PER CURIAM:
In this insurance coverage dispute, the district court granted a motion for partial summary judgment to Defendant-Appellee National Union Fire Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ("National Union"). The court reasoned that, because Plaintiff-Appellant Anco Insulations, Incorporated ("Anco") had failed to tender claims timely under the terms of its insurance policy, National Union was not obligated to reimburse Anco for any legal costs that it incurred in defending the untimely tendered lawsuits. The district court also granted National Union's motion for partial summary judgment on Anco's claim for statutory penalties under La.R.S. §§ 22:1973, 22:1892. We affirm.
From approximately 1972 through the early 1980s, Anco sold, installed, repaired, and distributed insulation materials that contained asbestos. As a result, Anco was named a defendant in approximately 2,700 asbestos-related lawsuits filed in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. In 1987, National Union issued a primary general liability insurance policy to Anco ("the Policy"), for the policy period January 1, 1987 to January 1, 1988. The Policy did not contain an asbestos exclusion.
The following factual background is contested; we summarize it only to provide the context of Anco's claim that the district court erred in granting National Union's motions for partial summary judgment. We begin with Anco's allegation that, at "some point" during the late 1980s, National Union told Anco's corporate representative, Mr. Bourgeois, that Anco had no asbestos coverage. In March of 2000, Robert Kuehn, a manager at the AIG Toxic Tort Claims department,
In August 2000, Mr. Spadacenta, a National Union representative, allegedly advised Mr. Nilson, a Zurich claims handler, that Anco had not reported the asbestos bodily injury claims under its primary policies.
In September 2007, Anco filed a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment
In December 2011, National Union filed a motion for partial summary judgment, contending that it was not liable for any of Anco's defense costs in the underlying asbestos lawsuits; or, alternatively, that National Union was not obligated to reimburse Anco or any of its other primary insurers for legal fees or costs incurred prior to April 23, 2009 — the date on which Anco first forwarded its asbestos lawsuits to National Union. Several months later, in April 2012, National Union filed a motion for partial summary judgment on Anco's claim for statutory penalties, asserting that (1) National Union had assumed its share of defense costs following Anco's tender of the lawsuits in 2009; and (2) Anco had not suffered any loss that would entitle it to statutory penalties.
In February 2013, the district court granted National Union's first-filed motion for partial summary judgment, concluding that the record established that Anco first tendered its claims under the Policy on April 23, 2009. Relying on that date as the first tender of claims, the court ruled that Anco's failure to tender defense of the lawsuits to National Union timely constituted a breach of the Policy's requirement that Anco "immediately" forward any lawsuits to National Union. The district court therefore held that National Union was not obligated to reimburse Anco for any legal fees and costs it incurred in or after 1987 in the defense of approximately 2,700 asbestos lawsuits filed between 1987 and 2008.
The district court also granted National Union's motion for partial summary judgment on Anco's request for statutory penalties. The court reasoned that, as Anco had not shown that it suffered any loss from National Union's failure to participate in the defense, it could not recover penalties under Section 22:1892 for the lawsuits filed after April 23, 2009.
Anco, along with Cross-Claimants-Appellants Royal Indemnity Company, Zurich American Insurance Company, and American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Company, timely appealed both rulings.
We review a district court's summary judgment de novo, applying the same standards as the district court. We apply state substantive law when we interpret an insurance policy, and we review the district court's conclusions on state law de novo.
As noted, National Union filed a motion for partial summary judgment that it was not obligated to assume any of Anco's defense costs in the underlying asbestos lawsuits; or, alternatively, that it was not obligated to reimburse Anco or its other primary insurers for any legal fees or costs incurred prior to April 23, 2009 — the date on which Anco first forwarded its asbestos lawsuits to National Union. The district court granted National Union's motion, and Anco appeals that summary judgment on the following grounds: (1) A genuine dispute of material fact exists as to the date that Anco first tendered claims under the Policy; (2) even if Anco's tender of the claims was untimely, the district court erred in not excusing Anco's tardiness; and, (3) the court erred in concluding that Anco's failure to tender claims timely under the terms of the Policy relieved National Union of its defense obligations because National Union did not claim that it was prejudiced by Anco's late tender.
The district court found that Anco first tendered the underlying lawsuits to National Union on April 23, 2009 — a finding supported by Anco's responses to interrogatories.
Anco asserts that the following evidence creates a genuine dispute of material fact as to the date that Anco first tendered the underlying claims to National Union: (1) the testimony of Anco's corporate representative, Mr. Bourgeois, that Anco's corporate practice was to forward all lawsuits to National Union; (2) the reference to prior asbestos "claims" in a letter dated August 2000, from Mr. Spadacenta, a claims adjuster for National Union, acknowledging a tender of an asbestos claim; (3) Mr. Spadacenta's letter dated May 2000, acknowledging an asbestos-claim lawsuit that referred to "various policies" and his letter dated August 2000 referring to the "above policies;" (4) AIG Representative Robert Kuehn's letter dated March 2000 requesting permission to review Zurich's files on Anco's asbestos claims, constituting evidence that National Union had received tenders of asbestos lawsuits; and, (5) Anco's counsel's letter dated September 2000, apprising the AIG Toxic Tort Claims Unit of the asbestos cases pending against Anco, as well as two follow-up letters respectively dated January 24 and 25, 2001.
We are satisfied that the district court did not err in rejecting this evidence. First, although Mr. Bourgeois testified that it was Anco's "practice" to forward lawsuits to National Union as they were received, this testimony, without any supporting documents or corroboration, is not sufficient to create a genuine dispute of material fact. Second, evidence that Mr. Spadacenta referred to prior asbestos "claims" in his letter acknowledging Anco's tender of an asbestos suit, or reference to "various policies" in another letter acknowledging the tender of an asbestos claim, is not relevant to the question whether Anco timely tendered its claims under the Policy. Third, Robert Kuehn's letter of March 2000, in which he sought permission to review Zurich's files on Anco's asbestos claims, does not refer to the Policy and is irrelevant to the date of tender. The final items of evidence cited by Anco — its counsel's letter of September 18, 2000 and follow-up letters of January 24 and 25, 2001 — would present a dispute of material fact if they were tendered under the Policy; however, those letters refer to Policy No. 9601699, not to the Policy. We conclude that the district court properly deduced that Anco first tendered the lawsuits on April 23, 2009.
The district court also rejected Anco's alternative argument that its untimely tender should be excused because National Union breached its duty to investigate the claims. The court determined that Anco failed to point the court to specific evidence that National Union made false representations about Anco's coverage or about the asbestos exclusion in the Policy. On appeal, Anco asserts that if we affirm the district court's finding that Anco first tendered the lawsuits on April 23, 2009, we should hold that its own untimely tender is nevertheless excused because: (1) Anco's claims handling and bad-faith expert testified that National Union "should have conducted a policy search for all of the policies it sold Anco and identified them for Anco" when it received the two tenders of asbestos lawsuits in 2000; (2) Mr. Bourgeois testified that "at some stage [in the 1980s] I knew AIG said they had no asbestos coverage under the policy;" and, (3) Mr. Spadacenta allegedly told Mr. Nilson, a Zurich employee, that Anco did not have asbestos coverage under its primary policies.
Our review of the record evidence satisfies us that the district court correctly
We further conclude that the district court properly determined that Mr. Bourgeois's testimony that National Union denied that it provided asbestos coverage "sometime in the 80's" did not create a material fact issue. There are no contemporaneous documents, such as prior tenders under the Policy that support this assertion. Neither is it consistent with the record as a whole. "[S]peculation, improbable inferences, unsubstantiated assertions, and legalist argumentation do not adequately substitute for specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial."
The district court found that Anco first tendered the lawsuits under the Policy on April 23, 2009, and ruled that Anco's untimely tender was not excusable. Relying on this, the court concluded that National Union was not obligated to reimburse Anco for any of legal costs that it incurred before April 23, 2009, and that related back to defending asbestos-related lawsuits filed between 1987 and 2008. The court proceeded to determine that National Union was not required to reimburse Anco for any costs incurred on or after April 23, 2009, for lawsuits filed between 1987 and 2008, because Anco had breached the "timely notice" provision of the Policy. Anco challenges this determination on appeal, asserting that Louisiana law requires that, before avoiding coverage, an insurer must demonstrate that it suffered prejudice from its insured's late tender; and that National Union never asserted that it was prejudiced by Anco's untimely tender.
The general rule in Louisiana is that when "the requirement of timely notice
Again, the district court found that Anco first tendered defense of the underlying lawsuits on April 23, 2009. The Policy required that Anco "immediately" forward any claims, suits, or process received by Anco, and stated that "[n]o action shall lie against the company unless, as a condition precedent thereto, there shall have been full compliance with all of the terms of this policy."
National Union filed another motion for partial summary judgment in opposition to Anco's claim for statutory penalties under La.R.S. §§ 22:1892 and 22:1973, asserting that (1) National Union had assumed its share of defense costs following Anco's tender of the lawsuits in 2009, and (2) Anco had not suffered any loss that would entitle it to statutory penalties. The district court granted National Union's motion because: (1) Anco failed to plead any conduct that would constitute a violation of Section 22:1973(A), and (2) Anco could not recover penalties under Section 22:1892(B)(1) for the lawsuits filed after April 23, 2009 because it failed to show that it suffered any "actual damages" resulting from National Union's alleged failure to participate timely in Anco's defense. On appeal, Anco challenges the district court's determination that it must show "actual damages" to recover under Section 22:1892, contending that, under the Louisiana Supreme Court's decision in Oubre v. Louisiana Citizens Fair Plan,
The law governing this inquiry, Section 22:1892(A)(1), states that "all insurers. . . shall pay the amount of any claim due any insured within thirty days after receipt of satisfactory proofs of loss from the insured." A party seeking statutory penalties under this statute is required to establish that: (1) The insurer received satisfactory proof of loss, (2) the insurer failed to pay the claim within thirty days, and (3) the insurer's failure to pay the claim was arbitrary and capricious.
As an initial matter, the district court ruled that Anco's request for statutory penalties relating to underlying lawsuits filed between 1987 and 2008, which were tendered to National Union on April 23, 2009, was moot because the court had dismissed those claims with prejudice. The court then turned to those of the underlying lawsuits that were filed in or after the year 2009. Anco claimed that it had tendered approximately 65 asbestos-related lawsuits under the Policy between January 2009 and March 2010, and alleged that National Union had not timely begun to participate in Anco's defense, despite having made "some response" to the tenders.
The district court accepted Anco's contention that National Union failed to point to evidence that would "demonstrate that it provided a defense to Anco within thirty days after receipt of satisfactory proofs of loss," and ruled that genuine issues of material fact existed on this element of Anco's claim. The court did not make any specific finding, however, as to whether Anco provided a satisfactory proof of loss to National Union.
Before we address Anco's contention on appeal that the district court erred in requiring it to demonstrate actual damages, we address National Union's assertion that Anco failed to adduce proof of loss sufficient to commence the thirty-day period in which to pay the claim. Anco pleaded that it "tendered [65 asbestos lawsuits] for a defense" to National Union in its amended complaint for statutory penalties, but did not allege that this tender constituted proof of loss. National Union points to testimony that its representative placed Anco's bills for defense costs in line for payment pursuant to the proportional sharing agreement with the other insurers, and highlights the district court's statement that the record is "[de]void of any billing records, expense reports, copies of checks, or receipts" that would demonstrate Anco incurred damages. Anco does not respond to this assertion, but repeats its contention that the district court erred in its interpretation of Section 22:1892(B)(1).
Section 22:1892 does not define what constitutes a "satisfactory proof of loss." As the Louisiana Supreme Court recently stated, though, "[i]t is well settled that a `satisfactory proof of loss' is only that which is `sufficient to fully apprise the insurer of the insured's claims.'"
Our inquiry is complicated by the district court's failure to make a specific finding on whether Anco bore its burden on satisfactory proof of loss. The court ruled that a question of fact existed as to whether National Union provided a defense within thirty days following receipt of satisfactory proof of loss, but did not explicitly find that Anco had submitted satisfactory proof of loss. On appeal, National Union contends that, because the district court determined that Anco had not submitted any billing records or expense reports which would support a finding that it had sustained actual damages, we should infer that Anco failed to provide proof of loss sufficient to commence the running of the thirty-day period. We disagree. Proof of loss is a "question of fact." We may not convert the court's finding regarding Anco's failure to submit proof of actual losses to a finding that Anco failed to bear its burden of producing satisfactory proof of loss. Although Anco's "tender for defense" of the underlying
Anco's principal contention on appeal is that the district court erred in holding that it could not recover statutory penalties under Section 22:1892(B)(1) because it failed to show that it had sustained any losses. The law is ambiguous on this question. The district court relied on Vaughn v. Franklin, in which the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal held that an insured is not entitled to recover Section 22:1892(B)(1) penalties from a coinsurer that fails to participate timely in the defense of the underlying lawsuit: "While [the co-insurer] acted arbitrarily in failing to provide a defense, the insureds were not harmed."
On appeal here, Anco contends that Louisiana courts now hold that actual damages are not a predicate to recovering Section 22:1892(B)(1) penalties, pointing us to the Louisiana Supreme Court's decision in Oubre v. Louisiana Citizens Fair Plan. National Union argues that Oubre is inapplicable because it reviewed the imposition of penalties under a different statute, viz., Section 22:1973(C). Agreeing with National Union, we reject Anco's contention that Oubre permits the imposition of penalties for a violation of Section 22:1892(A)(1) under the instant facts. In Oubre, the court reviewed whether the statutory penalty for violating Section 22:1892(A)(3) — which relates to catastrophic property damage — is capped at five thousand dollars in the absence of proving actual damages. The court looked first to Sultana Corporation v. Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, wherein it had held that an insured is not required to prove that it suffered actual damages as a prerequisite to recovering Section 22:1973(C) penalties.
Oubre is distinguishable from the instant case, which concerns the imposition of discretionary penalties under a different statute, Section 22:1892(B)(1). Oubre examined Section 22:1973(C), which provides that, "[i]n addition to any general or special damages to which a claimant is entitled. . . the claimant may be awarded penalties assessed against the insured in an amount not to exceed two times the damages sustained or five thousand dollars, whichever is greater."
The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.