Twin City Fire Ins. Co. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 12 September 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 03-62143-CIV-SEITZ.,No. 03-62136-CIV-SEITZ.,03-62136-CIV-SEITZ.,03-62143-CIV-SEITZ. |
| Parties | TWIN CITY FIRE INSURANCE CO., Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., and J.C. Penney, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. FIREMAN'S FUND INSURANCE CO., Defendant. Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., Plaintiff, v. J.C. Penney, Inc., Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., and Twin City Fire Insurance Co., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida |
Kenneth Philip Carman, Carman Beauchamp & Sang, Boca Raton, FL, James Kendall Clark, Clark Robb Mason Coulombe & Buschman, Miami, FL, for Plaintiffs.
Joel Victor Lumer, Michael Andrew Mullen, Gaebe, Mullen, Antonelli, Esco & Dimatteo, Coral Gables, FL, for Defendant.
OMNIBUS ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
THIS MATTER is before the Court upon the Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Twin City Fire Insurance Company [DE-37], Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and J.C. Penney, Inc. [DE-41], and Fireman's Fund Insurance Company [DE-54]. These consolidated actions stem from a wrongful death suit brought by the estate of Jessica Enriquez, a young child who was killed when a shelving unit manufactured by Trendlines Home Fashions, Inc., fell on her at a J.C. Penney outlet store. These cases require interpretation of provisions in certain insurance policies issued by Twin City, Liberty Mutual, and Fireman's Fund to Trendlines. Specifically, the question before the Court is whether Fireman's Fund is contractually required to contribute funds towards the settlement that Liberty Mutual and Twin City reached in the underlying action Enriquez lawsuit, and if so, in what amount.
Twin City, Liberty Mutual, and J.C. Penney move for summary judgment arguing that Fireman's Fund is required to contribute towards the settlement of the underlying Enriquez action because the claims settled therein are covered under the terms of the vendor's endorsement. Twin City contends that Fireman's Fund must reimburse Twin City in the amount of $1,295,000, and that Liberty Mutual and J.C. Penney are not entitled to any reimbursement. Liberty Mutual and J.C. Penney likewise argue that Fireman's Fund is obligated under the terms of the vendor's endorsement to contribute towards the Enriquez settlement, but contend that they are entitled to reimbursement of up to three millions dollars. Fireman's Fund denies that it is required to contribute towards the settlement, and seeks final judgment in its favor.
Upon careful review of the motions, the responses and replies thereto, the insurance policies at issue, the relevant portions of the record, and the applicable case law, the Court finds that the vendor's endorsement in the Fireman's Fund insurance policy obligates Fireman's Fund to contribute towards the settlement that J.C. Penney and Liberty Mutual reached in the Enriquez action. Although Fireman's Fund contends that it is not required to contribute towards the settlement because its policy did not cover claims premised on J.C. Penney's negligence, the plain and unambiguous language of the vendor's endorsement at issue extends coverage for bodily injuries "arising out of" Trendlines' products which are bought and sold in the regular course of J.C. Penney's business. Further, the Court finds that Twin City is entitled to $1,295,000 from Fireman's Fund, while Liberty Mutual and J.C. Penney are not entitled to any additional reimbursement from Fireman's Fund. Accordingly, Twin City's Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and the motions of Liberty Mutual and J.C. Penney and Fireman's Fund are denied.
In May 1997, four year old Jessica Enriquez was killed when a space saver wall unit manufactured by Trendline Home Fashions, Inc. d/b/a Trendlines/Great Connections ("Trendlines") fell on her while she was shopping with her parents at a J.C. Penney outlet store in Sunrise, Florida. Compl. ¶ 14. The child's parents brought a wrongful death action ("the Enriquez action") against both Trendlines and J.C. Penney, asserting claims of products liability and premises liability. Id. ¶¶ 18-19. This case concerns the manner in which the insurance policies issued by various companies to Trendlines and J.C. Penney should be relied upon to cover the settlement of the Enriquez action.
At the time of the accident, Trendlines and J.C. Penney were each insured under both primary insurance policies and umbrella liability policies. Trendlines was insured under a Fireman's Fund primary insurance policy (the "FF Primary Policy"), with a limit of liability of $1 million. Id. ¶ 8. The FF Primary Policy contains a vendor's endorsement providing that any vendor of Trendlines' products is an additional insured "with respect to Bodily Injury or Property Damage arising out of ... [Trendlines'] products which are distributed or sold in the regular course of the vendor's business." Id. ¶ 9. Plaintiffs contend that J.C. Penney was covered under this vendor's endorsement in the FF Primary Policy. Id. ¶ 21. Trendlines was also insured under a Fireman's Fund umbrella liability policy (the "FF Excess Policy"), with a $10 million limit of liability. Id. ¶ 10. The FF Excess Policy provides that "[a]ny person or organization who is an insured in primary policies at the inception of our policy is an insured" under the excess policy as well. Id. ¶ 11. J.C. Penney, in turn, was insured under a Liberty Mutual commercial general liability insurance policy (the "Liberty Mutual Policy"), with a $2 million limit of liability and a $1 million deductible, as well as a Twin City umbrella liability policy (the "Twin City Policy") with a $15 million limit of liability, excess of $2 million. Id. ¶¶ 12-13.
On November 30, 1999, Fireman's Fund settled what it characterized as all of the products liability claims against both Trendlines and J.C. Penney in the Enriquez Action for $175,000 (the "Trendlines Settlement"). Id. ¶ 22. Later that day, Twin City and Liberty Mutual separately settled all of the remaining claims against J.C. Penney for a total of $4 million dollars (the "J.C. Penney Settlement"). Id. ¶ 23. Of this $4 million, J.C. Penney paid its $1 million deductible under the Liberty Mutual Policy, Liberty Mutual paid $1 million, and Twin City paid the remaining $2 million under the Twin City Policy. Id. Plaintiffs contend that Fireman's Fund has refused to contribute to this $4 million settlement, arguing that the claims settled in the J.C. Penney Settlement were for J.C. Penney's own active negligence on a premises liability theory and, therefore, were not covered under the Fireman's Fund policies. Id. ¶ 24.
Summary judgment is appropriate when "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." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)). The moving party bears the initial responsibility of showing the court, by reference to the record, that there are no genuine issues of material fact to be decided at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once that initial burden is met, the party opposing summary judgment must go beyond the pleadings and "come forward with `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)); see also Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
When deciding whether summary judgment is appropriate, the Court must view the evidence and all reasonable factual inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Witter v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 138 F.3d 1366, 1369 (11th Cir.1998) (citations omitted). The Court must then decide whether "the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." Allen v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11th Cir.1997) (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505). Here, all of the parties agree that there are no disputed issues of fact and that this case is properly decided on summary judgment. It is with these principles in mind that the Court reviews the three pending motions for summary judgment.
The first question before the Court is whether the vendor's endorsement in the Fireman's Fund primary policy obligates Fireman's Fund to contribute towards the J.C. Penney settlement. Fireman's Fund argues that it need not contribute to the J.C. Penney settlement because the claims settled therein relate only to J.C. Penney's negligence. Fireman's Fund further contends that because the vendor's endorsement covers only product liability claims relating to Trendlines' products — and not claims that the vendor was negligent in its distribution of these products — it is absolved of any obligation to contribute towards the J.C. Penney settlement. In turn, Twin City, Liberty Mutual and J.C. Penney assert that the vendor's endorsement provides coverage for J.C. Penney in the Enriquez lawsuit and that, therefore Fireman's Fund is required to contribute to the settlement.
By its clear and unambiguous language, the vendor's endorsement extends coverage under the Fireman's Fund policies to vendors "with respect to Bodily Injury or Property Damage arising out of ... [Trendlines'] products which are distributed or sold in the regular course of the vendor's business." Courts have defined the term "arising out of" as "broad, general, and comprehensive terms" resulting in broad coverage. See Ohio Cas. Ins. Co. v. Continental Cas. Co., 279 F.Supp.2d 1281, 1284 (S.D.Fla.2003) (...
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