JAMES LAWRENCE KING, District Judge.
Plaintiff Stephens, as personal representative of the Estate of Charles Eugene Becker and as Assignee of Anchorage Homes, LLC, filed the instant action on December 8, 2010, alleging breach of contract against Defendant Mid-Continent Casualty Company. Defendant submitted a Motion to Dismiss (DE #7) on January 25, 2011 and, upon the Court's Order Denying the Motion to Dismiss (DE #59, filed December 1, 2011), submitted its Answer and Affirmative Defenses on December 13, 2011 (DE #62). Parties spent the next ten months in discovery and motion practice. On November 1, 2012, the Court heard oral argument from parties on the cross-motions for summary judgment. All discovery has been completed, and oral argument from each party on the issues contained in those motions has been held, it is therefore appropriate for the Court to rule on summary judgment. The following facts are uncontested. (See Joint Pretrial Stip. 5-6, DE #182).
Jeffrey and Connie Kirkland wanted to have a modular home built on their property at 28572 Buccaneer Road, Little Torch Key, in Monroe County, Florida. On June 22, 2004, they applied for a county building permit. The County granted a permit on March 14, 2007, and on August 13, 2007, the Kirklands signed an Owner/Contractor Agreement with Anchorage Homes, LLC ("Anchorage"). The Kirklands paid Anchorage the deposit and all of the draws and progress payments included in the Owner/Contractor Agreement, and Anchorage in turn paid the subcontractors that worked on the project from the draws and progress payments. Jack Fritz
The aforementioned signed Owner/Contractor Agreement is printed on Anchorage Homes letterhead which includes, printed at the top of the page, the words "ANCHORAGE HOMES, LLC" and "General Contractor CGC1504438" above Anchorage Homes' mailing address and contact numbers. (DE #47-2 at 88). The agreement, between the Kirklands and Anchorage Homes, named Anchorage Homes as "the Contractor," and the Kirklands as "the Owner." (Owner/Contractor Agreement, DE #47-2). The Agreement states that "Contractor is not responsible for time of completion for work being done by Owner or his agents," (id.) delineating the Owner's agents from the Owner's named Contractor, Anchorage Homes. It also includes a progress payment to be made to Anchorage for "Delivery and set of system built home." Id. The Agreement further states the following, under Section VIII., "General Provisions":
At least three versions of the aforementioned Monroe County permit (#04102997) showing identical dates and permit numbers but differing amounts of money under the Schedule of Fees have been filed on the record by parties in this case.
The Monroe County 180-Day Extension Request Form dated January 2, 2008 (DE #47-3 at 101, filed by Defendant) lists Jeffrey Kirkland on the line labeled "Owner Name" and displays Liptak's signature on the line labeled "Owner/Contractor." Defendant also filed a site plan submitted to the State of Florida Department of Health as part of an application for onsite sewage disposal system construction permit that appears to have been signed by Liptak with the letters "GC" written on the line designated for "Title." (DE #47-3 at 103). A conflicting document titled "Notice of Commencement," dated March 14, 2007 and sworn by Jeffrey Kirkland before a notary, states only the word "Owner" in the area designated for "Contractor's Information." (DE #99-1 at 62).
Regarding the relationship between Jack Fritz and Anchorage, Fritz testified in his deposition that he never entered a contract with Anchorage Homes. (Fritz Dep. 127:8-10, DE #100-3). The evidence conflicts as to who hired Fritz.
As noted above, at the time of Becker's death, Anchorage Homes held a Commercial General Liability Policy with Mid-Continent with a policy period of April 7, 2008 to April 7, 2009. (Ins. Policy, DE #1-1). The policy, which is dated February 11, 2008, lists Anchorage's business description as "General Contractor" and includes a list of exclusions to bodily injury and property damage coverage. Id. at 1, 14-18. The policy notes that the company "will have no duty to defend the insured against any `suit' seeking damages for `bodily injury' or `property damage' to which this insurance does not apply." Id. at 14. The exclusion section reads, in part:
This insurance does not apply to:
The definitions section of the policy defines "bodily injury" as "bodily injury, sickness or disease sustained by a person, including death resulting from any of these at any time," and states that "`[e]mployee' includes a `leased worker'. `Employee' does not include a `temporary worker'."
In a letter dated June 19, 2008 and addressed to Linda Liptak as Registered Agent of Anchorage Homes, an attorney for the Estate of Charles Becker requested insurance information related to the death of Charles Becker. (See DE #99-1 at 15-16). In July of 2008, Anchorage Homes contacted its insurance carrier, Mid-Continent, apparently via Regan Insurance Agency, Inc., informing Mid-Continent of the demand. See id. at 11-16.
On September 24, 2008, Mid-Continent responded via certified mail to William Liptak as President of Anchorage Builders, Inc. and Anchorage Homes, LLC, acknowledging notice of the claim and indicating that the insurance policy "may not provide coverage" but requesting that Anchorage Homes forward to Mid-Continent "any information, evidence, documents, or authority" for consideration. (DE #99-1 at 18-23).
As noted above, the parties jointly stipulate that Jennifer Stephens filed the underlying complaint (DE #99-1 at 29-58) dated November 25, 2008 in the Circuit Court of Monroe County against Team Fritz, Jeffrey Kirkland, Connie Kirkland, and Anchorage Homes, LLC. (See Joint Pretrial Stip. 5-6, DE #182). The underlying complaint (as amended) (Stephens Am. Compl. DE #47-2 at 36-78) included the following allegations:
The Court finds that once service was perfected upon Anchorage Homes, Anchorage forwarded information on the case to Mid-Continent via Regan Insurance Agency indicating an assumption that the insurance company(s) would respond to the complaint directly. (See letter dated Dec. 15, 2008 from Franklin D. Greenman to Bob Regan contained in facsimile sent from Susan Parker for Brenda Monroe of Regan Insurance Agency to Mid-Continent on Dec. 17, 2008, DE #99-1 at 26).
Plaintiff's counsel eventually sent a second demand letter, this time to both Anchorage Homes' counsel and Mid-Continent, dated February 27, 2009. (DE #47-4 at 95-101). This letter included the following statements by Plaintiff's counsel:
In a letter dated April 20, 2009, Mid-Continent confirmed its position that Anchorage's policy "excludes coverage for this matter" and that it would be "Anchorage Homes, LLC's obligation to defend this matter." (See DE #22-3 at 2-7).
Stephens settled with Anchorage Homes in mediation for $4,350,000, assigning Anchorage Homes' rights against its insurer Mid-Continent to Stephens as part of the settlement.
There has been much dispute over the mediated settlement agreement between Stephens and Anchorage Homes. The Court finds the facts surrounding the agreement to be as follows.
On August 27, 2010, Plaintiff Stephens and Anchorage Homes took part in a mediation in the aforementioned Circuit Court case that resulted in a settlement agreement signed on August 27, 2010 by Jennifer Stephens, Attorney Thomas Scolaro (Plaintiff's Counsel), William Liptak, and Attorney Franklin Greenman (counsel for Anchorage Homes), as well as a witness and a notary public. (DE #35-1 at 6-14). The Mediation Report filed with the Circuit Court indicates that
At the bottom of the August 27, 2010 agreement as filed in the record of the case before this Court, appears "DATED this 27 day of August, 2010" followed by the participants' signatures and a notary's signature with the statement "[s]worn to and subscribed before me this 28th day of August, 2010." (DE #35-1 at 13-14). The Court finds that this document was completely signed and dated on either August 27 or August 28 of 2010. Yet in a letter dated September 15, 2010 from Attorney Greenman to Attorney Scolaro, Attorney Greenman wrote that he had
On July 27, 2011, six months after Plaintiff Stephens filed her federal case, Stephens and Anchorage made a joint motion to the Circuit Court "to Amend the Consent Final Judgment Against Anchorage Homes, LLC Nunc Pro Tunc Due to a Scrivener's Error." (DE #35-1 at 2-3). The motion, which requested to replace the September 22, 2010 version of the settlement with the August 27, 2010 version as the operative agreement, reads, in part:
The Circuit Court granted the motion on August 2, 2011 (entered August 4, 2011). (DE #35-1 at 17). Plaintiff then filed a similar motion to this Court on August 9, 2011 to replace the September 22, 2010 settlement document and with the August 27, 2010 version, appending the Circuit Court motion and order. (DE #35, 35-1). This Court granted the motion to replace the second version with the first on August 12, 2010 (DE #38). The Court mistakenly treated Plaintiff's motion (DE #35) as an unopposed motion, when in fact Plaintiff had indicated in the motion that Defendant opposed the motion. (DE #35 at 3). Defendant failed to request reconsideration of the Court's ruling (DE #38) directly, but argued in its Brief on Coverage (filed September 2, 2011) and later filings that Plaintiff is bound by the September 22, 2010 version (DE #47-1 at 20).
A side-by-side comparison of the two documents (the August 27, 2010 agreement and the September 22, 2010 agreement) reveals the following differences (among others):
The September 22, 2010 document also appears to have the initials "BL" written in the margin at the end of the third passage referenced in the above chart. (DE #15-1 at 6).
Summary judgment is appropriate where the pleadings and supporting materials establish 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. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). "One of the principal purposes of the summary judgment rule is to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims or defenses." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
The moving party bears the burden of pointing to the part of the record that shows the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Allen v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11th Cir.1997). One the moving party establishes the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and designate "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548; see also Chanel, Inc. v. Italian Activewear of Fla., Inc., 931 F.2d 1472, 1477 (11th Cir.1991) (holding that the nonmoving party must "come forward with significant, probative evidence demonstrating the existence of a triable issue of fact.").
"Summary judgment may be inappropriate even where the parties agree on the basic facts, but disagree about the factual interferences that should be drawn from these facts." Warrior Tombigbee Transp. Co., Inc. v. M/V Nan Fung, 695 F.2d 1294, 1296 (11th Cir.1983). On a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the evidence and resolve all interferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). However, a mere scintilla of evidence in support of the nonmoving party's position is insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment. See id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. If the evidence offered by the nonmoving party is merely colorable or is not significantly probative, summary judgment is proper. See id. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
Plaintiff Stephens' complaint alleges breach of contract due to Defendant's alleged failure to comply with the contractual duties to defend and to indemnify Anchorage Homes in the underlying suit with Anchorage Homes. Compl. (DE #1). Stephens entered into a so-called Coblentz agreement
As the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida indicates in Federal Insurance Co. v. Applestein, "[i]t is well-settled in Florida that an insurer's duty to defend an action against its putative insured is determined by the allegations of the plaintiff's complaint. No obligation to defend ... arises when the pleading in question shows ... the applicability of a policy exclusion." 377 So.2d 229, 231 (Dist.Ct.App.Fla.1979) (internal citations omitted); see also Lime Tree Vill. Cmty. Club Ass'n, Inc. v. State Farm Gen. Ins. Co., 980 F.2d 1402, 1405 (11th Cir.1993). "If the allegations of the complaint leave any doubt as to the duty to defend, the question must be resolved in favor of the insured." Lime Tree, 980 F.2d at 1405. This general approach has been supplemented in some cases by the consideration of extrinsic evidence in situations in which "uncontroverted evidence places the claim outside of coverage, and the claimant makes no attempt to plead the fact creating coverage or suggest the existence of evidence establishing coverage." First Specialty Ins. Corp. v. 633 Partners, Ltd., 300 Fed.Appx. 777, 786-87 (11th Cir.2008) (citing Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Keen, 658 So.2d 1101 (1995)); see also Nateman, M.D. v. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co., 544 So.2d 1026, 1027 (Dist.Ct.App.Fla. 1989) ("... an obvious exception must be made in those instances where, notwithstanding allegations in the petition to the contrary, the insurer successfully urges the alleged insured is not in fact an insured under the policy"). The Eleventh Circuit distinguishes Keen as "depart[ing] from the general principle" and "best seen as [an] exceptional case[] in which courts have crafted an equitable remedy when it is manifestly obvious to all involved that the actual facts placed the claims outside the scope of coverage." First Specialty Ins. Corp., 300 Fed.Appx. at 785. First Specialty also factually distinguishes Keen
In the case at bar, the issue is whether coverage existed as controlled by two particular exclusions contained Anchorage Homes' insurance policy with Mid-Continent: a Worker's Compensation exclusion, and an Employer's Liability exclusion. It is the Court's finding that Becker's death meets the requirements of the Employer's Liability exclusion provided in the policy because Becker was a "statutory employee" of policy holder Anchorage Homes. Since the Employer's Liability exclusion applies, the Court finds that no treatment of the Worker's Compensation exclusion is necessary.
As noted above, Mid-Continent's policy excludes from coverage "Bodily injury to an `employee' of the insured arising out of and in the course of ... [e]mployment by the insured." Ins. Policy (DE #1-1). Defendant argues that the decedent was a "statutory employee" of Mid-Continent, and therefore an "employee" under the Bodily injury to an employee exclusion of the policy. The so-called "statutory employee" is a conceptualization stemming from the language of Section 440.10 of the Florida Workers Compensation Act. Wellington Specialty Ins. Co. v. Kendall Crane Service, 434 Fed.Appx. 794 (11th Cir.2011). The Act states (in part):
As noted by the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida in Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n, Inc. v. Revoredo, "[t]he Florida Supreme Court ... made it clear that subcontractors' employees ... are employees of the contractor and are protected by the workers' compensation law, stating: `Section 440.10 establishes the concept of `statutory employer' for contractors who sublet part of their work to others.'" 698 So.2d 890, 891 (Fla.Dist.Ct. App.1997) (citing Motchkavitz v. L.C. Boggs Indus., Inc., 407 So.2d 910, 912 (Fla. 1981)). Revoredo further states: "[s]tatutory employees have been treated identically to actual employees in relation to standard employee exclusion clauses." 698 So.2d at 892 (citations omitted).
The Fifth District Court of Appeal of Florida described its conceptualization of "subletting" in this context in its 1982 opinion, Lingold v. Transamerica Insurance Co., in a footnote quoting Jones v.
As to the statutory meaning of "contractor," Motchkavitz notes that "[t]he statute does not make the distinction [between independent and general contractors], but speaks only of `contractors.' A contractor is one under a contractual obligation to perform some work for another." 407 So.2d at 914 (internal citations omitted).
Revoredo is careful to note that "[s]ection 440.10(1) does not make the statutory employer-employee relationship contingent on the securing of workers' compensation for the employee." 698 So.2d at 892. Instead, "it is the creation of the statutory employer-employee relationship that establishes the employer's duty to secure compensation." Id. The creation of that relationship takes place in "the act of subletting (subcontracting)." Id. (citing Lingold v. Transamerica Ins. Co., 416 So.2d 1271, 1272-73 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1982)). The Revoredo court holds that "a failure to secure payment of compensation" does not disestablish that relationship. 698 So.2d at 892; see also Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. Constr. Servs. and Consultants, Inc., No. 06-cv-80922, 2008 WL 896221 at *6 (S.D.Fla.2008) ("The Court also rejects any contention that the [policy] exclusions do not apply because of issues as to whether worker's compensation coverage was in fact in place and whether Juarez actually was able to collect under available worker's compensation coverage") (citing Revoredo). It is therefore immaterial to this analysis whether or not Plaintiff Stephens received worker's compensation on behalf of the decedent, a point of dispute among the parties. Instead, the question is one of relationships: Anchorage Homes' relationship to the Kirklands, Anchorage's relationship to Jack Fritz, and the decedent's relationship to Jack Fritz.
Based on this Court's finding that Becker was employed by Jack Fritz at the time of his death, we are left with the question of whether Anchorage shared a vertical or horizontal relationship with Jack Fritz with regards to the Kirklands. It is the Court's finding that Anchorage did sublet a portion of its work to a sub-contractor, making the decedent a "statutory employee" of Anchorage Homes and triggering the exclusionary language of the insurance policy.
Under the general approach to duty to defend as called for by Florida law, the Court finds that the facts alleged in the underlying complaint show that the decedent was a statutory employee of Anchorage, triggering of the Employer's Liability exclusion in the insurance policy. Each of the Kirklands were separately alleged to be "contractor of record" for the project. (Stephens Am. Compl. ¶¶ 83, 99). However, while Anchorage "was hired to supply and install a modular home," (Amended Compl. ¶ 20), Jack Fritz was also "hired to install a modular home." (Stephens Am. Compl. ¶ 14). It is easily inferred, thus, that Anchorage sublet part of its duties to Jack Fritz. In addition, despite Plaintiff's attempts throughout this case to paint the Kirklands as the general and only contractor on the project, with all other companies as co-subcontractors, the underlying complaint refers to each Kirkland's failure to recognize the likelihood that a "worker" would be injured, while replacing the word "worker" with "employee" in otherwise
It may perhaps seem abrupt to base the fate of this case on merely the use of the words "install," "worker," and "employee" in a complaint. But there is a vast array of extrinsic evidence in the record supporting a lack of coverage as well. Recognizing the Eleventh Circuit's hesitancy to consider such extrinsic evidence, this Court nonetheless views the extrinsic evidence in this case as too weighty to ignore. First, there is the matter of Anchorage's Owner/Contractor Agreement with the Kirklands. Starting with the letterhead and document title, the agreement is unassailable evidence that Anchorage was a General Contractor, or at least acting above Fritz in a vertical contracting chain. The agreement allowed for Anchorage to engage subcontractors, and set up a system for the owners to pay any subcontractors through Anchorage. As noted in the facts above, this describes to a T the nature of Anchorage's interactions with Fritz: Fritz submitted estimates to Anchorage, and Anchorage paid Fritz from the progress payments issued by the Kirklands. In fact, one of the progress payments to Anchorage listed in the Owner/Contractor Agreement is earmarked for setting the home, and Fritz was indisputably hired to set the home on the foundation. This is a clear sublet of Anchorage's duties to Fritz.
Plaintiff argues that this agreement does not fairly represent the true nature of the relationship between the Kirklands and Anchorage, and that the agreement represented a boilerplate form habitually used by Anchorage. (Pl.'s Opp. To Def.'s Mot. for Final Summ. J. 6, DE #129.) However, as Defendant has repeatedly argued, Plaintiff is asking the Court to incorporate parol evidence in its consideration of an unambiguous contract. The Court must contain its interpretation of this contract within the four corners of the document, and such an interpretation is quite telling.
In addition, Anchorage Homes and others appear to have held Anchorage out as the General Contractor on the project. Liptak, the Principal for Anchorage, signed some of the versions of the building permit in the record as well as other documents submitted on behalf of the project to the county. Liptak also signed and filed the site plan regarding the sewage disposal system, signing his name alongside the handwritten letters "GC." Although some documents listed the owners as contractors, it is clear to the Court that Anchorage Homes was acting in a capacity beyond merely co-subcontractor. There is also the February 27, 2009 demand letter, which refers multiple times to Fritz as Anchorage's hired subcontractor and refers to Anchorage as the general contractor.
Finally, there is the nature of the relationship between Anchorage and Fritz. As described above, Anchorage paid Fritz, rather than the Kirklands paying Fritz directly. In addition, Fritz submitted estimates to Anchorage, rather than to the Kirklands directly. Although Fritz may
Whether Anchorage was the General Contractor of the project or just the contractor above Fritz, Fritz was Anchorage's subcontractor and Fritz's employee was Anchorage's statutory employee. The extrinsic evidence in this case supports a finding that there was no coverage for Becker's death pursuant to the Employer's Liability exclusion of the insurance policy. Therefore, the Court finds that Mid-Continent did not have a duty to defend and did not wrongfully refuse to defend. As the duty to defend question has been addressed by a finding of a lack of coverage, it is unnecessary to reach the duty to indemnify or whether the settlement agreement was reasonable and reached in good faith.
After careful consideration and based on the foregoing opinion, it is hereby