BETH BLOOM, District Judge.
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Defendant Sands Harbor, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. [84], joined by Defendant Scottsdale Insurance Company, see ECF No. [87]; Plaintiff's Partial Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. [86]; and Defendants Scottsdale Insurance
Plaintiff filed this action on September 11, 2013, seeking a judgment under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq., that Plaintiff owes no duty to defend or indemnify Defendants Waveblast Watersports Inc., Waveblast Watersports II, Inc., Casey Fuller, Jeffrey Zabadal, Sands Harbor, Inc., or Scottsdale Insurance Company, or to provide insurance coverage or defense of claims made against any or all of the parties of this case by Steven Miskell, as administrator of the Estate of Kathleen Miskell, deceased, or individually, for bodily injury, wrongful death or other damages, in any lawsuits which may be filed within the jurisdiction of this Court arising out of Kathleen Miskell's death during a parasailing accident. Defendants Waveblast and Waveblast II filed counterclaims against Plaintiff, requesting that the Court issue a declaratory judgment that Plaintiff has the duty to defend and indemnify them in the underlying lawsuit. See ECF No. [65] at 8. Defendant Sands Harbor filed a counterclaim against Plaintiff, stating two counts—the first for declaratory relief that Plaintiff has the duty to defend and indemnify it in the underlying lawsuit, see ECF No. [66] at 13, and the second for breach of contract for Plaintiff's failure to defend and has requested attorney's fees. Id. at 14-15.
Plaintiff is the insurer of a policy, number SA10092-11581, pursuant to which Defendant Waveblast is the named insured, and Defendant Sands Harbor is named as an additional insured. See ECF No. [86-2] at 1, 4. Defendant Scottsdale is the insurer of a policy, number BCS0025806, pursuant to which Defendant Sands Harbor is the named insured. See ECF No. [86-5] at 4. The underlying complaint alleges:
ECF No. [82-1] at 11-12.
The Court granted Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of Final Default Judgment as to Defendants Fuller and Zabadal, ruling that no coverage exists for these Defendants, and Plaintiff has no duty to defend or indemnify these Defendants in the underlying lawsuit. See ECF No. [35].
Defendants Scottsdale Insurance Company and Sands Harbor move to strike Plaintiff's Response in Opposition to Defendant Scottsdale's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. [88], on the grounds that "Lloyds' `response' is nothing more than a second, successive motion for summary judgment on the issue of priority of coverage." ECF No. [93] at 4.
"The court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(f). Granting motions to strike are generally disfavored. Lake Lucerne Ass'n v. Dolphin Stadium Corp., 801 F.Supp. 684, 694 (S.D.Fla.1992) (citing Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Sales, Inc. v. Avondale Shipyards, Inc., 677 F.2d 1045, 1057 (5th Cir.1982)). However, Rule 12(f) only applies to "pleadings," defined by Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(a) to include only a complaint, an answer to a complaint, an answer to a counterclaim, an answer to a crossclaim, a third-party complaint, an answer to a third-party complaint, and a reply to an answer (if the court orders one). See Vanderwall v. United Airlines, Inc., No. 14-CIV-60256, 2014 WL 4755219, at *1 (S.D.Fla. Sept. 23, 2014) (citing cases). While Plaintiff seemingly concedes coverage exists, the Response addresses the construction of the policies at issue and is filed in accordance with the Federal Rules. Accordingly, the Motions to Strike are denied.
Plaintiff has moved for Partial Summary Judgment—seeking a ruling on coverage priority with Defendant Scottsdale for Defendant Sands Harbor's defense and/or indemnity. Defendant Sands Harbor has moved for Final Summary Judgment—seeking a ruling that Plaintiff has a duty to defend and indemnify Defendant Sands Harbor with respect to the claims stated in the underlying lawsuit. Defendant Scottsdale has adopted Defendant Sands Harbor's Motion.
The parties have filed and briefed cross-motions for summary judgment on the same legal issue—Plaintiff's coverage with respect to Defendant Sands Harbor and priority with respect to Defendant
A party may obtain summary judgment "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The parties may support their positions by citation to the record, including inter alia, depositions, documents, affidavits, or declarations. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). An issue is genuine if "a reasonable trier of fact could return judgment for the non-moving party." Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. United States, 516 F.3d 1235, 1243 (11th Cir.2008) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). A fact is material if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Id. (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505). The Court views the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draws all reasonable inferences in the party's favor. See Davis v. Williams, 451 F.3d 759, 763 (11th Cir.2006). "The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which a jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Further, the Court does not weigh conflicting evidence. See Skop v. City of Atlanta, GA, 485 F.3d 1130, 1140 (11th Cir.2007) (quoting Carlin Comm'n, Inc. v. S. Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 802 F.2d 1352, 1356 (11th Cir.1986)).
The moving party shoulders the initial burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Shiver v. Chertoff, 549 F.3d 1342, 1343 (11th Cir.2008). Once this burden is satisfied, "the nonmoving party `must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.'" Ray v. Equifax Info. Servs., L.L.C., 327 Fed.Appx. 819, 825 (11th Cir.2009) (quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). Instead, "the non-moving party `must make a sufficient showing on each essential element of the case for which he has the burden of proof.'" Id. (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). Accordingly, the non-moving party must produce evidence, going beyond the pleadings, and by its own affidavits, or by depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, designating specific facts to suggest that a reasonable jury could find in the non-moving party's favor. Shiver, 549 F.3d at 1343. Even "where the parties agree on the basic facts, but disagree about the factual inferences that should be drawn from those facts," summary judgment may be inappropriate. Warrior Tombigbee Transp. Co., Inc. v. M/V Nan Fung, 695 F.2d 1294, 1296 (11th Cir.1983). Here, the parties agree that the issue is one of law—the Court's interpretation of certain provisions contained in the Underwriters and Scottsdale policies.
"In insurance coverage cases under Florida law, courts look at the insurance
The duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify. See Jones v. Fla. Ins. Guar. Ass'n, Inc., 908 So.2d 435, 443 (Fla.2005). "It is well settled that an insurer's duty to defend its insured against a legal action arises when the complaint alleges facts that fairly and potentially bring the suit within policy coverage." Id. at 442-443. "The duty to defend must be determined from the allegations in the complaint . . . and the insurer must defend even if the allegations in the complaint are factually incorrect or meritless." Id. at 443. "Any doubts regarding the duty to defend must be resolved in favor of the insured." Id. However, if the insurer has no duty to defend, "it necessarily follows that it ha[s] no duty to indemnify." Burlington Ins. Co., Inc. v. Normandy General Partners, 560 Fed.Appx. 844, 847-48 (11th Cir.2014) (citing Fun Spree Vacations, Inc. v. Orion Ins. Co., 659 So.2d 419, 421-22) (Fla. 3d DCA 1995).
Defendants argue that the allegations of the underlying complaint fall within the coverage provided by the parasail endorsement in Plaintiff's policy, and are not excluded by the watercraft exclusion in Plaintiff's policy—an argument Plaintiff does not appear to contest. Rather, Plaintiff makes the same argument in response to Defendants' summary judgment motion as it does in its own motion for partial summary judgment—that both Plaintiff and Defendant Scottsdale must respond on a co-primary, pro-rata basis by virtue of the "other insurance" clauses contained in both policies.
"Under Florida law, insurance contracts are construed according to their plain meaning." Garcia v. Federal Ins. Co., 473 F.3d 1131, 1135 (11th Cir.2006) (quoting Taurus Holdings, Inc. v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 913 So.2d 528, 532 (Fla. 2005)). The "terms of an insurance policy should be taken and understood in their ordinary sense and the policy should receive a reasonable, practical and sensible interpretation consistent with the intent of the parties." Siegle v. Progressive Consumers Ins. Co., 819 So.2d 732, 736 (Fla. 2002).
Defendant argues that Plaintiff has a duty to defend because the policy's
The parasailing endorsement provides the following:
ECF No. [86-2] at 28. The applicable exclusion provides that the insurance does not apply to:
ECF No. [86-2] at 12-13.
The underlying complaint alleges that the death of the decedent occurred "while
"Under Florida law, `if one interpretation looking to the other provisions of the contract and to its general object and scope would lead to an absurd conclusion, such interpretation must be abandoned, and that adopted which will be more consistent with reason and probability.'" Interline Brands, Inc. v. Chartis Specialty Ins. Co., 749 F.3d 962, 966 (11th Cir.2014) (quoting Inter-Ocean Cas. Co. v. Hunt, 138 Fla. 167, 189 So. 240, 243 (1939)). "As more recently explained, `when limitations or exclusions completely contradict the insuring provisions, insurance coverage becomes illusory.'" Id. (quoting Purrelli v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 698 So.2d 618, 620 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)).
Here, the Court finds that allowing Plaintiff to avoid coverage for a parasailing extension on the basis that it involved the use of a watercraft would be an absurd conclusion because parasailing necessarily involves it. The extension's language to "includ[e] entering the water from the vessel and boarding the vessel from the water, prior to and subsequent to the activity of parasailing," ECF No. [86-2] at 28, further indicates that the extension's language provides coverage during the parasailing activity itself. Providing an extension of coverage for parasailing activities except where it arises out of the use of watercraft is, indeed, "complete nonsense." Purrelli, 698 So.2d at 620 (citation omitted). Such a reading would render the policy illusory, and the Court adopts the only reading consistent with reason and probability—that the watercraft exclusion does not preclude coverage for parasailing activities. Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment with respect to Plaintiff's duty to defend is granted, and the Court finds that Plaintiff has the duty to defend Defendant Sands Harbor in the underlying lawsuit.
Though Plaintiff represents to the Court that the underlying suit has partially settled, see ECF No. [86-6] at 2, the record does not reflect any evidence that any resolution has taken place in the underlying suit with respect to liability—and Defendant has not indicated otherwise. Thus, the issue of Plaintiff's duty to indemnify is premature. See Axis Surplus Ins. Co. v. Conravest Const. Co., 921 F.Supp.2d 1338, 1344 (M.D.Fla.2012). Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment with respect to the duty to indemnify is denied.
Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is accordingly granted in part and denied in part. The Court will now turn to the question of Plaintiff's and Defendant Scottsdale's duties to defend and indemnify Defendant Sands Harbor, the mutually insured—the precise subject of Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.
Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment seeks a ruling that the "other insurance" clauses in Plaintiff's and Defendant Scottsdale's insurance policies
Where policies contain an "`other insurance' clause which states that its policy will be excess over other collectible insurance[,] [t]he `other insurance' clauses in the respective policies cancel each other out, which results in our apportioning the policies on a pro-rata basis determined by the policy limits in relation to the loss." Allstate Ins. Co. v. Executive Car & Truck Leasing, Inc., 494 So.2d 487, 489 (Fla. 1986). See also Fireman's Fund Ins. Co. v. Tropical Shipping & Constr. Co., 254 F.3d 987, 1005 (11th Cir.2001) ("the clauses are deemed mutually repugnant").
The "other insurance" clauses of both policies state that the insurance is excess over any other insurance where the loss arose "out of the maintenance or use of. . . watercraft to the extent not subject to Exclusion g." ECF Nos. [86-2] at 20-21; [86-5] at 62. That situation is present here—a woman died while parasailing, which involves the use of a watercraft. See James River Ins. Co. v. Ground Down Eng'g, Inc., 540 F.3d 1270, 1275 (11th Cir. 2008) ("the term `arising out of' is broader in meaning than the term `caused by' and means `originating from,' `having its origin in,' `growing out of,' `flowing from,' `incident to,' or `having a connection with'") (quoting Taurus Holdings, Inc. v. United States Fid. and Guar. Co., 913 So.2d 528, 539 (Fla.2005)). Initially, the "other insurance" clauses of both insurance policies were virtually identical. Compare ECF No. [86-2] at 20-21 with ECF No. [86-5] at 29-30. Scottsdale's "other insurance" clause, however, was amended to include an excess insurance provision that Plaintiff's policy does not have—subsection (4), which states that Scottsdale's insurance is excess where there is "valid and collectible insurance available to you under any other policy." ECF No. [86-5] at 2.
The parties disagree about the effect of this difference. Defendant Scottsdale argues that even if the excess clauses regarding losses arising out of the use of a watercraft cancel each other out, subsection (4) of the Scottsdale policy survives and renders the Scottsdale policy excess. See ECF No. [89] at 5 (citing Keenan Hopkins Schmidt & Stowell Contractors, Inc. v. Cont'l Cas. Co., 653 F.Supp.2d 1255 (M.D.Fla.2009)). Plaintiff argues, however, permitting subsection (4) to survive the cancelling out of the watercraft excess insurance provisions would render the clause a "super excess" clause, which Plaintiff argues Florida law does not recognize. See ECF No. [99] at 4 (citing AIG Premier Ins. Co. v. RLI Ins. Co., 812 F.Supp.2d 1315, 1322 (M.D.Fla.2011); Am. Cas. Co. of Reading Pa. v. Health Care Indemn., Inc., 613 F.Supp.2d 1310, 1318 (M.D.Fla.2009)).
Defendant Scottsdale's reliance on Keenan Hopkins Schmidt & Stowell Contractors, Inc. is misguided. There, the court was faced with two "other insurance" provisions. One provided that "if other valid and collectible insurance is available to the insured for a loss we cover under Coverages
Id. There, the three contingencies in the second policy were not applicable to the loss, as the underlying complaint involved the faulty construction of a boardwalk. As a result, the court found that the "other insurance" provision of the second policy was not applicable, the second insurance company served as a primary insurer, and the first insurance company's policy was in excess. In this case, however, a contingency contained in the "other insurance" provisions of both policies applies, so the outcome and reasoning of Keenan Hopkins Schmidt & Stowell Contractors, Inc. is inapplicable.
Defendant Scottsdale has not provided the Court with any authority to indicate that the cancellation of "other insurance" clauses can occur under Florida law on a piecemeal basis—i.e., where similar "other insurance" clauses are triggered by the same contingency, the provisions specific to the contingency are removed and any other portions of an "other insurance" clause remain. Indeed, such a holding would imply that one "other insurance" clause has a higher degree of "excess-ness" over another. Florida law has not given effect to "super excess" clauses, and Defendant Scottsdale has not pointed the Court to any authority indicating otherwise. See AIG Premier Ins. Co., 812 F.Supp.2d at 1325 (rejecting argument that, under Florida law, one excess clause could be "excess to all other excess insurance"); cf. Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 51 N.Y.2d 651, 435 N.Y.S.2d 953, 417 N.E.2d 66, 68 (1980) (applying New York law, departing from general rule that each excess insurer contribute in proportion to its policy limit because one of the policies "specifically provided coverage in excess of all other coverage available, including excess coverage."). Here, the Court is faced with "classic `other insurance' clause[s]" because "both policies state that they will not serve as primary insurance where there is other applicable insurance." Am. Cas. Co. of Reading Pa., 613 F.Supp.2d at 1319. Thus, the "other insurance" clauses are mutually repugnant and cancel each other out in entirety, "which results in . . . apportioning the policies on a pro-rata basis determined by the policy limits in relation to the loss."
Defendant Scottsdale brings the Court's attention to a lease agreement
ECF No. [82-1] at 56-57. Defendant Scottsdale argues that under Florida law, the lease agreement's indemnity clause shifts primary responsibility for the entire loss to the carrier (Plaintiff) for the indemnitor (Waveblast II)—notwithstanding the "other insurance" provisions. See ECF No. [89] at 8 (citing Continental Cas. Co. v. City of S. Daytona, Fla., 807 So.2d 91 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002); Am. Home Assurance Co. v. City of Opa Locka, 368 So.2d 416 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Crabtree v. Hertz Corp., 461 So.2d 981 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)). Plaintiff argues that the lease's indemnification clause does not affect Plaintiff's status with respect to its coverage of Defendant Sands Harbor because the lease agreement is between Defendant Sands Harbor and Defendant Waveblast II (not Waveblast), and Waveblast II is not a named insured on Plaintiff's policy.
Only one of the cases Defendants cite in support of their argument actually involves the issue of how indemnification in a contract affects the operation of "other insurance" clauses—Crabtree, supra. Crabtree, however, is clearly distinguishable. The indemnification involved in that case did not override competing "other insurance" clauses because one of the competing insurance agreements did not have an "excess" insurance clause. Instead, one of the agreements specifically stated that it was to be considered the primary source of coverage. Thus, the court explained, the insuring agreements "with respect to its primary liability, vis-à-vis other insurance available to the lessee, will be enforced in accordance with the intention of the parties as clearly expressed in the contract between lessor and lessee." Crabtree, 461 So.2d at 984.
Though not involving competing "other insurance" clauses, City of South Daytona, supra, a case to which both parties cite, is instructive. There, a little league baseball association contracted to use the City of
The insurer for the league argued that the insurer of the city—not the city itself—was the real party in interest, and the insurer had no right of subrogation against the insurer of the league under Florida law, citing Argonaut Insurance Company v. Maryland Casualty Company, 372 So.2d 960 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), and Continental Casualty Company v. United Pacific Insurance Company, 637 So.2d 270 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. denied, 645 So.2d 451 (Fla.1994). Rejecting this argument, the court found that Argonaut and Continental were inapplicable "because they addressed the issue of equitable subrogation among insurers where there was no contract of indemnification between the insured parties," and the league and the city had "a specific and contractual obligation of indemnification." City of S. Daytona, 807 So.2d at 93. Here, however, no specific and contractual obligation of indemnification existed between Plaintiff's insured—Defendant Waveblast—and Defendant Sands Harbor because the applicable lease named Defendant Waveblast II as the lessee and indemnitor, see ECF [82-1] at 53, and Defendant Waveblast II is not a named insured under Plaintiff's policy. See [86-2] at 1, 4. Further, the issue here is one of the effect of the policies' "other insurance" clauses, not rights of equitable subrogation.
Defendants argue that, for the purpose of determining the duty to defend, the Court is bound by the allegations in the underlying complaint, which alleges that Waveblast and/or Waveblast II leased the premises for the purpose of conducting parasail operations—"regardless of which one of these two entities actually occupied the premises and conducted the operations at issue." ECF No. [89] at 7 n. 1. However, treating the allegation that Waveblast leased the premises from Defendant Sands Harbor as true does not mean the Court must ignore the fact that the indemnification clause—upon which Defendants rely in support of their argument to disregard the policies' "other insurance" clauses—is contained in a lease to which Waveblast is not a party.
The Court concludes that Plaintiff has a duty to defend Defendant Sands Harbor in the underlying lawsuit, and Plaintiff has breached its contract with Defendant for failing to do so. The Court makes no ruling regarding Plaintiff's duty to indemnify because the record does not reflect that liability has been determined in the underlying lawsuit. Finally, the Court concludes that Plaintiff and Defendant Scottsdale Insurance Company have the duty to defend Defendant Sands Harbor in the underlying lawsuit—apportioning the policies on a pro-rata basis determined by the policy limits in relation to the loss. The Court makes no conclusions with respect to the duty to defend or indemnify Defendants Waveblast and Waveblast II.
Therefore, it is hereby