LORETTA A. PRESKA, Chief Judge:
Plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary judgment [dkt. no. 284] asking this Court to determine the priority of coverage among insurance policies issued by Plaintiffs (i.e., Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London, Aspen Insurance UK Ltd., and Arch Insurance Company (Europe) Ltd. (collectively "Underwriters")), Defendant Continental Casualty Company ("Continental"), and Defendant Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania ("ICSOP"). Continental subsequently filed a cross-motion for partial summary judgment [dkt. no. 291] regarding the
This dispute arises out of an accident that took place on December 14, 2007 at the construction site of Goldman Sachs's new world headquarters.
A number of different insurance policies provided coverage that extended to this accident, but for purposes of the present cross-motions, the Court focuses on only three providers. First, ICSOP issued a truckers' liability policy to Norbet providing $1,000,000 in coverage. (Id. ¶ 16; Pl. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 7.) That policy explicitly identified itself in its "Other Insurance" clause as "primary for any covered `auto' while hired or borrowed" by Norbet and used in its trucking business. (Id. ¶ 9.)
Second, Continental issued a commercial umbrella liability policy to Norbet providing $25,000,000 in coverage. (Def. 56.1 Smt. ¶ 17; Pl. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 10-13.) That policy provided coverage "in excess of scheduled underlying insurance, [or] unscheduled underlying insurance," specifically identifying the ICSOP Policy as "scheduled underlying insurance." (Id. ¶¶ 14, 16; Def. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 18-19.) Continental's "Other Insurance" clause provided:
(Id. ¶ 21.) Continental's policy provided approximately fifteen months of coverage from March 31, 2007 through July 1, 2008 and included a premium of $425,826. (Id. ¶¶ 17, 22.)
Third, Underwriters issued joint policy Nos. 509/DL458805 and 509/DL460005 to Goldman Sachs providing $25,000,000 in excess liability coverage. (Pl. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 17-19.) Underwriters' "Other Insurance" clause provided:
(Decl. of Ira S. Lipsius in Support of Underwriters' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [dkt. no. 286] dated Aug. 13, 2014 ("Lipsius Decl."), Ex. D at UND00461.) Underwriters' policies provided five years of coverage from November 28, 2005 to November 28, 2010 and included a minimum premium of $3,362,500. (Id. Ex. D at UND00456; Def. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 11.) Those policies were incorporated into an Owner Controlled Insurance Program ("OCIP") that jointly insured Goldman Sachs, the construction project managers, some contractors, and some subcontractors. (Decl. of Christopher R. Carrol [dkt. no. 293] dated Sept. 12, 2014 ("Carrol Decl."), Ex. A.) Covered contractors were required to remove any insurance premium costs from their respective bids for the project, though they were permitted to obtain additional insurance at their own option and expense. (Id. Ex. A at 4; Pl. 56.1 Reply ¶¶ 1-2.) The OCIP included $2 million in primary general liability coverage from Illinois National Insurance Co. and listed Underwriters' policies as "Layer 1" of four layers of "Excess Liability" coverage. (Id. ¶¶ 11-12; Def. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 9; Carrol Decl. Ex. A at 29-30.) Excluded from the OCIP were certain parties, including truckers, haulers, and drivers such as Norbet, who were required to obtain their own coverage, including automobile insurance. (See Id. Ex. A at 6, 17-20.)
This Court has already decided in a previous Memorandum Opinion and Order that both the ICSOP and the Continental policies covered Norbet and applied to the loss from the accident that injured Rocco and Woo. (See Memorandum Opinion and Order [dkt. no. 181] dated Feb. 25, 2011, at 6-10.) The parties are still engaged in discovery regarding certain issues that may impact their obligation to make particular payments, but all are in agreement that there are no genuine disputes of any material facts regarding priority of coverage. Accordingly, the parties have now asked the Court to consider the discrete issue of the order in which each insurer must contribute to the cost of the settlements.
A moving party is entitled to summary judgment only where the record makes clear that "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact," and "the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)) (internal quotation mark omitted). A fact is material if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law...." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute is genuine "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Id. When considering cross-motions for summary judgment, "the court must evaluate each party's motion on its own merits, taking care in each instance to draw all reasonable inferences against the party whose motion is under consideration." Heublein, Inc. v. United States, 996 F.2d 1455, 1461 (2d Cir.1993) (quoting Schwabenbauer v. Bd. of Educ. of Olean, 667 F.2d 305, 314 (2d Cir.1981)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Because this is a diversity action, the Court must first determine which state's law applies to the priority of insurance issue before proceeding to the merits. "Federal courts sitting in diversity look to
When evaluating priority of coverage, New York courts consider each applicable policy's language, recognizing "the right of each insurer to rely upon the terms of its own contract with its insured." State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. LiMauro, 65 N.Y.2d 369, 373, 492 N.Y.S.2d 534, 482 N.E.2d 13 (N.Y.1985). Generally, a policy that identifies itself as primary must pay out its entire limit first, followed by policies that were intended to be excess. See Utica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Erie Ins. Co., 107 A.D.3d 1522, 966 N.Y.S.2d 790, 792 (4th Dept.2013). If multiple policies cover "the same risk" because each "was sold to provide the same level of coverage," then "priority of coverage (or, alternatively, allocation of coverage) among the policies is determined by comparison of their respective `other insurance' clauses." Sport Rock, 878 N.Y.S.2d at 344. Should that analysis reveal that multiple insurers "contracted
Among the three insurers at issue in these cross-motions for summary judgment, one may be disposed of quickly. Both Underwriters and Continental agree that ICSOP's policy is primary and ahead of their excess policies. (Pl. Mem. at 8-9; Continental Mem. at 10.) Although ICSOP continues to dispute whether it is obligated to make any payments, it has not opposed either of the present motions, apparently conceding that it provided primary coverage and that if it is ultimately required to pay out its policy, it must do so ahead of Continental and Underwriters.
The more contentious issue is the order of priority between Continental and Underwriters. Underwriters argue that the two policies are both excess policies with identical "other insurance" clauses and should therefore contribute ratably after ICSOP's policy. By contrast, Continental argues that Underwriters' "other insurance" clause employs a different exception from Continental's and that Underwriters' inclusion in OCIP triggered their exception language, converting Underwriters' policies to primary-type below Continental's purely excess policy.
In evaluating this question, the Court first looks to the language of the competing policies. See Sport Rock, 878 N.Y.S.2d at 345-46. Both have virtually indistinguishable "other insurance" clauses, which purport to raise their policies above all other applicable insurance, including excess policies. (See Lipsius Decl. Ex. C at CCC00028; Id. Ex. D at UND00461.) The only difference between the two clauses is in the wording of their exceptions. While Continental carves out only "insurance purchased specifically to apply in excess
As an initial matter, Continental's exception clearly has not been triggered because there is no identifiable insurance that has been purchased "specifically to apply in excess" of Continental.
Continental also fails to explain how the Underwriters' policy can be primary within the terms of its "other insurance" clause exception but still excess and noncontributory to ICSOP's primary policy, as it conceded in its briefing. (See Continental Mem. at 10.) The best argument that
Continental argues that Underwriters' policies should be treated like the policy in Pecker. That case considered a primary policy with a provision indicating that for certain "additional insureds, coverage would only be excess, unless [the insured] agreed in a written contract for this insurance to apply on a primary or contributory basis." Pecker Iron Works of N. Y., 99 N.Y.2d at 393, 756 N.Y.S.2d 822, 786 N.E.2d 863 (internal quotation marks omitted). The New York Court of Appeals held that because "additional insured" is a term of art meaning an individual who receives "the same protection as the named insured," the contract with Pecker, which promised to list Pecker as an "additional insured" on the insured's primary policy, triggered the exception and provided the same primary protection to Pecker as it did to the original insured. Id. (quoting Del Bello v. Gen. Accident Ins. Co. of Am., 185 A.D.2d 691, 585 N.Y.S.2d 918, 918 (4th Dept.1992)) (internal quotation marks omitted). By contrast, Underwriters' policies provide only excess coverage, so even if OCIP added additional insureds to those policies, under the reasoning in Pecker, they would receive the same level of protection as the original insureds, i.e., excess coverage.
Continental attempts to circumvent this reasoning by arguing that the OCIP as a whole — including the primary and four layers of excess policies — constitutes primary insurance because covered contractors and subcontractors were required to remove any insurance premiums from their bids. In this way, Continental recognizes that the Underwriters' policies are indeed excess but nonetheless suggests that Underwriters' insureds implicitly contracted to provide coverage through OCIP that would be exclusive of and primary before any other excess insurance. Yet the language of the OCIP Manual forecloses such an interpretation by permitting covered contractors and subcontractors to obtain other insurance for on-site risks at their own expense and by excluding certain parties entirely from OCIP. (See Carroll Decl. Ex. A at 4, 6.) Specifically, truckers such as Norbet were left out of OCIP and expressly required to maintain their own insurance, including automobile policies. (See id. Ex. A at 6, 17-20.) Thus, OCIP contemplated other insurance policies that would cover particular liabilities involved in the construction project, including those arising out of the use of automobiles and actions of any truckers on site. These provisions further undermine Continental's attempt to identify OCIP as a contract that implicitly triggers the exception to Underwriters' "other insurance" clause. Because OCIP constitutes neither an express nor an implied contract triggering that exception, both "other insurance" clauses remain in effect and are mutually repugnant on their faces. See Sport Rock, 878 N.Y.S.2d at 347-49.
Continental nevertheless maintains that the purposes behind the two policies demonstrate
Continental's other equity arguments do not disturb this conclusion. Though it correctly points out that the Court should consider the premiums paid for the respective policies, the disparate premiums Continental and Underwriters received appear related to the policies' duration and covered risks, rather than their level of coverage. See LiMauro, 65. N.Y.2d at 374, 492 N.Y.S.2d 534, 482 N.E.2d 13; U.S. Fire Ins. Co. v. Fed. Ins. Co., 858 F.2d 882, 885 (2d Cir.1988). It is true that Continental received $425,826 for its $25,000,000 policy while Underwriters received a minimum premium deposit of $3,362,500 for the same limit, but Continental's policy lasted only fifteen months while Underwriters' lasted five years. (See Def. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 11, 17, 22; Pl. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 19; Lipsius Decl. Ex. D at UND00456.) The disparity may further be explained by contrasting Underwriters' coverage of multiple contractors and subcontractors on a massive construction site with Continental's coverage of trucking companies in their general work, not solely possibility of becoming a primary provider for additional insureds as the result of third party contracts, whereas Continental was guaranteed to remain excess at least to its underlying insurance policies for all insureds. Given these differences, the Court finds that the premium disparity reflects not a difference in coverage level, but rather "disparities in the degree of risk covered." U.S. Fire Ins. Co., 858 F.2d at 885.
Finally, Continental argues that if it must contribute pro rata with Underwriters, then the calculation of payments should employ the total OCIP coverage amount of $102 million, which includes the primary and four excess levels, and the total Norbet coverage amount of $26 million, which includes ICSOP and Continental. This proposal contradicts established New York law, which instructs that where two insurers must both contribute ratably, the calculation is based on the proportion of their respective policy limits to the remaining total loss without taking any other levels of coverage into account. See, e.g., Jefferson, Ins. Co. of N.Y. v. Travelers Indem. Co., 92 N.Y.2d 363, 372, 375, 681 N.Y.S.2d 208, 703 N.E.2d 1221 (N.Y.1998) (ordering two primary insurance carriers with equal policy limits to pay half of the covered cost each without factoring applicable excess policy purchased in a tier above one of the two primary policies into the calculation of that division). In the
Accordingly, the Court finds that Underwriters' policies and Continental's policy provide the same level of coverage and must ratably divide any costs remaining after ICSOP pays out its policy. See Bovis, 855 N.Y.S.2d at 472. Based on the record before the Court, that division appears to be an even split, as Continental provides a $25 million limit, and the Underwriters' policies together provide a single $25 million limit. As such, subject to any additional substantive arguments that may arise following completion of discovery, Continental and Underwriters must each cover fifty percent of any remaining costs after ICSOP makes any necessary payment.
After reviewing the record, the Court concludes that Underwriters have established the absence of any genuine disputes of material fact and that they are entitled to partial summary judgment as a matter of law with regard to priority of coverage. For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment [dkt. no. 284] is hereby GRANTED, and Defendant Continental's cross-motion for partial summary judgment [dkt. no. 291] is hereby DENIED.
SO ORDERED.