Business Admin., 926 F.2d 1078, 1080 (11th Cir.1991) (both citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Thus, summary judgment is appropriate where the nonmovant "fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552. The substantive law governing the action determines whether an element is essential. E.g., Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202; DeLong Equip. Co. v. Washington Mills Abrasive Co., 887 F.2d 1499, 1505 (11th Cir.1989), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 110 S.Ct. 1813, 108 L.Ed.2d 943 (1990). "A party seeking summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; see Brown v. Crawford, 906 F.2d 667, 670 (11th Cir.1990). The movant typically must discharge this burden by producing evidence that negates an essential element of the nonmovant's claim. E.g., Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir.1991). In some circumstances, however, the movant may meet this burden by "pointing to materials on file that demonstrate that the party bearing the burden of proof at trial will not be able to meet that burden." Coats & Clark, 929 F.2d at 608; see Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53.

If the movant successfully discharges this initial burden, it is then the nonmovant's burden to establish, by going beyond the pleadings, that there is a genuine issue as to facts material to the nonmovant's case. Earley v. Champion Int'l Corp., 907 F.2d 1077, 1080 (11th Cir.1990); Rollins v. TechSouth, Inc., 833 F.2d 1525, 1528 (11th Cir.1987). "Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted." United States v. Gilbert, 920 F.2d 878, 883 (11th Cir.1991) (citation omitted). The nonmovant "must present affirmative evidence in order to defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment." Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 257, 106 S.Ct. at 2514; Gilbert, 920 F.2d at 882. This means that the nonmovant "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine need for trial." Johns v. Jarrard, 927 F.2d 551, 555 (11th Cir.1991) (citation omitted).

In assessing whether the movant is entitled to summary judgment in its favor, the district court must review the evidence and all reasonable factual inferences arising from it in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. E.g., Regan, 926 F.2d at 1080; Gilbert, 920 F.2d at 882. A mere "scintilla" of evidence supporting the opposing party's position, however, will not suffice. E.g., Walker v. Darby, 911 F.2d 1573, 1577 (11th Cir.1990). "Where the record, taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, then there is no genuine issue for trial." Matsushita Elec. Indus. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); see Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512; Johns v. Jarrard, 927 F.2d 551, 556 (11th Cir.1991). The evidence need not be in a form that would be admissible at trial. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; Cottle v. Storer Communication, Inc., 849 F.2d 570, 575 (11th Cir. 1988). The Court, however, must avoid weighing conflicting evidence, Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513-14; Brown v. Hughes, 894 F.2d 1533, 1536 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 110 S.Ct. 2624, 110 L.Ed.2d 645 (1990); Tippens v. Celotex Corp., 805 F.2d 949, 953 (11th Cir.1986), or making credibility determinations. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513-14; McKenzie v. Davenport-Harris Funeral Home, 834 F.2d 930, 934 (11th Cir.1987). At bottom, "where the facts specifically averred by the nonmovant contradict facts specifically averred by the movant, the motion must be denied." Lujan v. National Wildlife Fed., ___ U.S. ___, 110 S.Ct. 3177, 3188, 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990). As discussed below, GEICO has failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that no genuine dispute exists as to any material fact in this case as required by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

II. Interpretation of Insurance Contracts

In its motion for summary judgment, GEICO concludes that it is entitled to summary judgment, and states: "there is no coverage for plaintiff's house under the policy at issue, because that house was vacant at the time the fire occurred, and, thus, not being used...