DENISE COTE, District Judge.
Response Personnel, Inc. ("RPI") brings the above-captioned action against Hartford Fire Insurance Co. ("Hartford") for: (1) a declaration that certain losses RPI sustained from the departure of critical employees are covered by an insurance policy issued to it by Hartford; and, (2) damages for Hartford's breach of that contract. Hartford has moved pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), Fed.R.Civ.P., to dismiss plaintiff's amended complaint ("Complaint") for failure to state a claim. Hartford principally argues that RPI's loss was sustained and discovered before the policy period. For the following reasons, Hartford's motion to dismiss is converted to a motion for summary judgment and is granted.
The following facts are drawn from the Complaint filed on December 17, 2010, the documents integral to the Complaint, and undisputed facts. RPI, a New York-based
On or about September 2, 2004, three RPI employees submitted letters of resignation (the "Former Employees"). RPI quickly discovered that prior to their departure, the Former Employees had stolen confidential customer lists from RPI's medical placement business. On September 30, RPI filed a complaint in New York State Supreme Court (the "New York Complaint") against the Former Employees and the agencies for which they went to work, seeking both injunctive relief and damages (the "State Court Action"). Additionally, RPI filed an Order to Show Cause supported by the affidavit of its Vice President, Barry Cohen (the "Cohen Affidavit"), requesting immediate injunctive relief. Together, the New York Complaint and Cohen Affidavit alleged that in August and September 2004, the Former Employees "conspired to leave RPI and go to work for a competitor and to take for their benefit and the benefit of their new employer, confidential information and trade secrets from RPI."
On December 17, 2008, RPI filed the affidavit of Vice President Mindi Derry ("Derry") in opposition to the Former Employees' motion for partial summary judgment in the State Court Action. Derry testified that "immediately" after learning of the Former Employees' resignation on September 2, she "went to the RPI Long Island office and found that [two] defendants... had `cleaned out' their desks and that the records and documents with which they worked in contacting health professional and health facilities were all missing." Derry explained that in the following months, she and other RPI employees "visited all of RPI's customers and clientele in order to try to preserve RPI's business relationship with them." Despite these efforts, Derry stated that
(Emphasis supplied.)
In 2006, Hartford issued RPI a CrimeShield Policy for Mercantile Entities (the "Policy") for the period beginning July 31, 2006 through July 31, 2008 (the "Policy Period").
(Emphasis supplied.)
Attached to the Policy is an endorsement titled "Employee Theft Coverage— Trade Secrets for Temporary Help Agencies" (the "Endorsement"), which "adds an additional Insuring Agreement to the Policy," and provides that Hartford "will pay for `loss' of `Trade Secrets' by `theft.'"
Finally, the Endorsement replaced the Policy's General Condition concerning valuation of loss with a specialized provision, stating in relevant part, that
(Emphasis supplied.)
In May 2007, RPI sent Hartford an initial notice of loss. RPI completed and signed a Proof of Loss certifying that the "loss was discovered in May 2007."
Hartford further explained that
(Emphasis supplied.)
By letters dated April 23 and August 21, 2008, RPI challenged the denial. Hartford then requested information relating to RPI's calculation of its alleged loss. On November 3, 2008, RPI and Hartford entered a "Non-Waiver Agreement" pursuant to which Hartford committed to "conduct [an] additional investigation concerning the facts and circumstances of the transactions that are the subject of [RPI's] ... Proof of Loss." The parties also agreed, however, that "such investigation shall be on a non-waiver basis and without prejudice or waiver of the rights, remedies or defenses of either party and subject to a reservation of each party's respective rights, remedies and defense under the Policy at law and equity."
RPI commenced this action on July 8, 2010, and on December 17, it filed the amended complaint (the "Complaint"). On January 14, 2011, Hartford filed a motion to dismiss. The motion became fully submitted on April 1.
Hartford has moved to dismiss the Complaint. It contends that RPI "discovered" the loss caused by the Former Employees prior to the start of the Policy Period. As a result, RPI's claim is not covered by the Policy.
"`If, on a motion under Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c), matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under Rule 56.'" Hernandez v. Coffey, 582 F.3d 303, 307 (2d Cir.2009) (quoting Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(d)). A district court must ordinarily give notice to the parties before converting a motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment, but a party "is deemed to have notice that a motion may be converted ... if that party should reasonably have recognized the possibility that such a conversion would occur." Sira v. Morton, 380 F.3d 57, 68 (2d Cir.2004) (citation omitted); see also Hernandez, 582 F.3d at 307. Where a represented party attaches to its opposition to a motion to dismiss "extensive materials that were not included in the pleadings," it "plainly should [be] aware of the likelihood of" conversion, and "cannot complain that they were deprived of an adequate opportunity to provide the materials they deemed necessary to support their" position. Sira, 380 F.3d at 68; see also Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Aniero Concrete Co., Inc., 404 F.3d 566, 573 (2d Cir.2005). In light of the parties' extensive factual submissions, Hartford's motion is converted to one seeking summary judgment.
Summary judgment may not be granted unless all of the submissions taken together "show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is
Once the moving party has asserted facts showing that the non-movant's claims cannot be sustained, the opposing party must "set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial," and cannot "rely merely on allegations or denials" contained in the pleadings. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); see also Wright v. Goord, 554 F.3d 255, 266 (2d Cir.2009). "A party may not rely on mere speculation or conjecture as to the true nature of the facts to overcome a motion for summary judgment," as "[m]ere conclusory allegations or denials cannot by themselves create a genuine issue of material fact where none would otherwise exist." Hicks v. Baines, 593 F.3d 159, 166 (2d Cir.2010) (citation omitted).
Both parties assume that New York law applies, but do not directly address the choice-of-law issue. "Federal courts sitting in diversity look to the choice-of-law rules of the forum state." Int'l Bus. Machs. Corp. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 363 F.3d 137, 143 (2d Cir.2004). "Under New York choice of law rules ... where the parties agree that New York law controls, this is sufficient to establish choice of law." Fed. Ins. Co. v. Am. Home Assurance Co., 639 F.3d 557, 566 (2d Cir. 2011). Such agreement may be implicit. Id. The parties' briefs assume that New York law controls. Therefore, under the New York choice-of-law rule, New York law applies. See Krumme v. WestPoint Stevens Inc., 238 F.3d 133, 138 (2d Cir. 2000).
"The New York approach to the interpretation of contracts of insurance is to give effect to the intent of the parties as expressed in the clear language of the contract." Fed. Ins. Co., 639 F.3d at 567 (citation omitted). An insurance contract is ambiguous if its terms are "susceptible of two reasonable interpretations." Id. (citation omitted). By contrast, an insurance contract "is unambiguous if the language it uses has a definite and precise meaning, as to which there is no reasonable basis for a difference of opinion." Lockheed Martin Corp. v. Retail Holdings, N.V., 639 F.3d 63, 69 (2d Cir.2011); accord Broad St., LLC v. Gulf Ins. Co., 37 A.D.3d 126, 131, 832 N.Y.S.2d 1 (N.Y.App.Div.2006) (citation omitted). "The question of whether the language of a contract is clear or ambiguous is one of law, and therefore must be decided by the court." Fed. Ins. Co., 639 F.3d at 568 (citation omitted). "Mere assertion by one that contract language means something to him, when it is otherwise clear, unequivocal and understandable when read in connection with the whole contract, is not in and of itself enough to raise a triable issue of fact." Broad St., LLC., 37 A.D.3d at 131, 832 N.Y.S.2d 1 (citation omitted).
The Policy states that Hartford "will pay for loss ... from acts ... discovered... during the Policy Period." (Emphasis supplied.) "Discovery," in turn, is defined to mean when the insured "first become[s] aware of facts which would cause a reasonable person to assume that a loss covered by this Policy has been, or may be incurred even though the exact amount or the details of the loss may not then be known." (Emphasis supplied.)
RPI offers three principal reasons why the defendant's motion should be denied.
Next, RPI suggests that the Policy's definition of "discovery" conflicts with the Endorsement's definition of "loss," and that the Endorsement "supersedes" the Policy.
Finally, RPI argues that for the purpose of this motion, the Court must assume the
The defendant's January 14, 2011 motion to dismiss, converted to a motion for summary judgment, is granted. The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment for the defendant and close the case.
SO ORDERED.