Schuchman v. State Auto Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 03 July 2012 |
| Docket Number | No. 10–cv–1024–DRH–PMF.,10–cv–1024–DRH–PMF. |
| Citation | 877 F.Supp.2d 696 |
| Parties | Norman E. SCHUCHMAN and Glenna Schuchman, Plaintiffs, v. STATE AUTO PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Illinois |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Daniel R. Price, Daniel R. Price, Wham & Wham, Centralia, IL, for Plaintiffs.
John P. Cunningham, Brown & James, Belleville, IL, for Defendant.
Pending before the Court are the parties' cross motions for summary judgment. Plaintiffs Norman E. Schuchman and Glenna Schuchman (Collectively, plaintiffs) allege defendant State Auto Property and Casualty Insurance Company wrongfully denied their claim for coverage of fire damage to the insured dwelling, 109 W. 14th Street. Defendant states it rightfully denied coverage of the fire damage, as plaintiffs were not residing in 109 W. 14 Street at the time of fire, as required by the express terms of the policy. For the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS defendant's motion (Doc. 19) and DENIES plaintiffs' motion (Doc. 17).
The instant dispute arises from fire damage caused to plaintiffs' house, 109 W. 14th Street, Junction City, Illinois, on May 23, 2010. Plaintiff Glenna Schuchman (Glenna) 1 purchased the parcel of land on which the subject home is located in 1980. The land consists of eight lots of Block 45 in the Illinois township of Junction City. At the time of purchase, the subject home and two sheds were situated on the property (Doc. 19–1, p. 25).
The home, in which Glenna and eventually her husband, plaintiff Norman E. Schuchman (Norman) initially resided, had a mailing address of Rural Route 1 at the time of Glenna's purchase. In 1988 or 1989, plaintiffs moved a mobile home onto the property where Glenna's mother resided. A year or two later, plaintiffs moved a second mobile home onto the property where Glenna's stepfather resided. The mobile homes were assigned a mailing address of Rural Route 2 (Doc. 19–1, pp. 28–29). At some point prior to 1993, the subject house was assigned a mailing address of 109 W. 14th Street, Junction City, Illinois; one mobile home was assigned a street address of 1406 Madison Avenue; the other 1408 Madison Avenue (Doc. 19–1, pp. 29–30). Plaintiffs state a title search of both 1408 Madison Avenue and 109 W. 14th Street reveal the entire tract of land is one contiguous lot ( See Doc. 18–1, Ex. G, p. 17). Further, plaintiffs pay taxes based on the property as a whole (Doc. 18–1, Ex. H, p. 20).
In 2000, plaintiffs purchased from defendant, through Hudson–Gray Insurance Agency, Inc., a homeowners insurance policy for 109 W. 14th Street; the terms of which govern the instant dispute. Although plaintiffs admittedly resided at 109 W. 14th Street in 2000, plaintiffs' insurance application lists 1408 Madison Avenue as their mailing address. Plaintiffs' application additionally indicates 109 W. 14th Street as plaintiffs' primary, owner-occupied dwelling. It further indicates plaintiffs do not have any other “residence” (Doc. 19–1, pp. 87–88). Plaintiffs' coverage under the disputed policy continued until the date of the fire.
The relevant provisions of the policy are as follows:
DEFINITIONS
A. In this policy, “you” and “your” refer to the “named insured” shown in the Declarations and the spouse if a resident of the same household. “We”, “us” and “our” refer to the Company providing this insurance.
B. In addition, certain words and phrases are defined as follows:
11. “Residence premises” means:
a. The one family dwelling where you reside;
b. The two, three or four family dwelling where you reside in at least one of the family units; or
c. That part of any other building where you reside;
and which is shown as the “residence premises” in the Declarations. “Residence premises” also includes other structures and grounds at that location.
...
A. Coverage A—Dwelling
1. We cover:
a. The dwelling on the “residence premises” shown in the Declarations, including structures attached to the dwelling; and
b. Materials and supplies located on or next to the “residence premises” used to construct, alter or repair the dwelling or other structures on the “residence premises”.
...
(a) The described dwelling is not seasonal; (b) no business pursuits are conducted on the described premises; (c) the residence premises is the only premises where you maintain a residence other than business or farm properties; (d) the Insured has no full time residence employee(s); (e) the Insured has not [sic] outboard motor(s) or watercraft otherwise excluded under this policy for which coverage is desired. Exception, if any, to (1) [sic], (b), (c), (d) or (e) [are] entered in Special Provisions section on Declarations. Absence of an entry means “no exceptions.”
The relevant portion of the Declarations page of the policy states:
THE PREMISES COVERED BY THIS POLICY IS LOCATED 109 WEST 14TH ST JUNCTION CITY, IL 62882.
RATING INFORMATION—FORM 3, FRAME CONSTRUCTED IN 1945, SECURGARD, PRIMARY RESIDENCE, PROTECTION CLASS 06, TERRITORY 051, FEET FROM HYDRANT 1000, FIRE STATION 3 MILES, $500 SECTION I LOSS DEDUCTIBLE, 1 FAMILY INSIDE CITY.
At some point after 2000 but before 2005, plaintiffs moved two more mobile homes onto the property. At that time, plaintiffs moved from 109 W. 14th Street into the two newer mobile homes, where they are “currently residing” (Doc. 19–1, p. 32). Their intention was to maintain a single level residence in their retirement, as 109 W. 14th Street is a two level home. The two newer mobile homes were additionally assigned the street address of 1408 Madison Avenue; thus, three mobile homes total bear that address. The two newer mobile homes are situated approximately 150 to 200 feet from 109 W. 14th Street. Upon Glenna's mother and stepfathers' deaths, plaintiffs began using the mobile home located at 1406 Madison Avenue and the older mobile home located at 1408 Madison Avenue as storage. Plaintiffs' ownership of 109 W. 14th Street continued (Doc. 19–1, pp. 30–38).
At Glenna's deposition, she testified concerning a conversation she had with Mike Wethington (Wethington), her insurance agent, concerning the move from 109 W. 14th Street to the two mobile homes at 1408 Madison Avenue. Glenna stated that Wethington informed her defendant did not insure mobile homes. Thus, plaintiffs obtained a separate insurance policy to cover the two newer mobile homes at 1408 Madison Avenue (Doc. 19–1, pp. 44–46).
Shortly after plaintiffs moved from 109 W. 14th Street to 1408 Madison Avenue, plaintiffs' son, Richard Schuchman (Richard), moved into 109 W. 14th Street. At that time, plaintiffs were unsure of the intended length of Richard's residence at the subject home. However, Richard moved out of the residence in 2008 (Doc. 19–1, p. 17). At that time, plaintiffs had the gas and water turned off, but kept the electric service active for purposes of general upkeep. Glenna testified that between Richard's departure in 2008 and the fire of 2010, plaintiffs never cooked or ate a meal, nor did they spend the night at 109 W. 14th Street. Plaintiffs entered the house approximately once a month, stored personal property there, and engaged in its general maintenance, including lawn work (Doc. 19–1, pp. 18–24). Generally, upon Richard's departure, plaintiffs considered remodeling and reoccupying 109 W. 14th Street. However, plaintiffs had no definite plans to take up residence in the subject home, as their intent in moving to the two newer mobile homes at 1408 Madison Avenue was to stay there indefinitely (Doc. 19–1, p. 43). Similarly, upon learning of Norman's terminal cancer diagnosis a few weeks prior to the fire, Glenna again “kicked around” the idea of remodeling and moving back into 109 W. 14th Street, but took no affirmative steps in that regard (Doc. 19–1, pp. 40–42).
On May 23, 2010, a fire broke out at 109 W. 14th Street, damaging the building and its contents. Plaintiffs filed an insurance claim with defendant. Defendant agreed to provide coverage for the contents of plaintiffs' home, as the relevant policy extends to personal property anywhere in the world ( See Doc. 19–2, p. 25). However, on October 1, 2012, defendant denied plaintiffs' claim for coverage of the damage to the building itself. In reliance on the above-cited policy provisions, defendant stated:
Our investigation has revealed that neither of the named insureds, Glenna or Norman Schuchman, was residing at the home at 109 W. 14th Street, Junction City, Illinois, at the time of the fire. Therefore, at the time of the fire loss, the home at 109 W. 14th Street was not being used as your “residence premises,” as that term is defined in the insurance policy. Furthermore, our investigation has revealed that you were maintaining a residence in a location other than the premises described in [defendant's] insurance policy and this is a violation of subsection (c) of the Special Provisions [of the policy].
( See Doc. 2–2, Ex. B, p. 65). Thus, plaintiffs filed the instant three count complaint in Marion County, Illinois on November 17, 2010 (Doc. 2–2). Defendant properly removed to this Court pursuant to diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, on December 17, 2010 (Doc. 2). Thereafter, the parties filed the instant cross-motions for summary judgment which are now ripe for resolution .
Plaintiffs' Count I is an action for declaratory judgment, asking the Court to declare that plaintiffs did not breach any provision of the insurance policy and that they are entitled to insurance coverage for the repair and replacement of 109 W. 14th Street. Count II is an action for damages, alleging defendant's breach of the insurance policy. In addition to the actual loss suffered, plaintiffs seek punitive damages. Finally,...
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