Taurus Holdings, Inc. v. U.S. Fidelity and Guar., No. 03-14720.

• Decision Date: 29 November 2005
• Docket Number: No. 03-14720.
• Citation: 431 F.3d 765
• Parties: TAURUS HOLDINGS, INC., Taurus International Manufacturing, Inc., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES FIDELITY AND GUARANTY COMPANY, Pacific Insurance Company, Limited, Federal Insurance Company, Great Northern Insurance Company, United National Insurance Company, Fireman's Fund Ins., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

431 F.3d 765

TAURUS HOLDINGS, INC., Taurus International Manufacturing, Inc., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES FIDELITY AND GUARANTY COMPANY, Pacific Insurance Company, Limited, Federal Insurance Company, Great Northern Insurance Company, United National Insurance Company, Fireman's Fund Ins., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 03-14720.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

November 29, 2005.

John W. Harbin, Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy, Atlanta, GA, Christopher

Edson Knight, Fowler, White, Burnett, Hurley, Banick & Stickroot, P.A., Miami, FL, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Zorian Ihor Sperkacz, Ponzoli, Wassenberg, Sperkacz & Keller, P.A., Miami, FL, Charles Mills-Pittman George, Mitchell L. Lundeen, George, Hartz, Lundeen, Fulmer, Johnstone, King & Stevens, Coral Gables, FL, Jonathan A. Constine, Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., Washington, DC, Richard Hoydl, Jr., Alyssa M. Campbell, Williams, Montgomery & John, Ltd., Chicago, IL, Michael S. Levine, Walter J. Andrews, Hunton & Williams, Amy K. Savage, ShawPittman, LLP, Mc Lean, VA, Thomas J. Morgan, Coconut Grove, FL, for Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (No. 01-02236-CV-AJ); Adalberto Jordan, Judge.

Before ANDERSON, CARNES and FAY, Circuit Judges.

FAY, Circuit Judge:

Taurus is in the business of manufacturing, selling and distributing firearms. A group of municipalities have sued Taurus and other handgun manufacturers seeking compensation for expenses allegedly resulting from gun violence within their communities. Taurus, in turn, filed this declaratory action against a group of insurance companies seeking contributions from them to cover the cost of defending the suits. The district court found that the "products-completed operations hazard" provision excluded coverage.

Because we were faced with an important question of Florida law where no binding precedent was present, we decided to seek the guidance of the Florida Supreme Court before reaching our decision. On April 29, 2004, we issued an opinion in this case in which we asked the Florida Supreme Court to answer a certified question regarding the interpretation of Florida Law concerning whether commercial liability policies exclude coverage for lawsuits that several municipalities have filed against a gun manufacturer. The facts in this case are set forth in our original opinion in Taurus Holdings, Inc. v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 367 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir.2004)....