M. CASEY RODGERS, CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This matter is before the Court on two motions: (1) Morette Company, individually and for the benefit of BITCO National Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment on Liability, ECF No. 31; and (2) Southern-Owners Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 46. The Court's rulings are set forth below.
This consolidated action involves an insurance coverage dispute over the obligation, if any, of Southern-Owners Insurance Company ("Southern-Owners") to defend and indemnify various parties against state court claims for property damage due to allegedly defective work performed by two of its insureds, Etheridge Construction, Inc. ("Etheridge Construction") and Wallace Sprinkler & Supply, Inc. ("Wallace Sprinkler"), while serving as subcontractors for the construction of the Margaritaville Beach Hotel ("Margaritaville") in Pensacola Beach, Florida. The state court lawsuit and the federal court actions arise from the following undisputed facts.
In August 2008, Little Sabine, Inc. ("Sabine"), the developer and owner of Margaritaville, hired Morette Company, Inc. ("Morette") as general contractor for the Margaritaville project. Morette subcontracted various portions of the construction work to Etheridge Construction and Wallace Sprinkler. The terms of their respective subcontracts required each subcontractor to defend and indemnify Morette for all damages claims "occasioned by" the subcontractor's work and to reimburse Morette for all expenses incurred, including reasonable attorney's fees, as a result of such claims.
As per their subcontracts, both Etheridge Construction and Wallace Sprinkler obtained commercial general liability policies ("CGL policies") with blanket additional insured endorsements ("Endorsements") from Southern-Owners.
After the construction of Margaritaville was complete, Sabine retained an architect to inspect the finished project. The architect issued a report identifying a number of alleged defects purportedly resulting from improper design and construction of Margaritaville. Sabine then served a notice of claim on Morette, pursuant to Florida Statutes 558.004.
Morette determined that the allegedly defective work was performed by its subcontractors, Etheridge Construction and Wallace Sprinkler.
Since that time, two actions have been filed and consolidated for adjudication by this Court. First, on March 3, 2015, Southern-Owners filed an action for declaratory judgment for the purpose of determining its rights and obligations under the CGL policy issued by Southern-Owners to Wallace
A district court applies the same legal standards when ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment as it does when only one party files a motion. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London Subscribing to Policy No. SA 10092-11581 v. Waveblast Watersports, Inc., 80 F.Supp.3d 1311, 1316 (S.D. Fla. 2015). "Cross-motions may, however, be probative of the absence of a factual dispute where they reflect general agreement by the parties as to the controlling legal theories and material facts." Id. (citing United States v. Oakley, 744 F.2d 1553, 1555-56 (11th Cir. 1984)).
Summary judgment is appropriate where there are no genuine disputes of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56; see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A fact is "material" if, under the applicable substantive law, it might affect the outcome of the case. Hickson Corp. v. N. Crossarm Co., 357 F.3d 1256, 1259-60 (11th Cir. 2004). A dispute of material fact is "genuine" if "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact rests with the moving party. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. In determining whether the moving party has carried its burden, a court must view the evidence and factual inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Allen v. Tyson Foods, 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11th Cir. 1997). "Summary judgment is appropriate in declaratory judgment actions seeking a declaration of coverage when the insurer's duty, if any, rests solely on the applicability of the insurance policy, the construction
Morette argues it is entitled to summary judgment because the allegations in the state court lawsuit triggered Southern-Owners' duty to defend and indemnify, which Southern-Owners has refused to do. Southern-Owners opposes Morette's motion and moves for summary judgment in its favor regarding the duty to defend and indemnify. More specifically, Southern-Owners asserts it had no duty to defend or indemnify Morette because the state court lawsuit did not allege "property damage" as defined in the CGL policies, and alternatively, the CGL policies' various exclusions operate to preclude coverage.
The question of whether Southern-Owners owes a defense to Morette or the other remaining defendants turns on whether the allegations in the state court lawsuit bring that action within the scope of the CGL policies' coverage. See Jones v. Florida Ins. Guar. Ass'n, Inc., 908 So.2d 435, 443 (Fla. 2005); Lime Tree Village Cmty. Club Ass'n, Inc. v. State Farm Gen. Ins. Co., 980 F.2d 1402, 1405 (11th Cir. 1993). Under Florida law, "the general rule is that an insurance company's duty to defend an insured is determined solely from the allegations in the complaint against the insured, not by the actual facts of the cause of action against the insured, the insured's version of the facts or the insured's defenses." Amerisure Ins. Co. v. Gold Coast Marine Distribs., Inc., 771 So.2d 579, 580-81 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); see also Jones, 908 So.2d at 442-43. If any factual allegations "fairly and potentially" fall within the policy's coverage, the insurer has a duty to defend the action. See Jones, 908 So.2d at 443. Thus, even where the underlying action "alleges facts partially within and partially outside the scope of coverage, the insurer is obligated to defend the entire suit." Trizec Props., Inc. v. Biltmore Constr. Co., Inc., 767 F.2d 810, 811-12 (11th Cir. 1985); see also Pentecost v. Lawyers Title Ins. Corp., 704 So.2d 1103 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). However, no obligation to defend arises where the facts alleged do not state a claim for which there would be coverage or where a policy exclusion applies. WPC Indus. Contractors, Ltd. v. Amerisure Mut. Ins. Co., 720 F.Supp.2d 1377, 1380 (S.D. Fla. 2009). Any doubts regarding whether the duty to defend exists in a particular case must be resolved against the insurer and in favor of the insured. Jones, 908 So.2d at 443; Grissom v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 610 So.2d 1299, 1307 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992).
As an initial matter, the Court must resolve the parties' dispute over which documents may be used to determine whether Southern-Owners owed a duty to defend. Southern-Owners argues that only the terms of the CGL policies and the allegations contained within the four corners of the state court complaint may be considered. In response, Morette argues that the Court also should review the "Chapter 558 Notice of Defects" that it contends was incorporated by reference in the state court complaint, see ECF No. 42-1 ("Notice 1"), as well as a "revised Chapter 558 Notice of Defects" that was sent to Etheridge Construction and Southern-Owners
In this case, the state court complaint expressly alleges that Notice 1 was provided to Morette, that the defects identified in Notice 1 were not resolved, and that the plaintiff suffered property damage "[a]s a result of the unresolved defects." See ECF No. 1-1 at 2. The state court lawsuit thus is premised in large part on the "unresolved defects" detailed in Notice 1, which makes the contents of Notice 1 central to the state court plaintiff's claims. Southern-Owners has not disputed the centrality or authenticity of Notice 1. Therefore, the Court finds that Notice 1 was incorporated by reference into the state court complaint and that its contents may be considered in determining whether Southern-Owners' duty to defend was triggered by the state court lawsuit. However, the Court finds that Notice 2 was not impliedly incorporated by reference in the state court complaint. The allegations of the state court complaint do not mention Notice 2 or its contents, either explicitly or implicitly. See ECF No. 1-1. Obviously, this is because the alleged construction defects described in Notice 2 did not materialize until over a year after the state court lawsuit was filed. See ECF No. 1-6 at 1. Facts developed by an insured after the underlying lawsuit commenced may not be considered in determining the insurer's duty to defend. See Gold Coast Marine, 771 So.2d at 580-81 (stating that duty to defend is determined by the allegations against the insured, not by the actual facts or any party's version of the facts). Therefore, the Court finds that the facts described in Notice 2 may not be used as a basis for the duty to defend in this case. Only the factual allegations in the state court complaint, Notice 1, which was incorporated by reference in the state court complaint, and the terms of the CGL policies may be considered in analyzing Southern-Owners' duty to defend.
The Court next addresses whether the state court lawsuit involved "property damages" as defined in the CGL policies.
Reading these three standard CGL provisions together, Florida courts have consistently held that a claim for the cost of repairing or replacing the insured's defective construction work does not qualify as a claim for "property damage," whereas a claim for the costs of repairing independent damage caused by the insured's defective work is a claim for "property damage." See Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Pozzi Windows Co., 984 So.2d 1241, 1248 (Fla. 2008) ("[I]f there is no damage beyond the faulty workmanship or defective work, then there may be no resulting property damage."); LaMarche v. Shelby Mut. Ins. Co., 390 So.2d 325, 326 (Fla. 1980) ("Rather than coverage and payment for building flaws or deficiencies, [a CGL] policy instead covers damage caused by those flaws."); W. Orange Lumber Co. v. Ind. Lumbermens Mut. Ins. Co., 898 So.2d 1147, 1148 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) (finding no property damage where the only damage alleged was the cost of removing and replacing the wrong grade cedar siding, which was installed by the insured). Importantly, the term "property damage" includes damage wreaked on the work product of a different subcontractor on the same construction project. See Carithers v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., 782 F.3d 1240, 1249-50 (11th Cir. 2015) (holding that where bricks were installed by one subcontractor, and a different sub-contractor[, the insured,] applied an exterior brick coating, then the damage to the bricks caused by the negligent application of the brick coating was not part of the [insured] subcontractor's defective work, and constituted "property damage").
Applying these principles to this case, the Court finds that at least some of the allegations in the state court lawsuit fairly and potentially fall within the scope of the subject CGL policies. In particular, the state court lawsuit alleges, inter alia, that the "improper design and construction of floor pavers does not allow for proper drainage," see ECF No. 1-1 at 65, which resulted in clogging of the concrete floor drains, see ECF No. 42-1 at 4, and caused standing/ponded water throughout the concrete floor cavity underneath the pavers around the Margaritaville structure, see ECF No. 42-1 at 4-5. There are also allegations of staining and moisture intrusion into the building and its columns, as well as cracks to the concrete flooring and walls, caused by "[i]mproper joints and sealant of joints." See ECF Nos. 1-1 at 65, 42 at 23-25, 32, 42. Etheridge Construction was the subcontractor responsible for the floor pavers at Margaritaville, see ECF No. 1-2 at 56, and Wallace Sprinkler performed the joint and sealant work, see ECF No. 1-5 at 10. Neither Etheridge Construction nor Wallace Sprinkler designed or constructed the concrete floor drains, columns, walls, or flooring. See ECF Nos. 1-2 at 56, 1-5 at 10, 51 at 9-10.
Even where allegations in a complaint fairly and potentially fall within the policy coverage, an insurer has no duty to defend where the complaint shows that a policy exclusion applies. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Tippett, 864 So.2d 31, 35 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). In Florida, an insurer relying on a CGL policy exclusion to deny coverage bears the burden of proving that an exclusion applies. LaFarge Corp. v. Travelers Indem. Co., 118 F.3d 1511, 1516 (11th Cir. 1997). Southern-Owners argues that even if the state court complaint establishes coverage, three policy exclusions extinguish its duty to defend: the contractual liability exclusion, the impaired property exclusion,
First, the contractual liability exclusion has no relevance to this case. This exclusion precludes coverage for amounts "the insured is obligated to pay [as] damages by reason of the assumption of liability in a contract or agreement." ECF No. 1-5 at 94. Construing this provision according to its plain meaning, it is clear that the exclusion applies when the insured has assumed another person or entity's liability to a third-party. Both Etheridge Construction and Wallace Sprinkler assumed the obligation to provide non-defective work when they entered into their respective subcontracts with Morette, but neither of them contracted or agreed to assume any other party's liability. See Subcontracts, ECF No. 1-2 at 56-59, 1-5 at 10-13. Absent such an assumption of liability, the contractual liability exclusion does not apply.
The impaired property exclusion also does not preclude coverage.
Finally, the recall exclusion does not apply.
In sum, the Court concludes that the state court lawsuit alleged "property damage" that fairly and potentially fell within the coverage of Etheridge Construction and Wallace Sprinkler's CGL policies and that none of the policy exclusions invoked by Southern-Owners apply. Accordingly, the Court finds that Southern-Owners owed a duty to defend Morette against the entire state court lawsuit; therefore, Morette is entitled to summary judgment on this issue.
Having determined that Southern-Owners owed a duty to defend Morette against the claims alleged in the state court lawsuit, the Court next addresses the question of whether Southern-Owners breached that duty. An insurer's duty to defend arises from the language of the insurance contract and policy. See Allstate Ins. Co. v. RJT Enters., Inc., 692 So.2d 142, 144 (Fla. 1997); Carrousel Concessions, Inc. v. Fla. Ins. Guar. Ass'n, 483 So.2d 513, 516 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986). If the insurer erroneously fails to defend its insured, its conduct constitutes a breach of contract and "it — like any other party who fails to perform its contractual obligations — becomes liable for all damages naturally flowing from the breach." Carrousel, 483 So.2d at 516; see also Caldwell v. Allstate Ins. Co., 453 So.2d 1187, 1191 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984) (stating that an insurance "company acts at its peril in refusing to defend its insured in that, if it is subsequently discovered that the company erroneously denied coverage, the company will
In this case, the Court has already found that Southern-Owners had a contractual duty to defend Morette. It is undisputed that Morette repeatedly requested Southern-Owners provide it, as an additional insured, a defense against the claims alleged in the state court lawsuit. See ECF Nos. 1-4 at 199, 202; 1-5 at 4; ECF No. 1-6 at 84-89. However, Southern-Owners elected not to defend Morette. Southern-Owners did so "at its peril." See Caldwell, 453 So.2d at 1191. The failure to provide a defense to Morette is a clear breach of the duty to defend. See Caldwell, 453 So.2d at 1191. This is true even if Southern-Owners' failure to defend was based "on a mistaken but honest belief that coverage did not exist." See St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Thomas, 273 So.2d 117, 121 n.7 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973); Nova Cas. Co. v. OneBeacon America Ins. Co., 603 Fed.Appx. 898, 903-04 (11th Cir. 2015). Because Southern-Owners breached its contractual duty to defend as a matter of law, the Court finds that Morette is entitled to summary judgment as to liability only on the breach of contract claim.
The Court next considers whether Southern-Owners has an indemnity obligation under the CGL policies.
In this case, the state court lawsuit settled in or around February 2016. See ECF No. 31-2 at 4, 6-17; see also Case No. 3:15cv077, ECF No. 115. The undisputed record evidence indicates that Southern-Owners, on behalf of Etheridge Construction and Wallace Sprinkler, paid approximately $60,000 to settle the state court claims. See ECF No. 31-2 at 4, 7, 12. There is no evidence, or even argument, that Morette paid, or became legally obligated to pay, any portion of the settlement amount. As Morette has not suffered a covered loss under the CGL policies, there is nothing for Southern Owners to indemnify. The Court thus finds that Southern-Owners
Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
See ECF No. 1-5 at 109.
See ECF No. 1-5 at 47.