Harford Mut. Ins. Co. v. Z&D Realty, LLC
| Decision Date | 29 December 2022 |
| Docket Number | 19-1583 (RMB/SAK),19-1627 (RMB/SAK) |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
| Parties | HARFORD MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. Z&D REALTY, LLC, et al., Defendants. FIRSTLINE NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY and HARFORD MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiffs, v. LANDIS PIG ROAST, LLC, et al., Defendants. |
[Case No. 19-1583, Docket No. 52;
Case No. 19-1627, Docket No. 70]
APPEARANCES
Jennifer Broeck Barr Louis J. Niedelman Cooper, Levenson April, Niedelman & Wagenheim, PA On behalf of Plaintiffs Harford Mutual Insurance Company and Firstline National Insurance Company
Louis M. Barbone Jacobs & Barbone, Esqs. On behalf of Defendants / Third-Party Plaintiffs Ziggy Dobkowski, Diane Dobkowski, Z&D Realty, LLC, and Landis Pig Roast, LLC
Richard A. Stoloff Law Offices of Richard A. Stoloff On behalf of Defendants Dennis Cosby, Eugene Cosby, Terry R Mayes
Raghu N. Bandlamudi Foley & Mansfield PLLP On behalf of Third-Party Defendants Donald Reighn and The Martin Insurance Agency, Inc.
Renee Marie Bumb United States District Judge This is an insurance case, with disputes between two insurance companies and their insureds as well as between the insureds and their brokers. In April of 2017, a tragic incident left several innocent victims injured, and litigation in New Jersey Superior Court soon commenced. Who should pay the bill? The parties all point the finger at each other here. This is a case in which inattention has produced a messy outcome for all.
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These matters come before the Court upon two motions for summary judgment. On April 29, 2022, Plaintiffs Harford Mutual Insurance Company (“Harford”) and Firstline National Insurance Company (“Firstline”) jointly moved for summary judgment in Case No. 19-1583 (the “Harford Case”). [Docket No. 52 (the “Joint MSJ”).] On September 29, 2022, Third-Party Defendants Donald Reighn and the Martin Insurance Agency, Inc. (the “Martin Company,” and with Mr. Reighn, the “Martin Defendants”) also moved for summary judgment in Case No. 19-1627 (the “Firstline Case”). [Docket No. 70 (the “Second Martin MSJ”).] Both Motions have been opposed by Defendants / Third-Party Plaintiffs Diane and Ziggy Dobkowski (the “Dobkowskis”), Z&D Realty, LLC (“Z&D Realty”), and Landis Pig Roast, LLC (“Landis Pig Roast”) (collectively, the “Z&D Defendants”). [See Harford Case, Docket No. 56 ( ) (filed June 20, 2022); Firstline Case, Docket No. 77 ( ) (filed November 8, 2022).] For the reasons set forth below, the Joint MSJ and the Second Martin MSJ will be GRANTED.
These matters stem from requests for defense and indemnity made by the Z&D Defendants of their commercial insurers, Harford and Firstline, after a tragic shooting at a banquet hall in Vineland, New Jersey left several victims injured and resulted in state court litigation. At bottom, the parties do not agree whether certain risks associated with the operation of the banquet hall were covered by the insurance policies that Harford and Firstline wrote. Unless otherwise noted, the Court understands the below facts to be undisputed.
The Dobkowskis own and operate a variety of related businesses situated at 619-623 East Landis Avenue in Vineland, New Jersey. They own Z&D Realty, an apartment building and property manager, [Harford Case, Docket No. 52-1 ¶ 4 ( )); Harford Case, Docket No. 56-1 ¶ 4 (Defs.' Responsive Statement of Material Facts ( ))], Landis Pig Roast, a family-style restaurant with a liquor license, , and Grant Plaza, LLC (“Grant Plaza”),[1]a banquet hall and dancing facility, [id. ¶ 3]. Z&D Realty and Landis Pig Roast share the same physical address (i.e., 623 East Landis Avenue), and Grant Plaza is located next door (i.e., 619 East Landis Avenue). [Id. ¶¶ 3-5.] The businesses are clearly interrelated: Z&D Realty owns the land on which Landis Pig Roast and Grant Plaza operate; two interior doorways on either side of a back alley connect Landis Pig Roast to Grant Plaza; the Dobkowskis rely upon one liquor license for Landis Pig Roast and Grant Plaza; and Landis Pig Roast supplies Grant Plaza with food and liquor service. [Id. ¶¶ 3-6, 66.] In his deposition, Mr. Dobkowski indicated that he and Ms. Dobkowski have operated Landis Pig Roast since 2014 and that they opened Grant Plaza in February 2015 after completing a renovation. [Id. ¶¶ 5, 37.]
Sometime in 2015, the Dobkowskis sought commercial insurance for Z&D Realty and Landis Pig Roast. They contacted Anatoly Sakhan and the Biondi Insurance Agency, Inc. (collectively, the “Biondi Defendants”), a full-service insurance agency located within walking distance of the Dobkowskis' businesses. Mr. Sakhan was allegedly familiar with Landis Pig Roast and Grant Plaza on a personal basis. With the Biondi Defendants' assistance, Mr. Dobkowski submitted two commercial general liability insurance applications: one to Harford, dated November 13, 2015; the other to Firstline, dated December 14, 2015. Ultimately,[2] the Biondi Defendants secured Policy Number 9157994 from Harford for the period covering January 3, 2017 to January 3, 2018 and naming Z&D Realty as the insured (the “Harford Policy”). [Id. ¶¶ 13-14.] The Harford Policy described Z&D Realty as an apartment building located at 623 East Landis Avenue. [Id. ¶¶ 15-18.] The Biondi Defendants also secured Policy Number 8171734 from Firstline covering the same period and naming Landis Pig Roast as the insured (the “Firstline Policy”). [Id. ¶¶ 27-28.] The Firstline Policy described Landis Pig Roast as a restaurant located at 623 East Landis Avenue, and it included liquor liability coverage. [Id. ¶¶ 30-35.]
However, neither policy mentions Grant Plaza as an additional insured or otherwise even though the Dobkowskis had opened the banquet hall prior to submitting their initial Harford and Firstline insurance applications. And both applications solicited information concerning the operation of additional or related businesses. For instance, Mr. Dobkowski's application for the Harford Policy included a question regarding “other on or off premises exposures not listed above,” which he[3]denied. [Id. ¶ 22.] The Harford application also asks about other operations or subsidiaries and whether there would be social events on the premises, both of which questions Mr. Dobkowski denied. [Id. ¶¶ 23-24.] Similarly, in his application for the Firstline Policy, Mr. Dobkowski denied owning other businesses or operations and providing entertainment at Landis Pig Roast. [Id. ¶¶ 38-42.] He denied that there was any other on or off premises exposures not listed in the application. [Id. ¶ 40.]
In early 2015, before applying to Harford and Firstline, the Dobkowskis sought an insurance policy to cover Grant Plaza specifically, as insurance was required for them to renovate the Grant Plaza building that they had previously purchased.[4] [Id. ¶¶ 44, 52.] The Martin Defendants had assisted the Dobkowskis with obtaining insurance while the building was vacant, , so Ms. Dobkowski contacted the Martin Company again and communicated with Jean Bereznai, an insurance producer, to secure an appropriate policy.[5] On March 2, 2015, Ms. Dobkowski completed a commercial insurance application with Pennock Insurance, Inc. (“Pennock”), describing Z&D Realty's operations as “building owner and operation of banquet hall.” [Id. ¶¶ 52-53; see Pennock Ins. Application, Niedelman Cert., Ex. E., Harford Case, Docket No. 52-3.] In her application, she listed 619-621 East Landis Avenue as the business's address and indicated that alcohol would be served on the premises. Eventually, the Dobkowskis purchased, again presumably by renewal, Policy Number CP 1607675 from the United States Liability Insurance Company covering the period February 21, 2017 to February 21, 2018 and naming Z&D Realty as the insured (the “USLIC Policy”). [Id. ¶¶ 44-46.] Prior to finalizing the USLIC Policy, however, the United States Liability Insurance Group (“USLIG”) conducted an inspection of the premises. USLIG ascertained the relationship between the Dobkowskis' business entities[6]and determined that the USLIC Policy should exclude coverage for liquor liability exposure because such risk was reportedly covered under a prior version of the Firstline Policy. [See id ¶¶ 51, 59-73.] USLIC is not a party to this litigation. [See id. ¶ 75.]
On April 21, 2017, Defendant Raheem McClendon leased Grant Plaza to host a party for some 500 to 600 guests with an admission price, security guards, and alcohol service. [Id. ¶ 8.] That evening, a shooting occurred at Grant Plaza that left at least three individuals injured (the “Shooting”). [Id. ¶¶ 8-10.] Shortly thereafter, those injured attendees Defendants Eugene Cosby and Dennis Cosby (the “Cosbys”) and Terry Mayes asserted various personal injury claims against the Z&D Defendants and McClendon in a state court proceeding (the “Underlying Action”).[7][Id.] The Z&D Defendants then notified Harford and Firstline of the Underlying Action and demanded defense and indemnification, which they denied. [Id. ¶¶ 1112.]
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