Quintero v. Geico Marine Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 01 May 2019 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 0:18-cv-62093-UU |
| Citation | 389 F.Supp.3d 1153 |
| Parties | Alfredo QUINTERO, Plaintiff, v. GEICO MARINE INSURANCE CO., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida |
Jose Pete Font, Font & Nelson, LLC, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Plaintiff.
Michael Adam Packer, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, P.C., Shaghayegh Nowroozpour, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Defendant.
ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment ("Plaintiff's Motion"), D.E. 16, and Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment ("Defendant's Motion" and together with Plaintiff's Motion, the "Motions"). D.E. 15. The Court has reviewed the Motions, the pertinent portions of the record and is otherwise fully advised in the premises. For the reasons discussed infra , Defendant's Motion is GRANTED and Plaintiff's Motion is DENIED.
On October 31, 2018, the Court entered its scheduling order for pretrial conference and trial, setting a Motion deadline of March 22, 2019. D.E. 7. On February 14, 2019, Defendant, Geico Marine Insurance Company ("Geico"),1 filed its motion for summary judgment. D.E. 15. One day later, Plaintiff, Alfredo Quintero ("Quintero"), filed his motion for partial summary judgment. D.E. 16. Quintero subsequently moved for an extension to respond to Geico's motion on grounds that certain depositions were outstanding, and given that the motion cutoff had not yet expired, the Court granted Quintero a minor extension until March 14, 2019 to respond to Geico's motion for summary judgment. D.E. 38. In that order, the Court stated:
Plaintiff SHALL FILE his response to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment by Thursday, March 14, 2019. NO FURTHER EXTENSIONS WILL BE GRANTED AND THE COURT WILL NOT CONSIDER ANY RESPONSES FILED AFTER THIS DATE.
Id. at 5 (emphasis in original).
Despite the Court's glaring warning that it would not consider responses filed after this date, Quintero filed his response to Geico's Motion on March 15, 2019, a day after the deadline the Court imposed for his response. D.E. 39. On this basis alone, and having found that Geico's Motion has merit, the Court would grant Geico's Motion and dismiss this action. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41 ; Link v. Wabash R. Co. , 370 U.S. 626, 630, 82 S.Ct. 1386, 8 L.Ed.2d 734 (1962) (). However, given the pendency of Quintero's motion for summary judgment and that his response was only a day late, the Court considers whether Quintero's Motion or his response to Geico's Motion demonstrates that there is a genuine dispute of material fact precluding summary judgment in Geico's favor; it does not.
Unless otherwise indicated, the following facts are undisputed.
Geico issued an insurance policy (the "Policy") to Quintero with a policy period of May 5, 2017 to May 5, 2018 for a 32-inch 2008 Renegade Boats Runabout (the "Vessel").
D.E. 15 ¶ 1; D.E. 15-3; D.E. 15-10 ¶ 5. On May 4, 2018, the day before the Policy period ended, Quintero contacted Geico regarding a declined charge on his credit card from Geico. D.E. 33-4. Geico informed Quintero that his policy was up for renewal and Geico's automatically debited future installments and renewal payments from the customer's card on file. Id. at 5. However, because payment was declined on Quintero's card, the payment was not taken. Id. at 5-6. After being told that Geico could not lower the amount owed, Quintero stated that Geico would "lose him as a customer." Id. at 14. Quintero did not pay the installment amount due on May 5, 2018, and on May 10, 2018, Geico sent Quintero a Notice of Policy Expiration, informing him that the Policy had expired as of May 5, 2018. D.E. 15-1.
On May 25, 2018, at approximately 7:28 A.M., Quintero called Geico to "pay his boat policy." D.E. 17-2 at 2. Geico informed him that his last policy payment had been due on May 5, 2018, and asked him if he wanted to reinstate his policy, to which Quintero responded that he did. D.E. 17-2 at 3. Before taking payment, Geico asked Quintero some questions regarding the status of the Vessel and Quintero responded that the Vessel had no damage, was "sound and seaworthy," that the last time he physically saw the Vessel was "every day," and the Vessel was currently in his house. Id. at 4. At the end of the conversation, Geico confirmed that the policy was reinstated and backdated to May 5, 2018. D.E. 17-2 at 14.
On May 25, 2018, at 2:43 PM, approximately seven hours after Quintero called Geico to reinstate his Policy, Quintero reported the theft of the Vessel and trailer to the Broward County Sherriff's Office. D.E. 15-4. The same day, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Quintero called Geico to make a claim under the Policy for the stolen Vessel, with a date of loss of May 25, 2018. D.E. 17-3. Geico acknowledged Quintero's claim and immediately began an investigation on the same day. D.E. 15-5. On July 13, 2018, Geico sent Quintero correspondence, advising that the investigation was ongoing and that coverage for the loss would be determined after receipt of the full police investigation report. D.E. 15-6.
On January 17, 2019, the Broward County Sheriff's Office issued a final report. D.E. 15-7. In the report, the reporting officer stated that video-surveillance footage from a neighboring home showed a black pickup truck hauling the trailer and the Vessel away at 4:58 a.m., on May 25, 2018, approximately three hours before Quintero called Geico to reinstate the Policy. D.E. 15-7 at 3. On January 30, 2019, Geico sent Quintero a rescission letter and denial of coverage. D.E. 15-8. Geico explained that it was denying coverage for the Vessel and rescinding the policy ab initio because Quintero misrepresented the condition of the Vessel and that that he had possession of it when he called to reinstate his policy on May 25, 2018, which Geico stated was material to its decision to insure the Vessel. Id.
Summary judgment is authorized only when the moving party meets its burden of demonstrating that "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. When determining whether the moving party has met this burden, the Court must view the evidence and all factual inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co. , 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970) ; Rojas v. Florida , 285 F.3d 1339, 1341-42 (11th Cir. 2002).
The party opposing the motion may not simply rest upon mere allegations or denials of the pleadings; after the moving party has met its burden of proving that no genuine issue of material fact exists, the non-moving party must make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an essential element of that party's case and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; Poole v. Country Club of Columbus, Inc. , 129 F.3d 551, 553 (11th Cir. 1997) ; Barfield v. Brierton , 883 F.2d 923, 933 (11th Cir. 1989).
If the record presents factual issues, the Court must not decide them; it must deny the motion and proceed to trial. Envntl. Def. Fund v. Marsh , 651 F.2d 983, 991 (5th Cir. 1981). Summary judgment may be inappropriate even where the parties agree on the basic facts, but disagree about the inferences that should be drawn from these facts. Lighting Fixture & Elec. Supply Co. v. Cont'l Ins. Co. , 420 F.2d 1211, 1213 (5th Cir. 1969). If reasonable minds might differ on the inferences arising from undisputed facts, then the Court should deny summary judgment. Impossible Elec. Techs., Inc. v. Wackenhut Protective Sys., Inc. , 669 F.2d 1026, 1031 (5th Cir. 1982) ; see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ().
Moreover, the party opposing a motion for summary judgment need not respond to it with evidence unless and until the movant has properly supported the motion with sufficient evidence. Adickes , 398 U.S. at 160, 90 S.Ct. 1598. The moving party must demonstrate that the facts underlying the relevant legal questions raised by the pleadings or are not otherwise in dispute, or else summary judgment will be denied notwithstanding that the non-moving party has introduced no evidence whatsoever. Brunswick Corp. v. Vineberg , 370 F.2d 605, 611-12 (5th Cir. 1967). The Court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all justifiable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
Quintero argues that he is entitled to partial summary judgment on all of Geico's affirmative defenses and as to whether the Policy was cancelled or not renewed. D.E. 16. Specifically, Quintero argues that there is no genuine dispute that Geico failed to comply with the Policy's nonrenewal and cancellation provisions, that Quintero's coverage never lapsed, and therefore the theft of his Vessel was a covered loss under the Policy. D.E. 16.
Geico also moves for summary judgment, arguing that Quintero's material misrepresentations as to the status of the Vessel on May 25, 2018 preclude any recovery on three related grounds. First, Geico argues that under the federal common law doctrine of ...
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