REBECCA BEACH SMITH, District Judge.
This case comes before the court on Dragas Management Corporation's ("DMC") Motion for Partial Summary Judgment ("Motion"), filed December 31, 2010. See Docket # 11. For the reasons which follow, the court
DMC is a company that builds residential homes and housing developments in the Hampton Roads area. Two such developments are The Hampshires at Greenbriar ("The Hampshires"), located in Chesapeake, Virginia, and Cromwell Park at Salem ("Cromwell Park"), located in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Some of the drywall installed at the developments was manufactured in China. In total, seventy-four (74) of the homes, sixty-eight (68) at The Hampshires and six (6) at Cromwell Park, had Chinese drywall installed in them. The Chinese drywall was defective and contained levels of elemental sulfur approximately three hundred seventy-five (375) times greater than representative samples of domestic drywall. As a result, it caused property damage to the homes where it was installed by corroding HVAC coils, damaging wiring, tarnishing or corroding metal objects, and causing a bad odor. The source of the corrosion, pitting, tarnishing, and blackening of the electronics and metal components was reduced sulfur gases.
DMC discovered the problem with the drywall in early 2009 and requested at that time that Porter-Blaine remove and replace the drywall and fix the other damage to the homes, but Porter-Blaine refused. Therefore, DMC remediated the problem itself by moving the affected homeowners
During the relevant time period, Porter-Blaine carried both commercial general liability insurance and an umbrella excess liability policy. Porter-Blaine's commercial general liability policy, policy number ZBR 7905525, was provided by Citizens Insurance Co. of America ("Citizens").
Porter-Blaine's umbrella excess liability policy, policy number UHR 7917898, was provided by The Hanover Insurance Co. ("Hanover").
Because of Porter-Blaine's refusal to replace the drywall and remediate the other damage and the subsequent costs DMC incurred in doing so itself, DMC filed a demand for arbitration against Porter-Blaine on June 26, 2009. A five-day arbitration hearing was held where witnesses testified and lawyers for both sides made arguments.
Because of its inability to collect the judgment from Porter-Blaine, DMC filed suit in this court under diversity jurisdiction seeking to enforce the arbitration award against Porter-Blaine's insurers, Citizens and Hanover, on November 3, 2010. Before discovery had begun, DMC filed this Motion on December 31, 2010. Citizens and Hanover responded on January 14, 2011, and DMC replied on January 21, 2011.
Summary judgment is appropriate when a court, viewing the record as a whole and in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, finds that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Terry's Floor Fashions, Inc. v. Burlington Indus., Inc., 763 F.2d 604, 610 (4th Cir. 1985). A party opposing a motion for summary judgment may not rest on the pleadings alone, but must instead show that "specific, material facts exist that give rise to a genuine triable issue." Hagan v. McNallen (In re McNallen), 62 F.3d 619, 623-24 (4th Cir.1995). In essence, the non-movant must present evidence "on which a [trier of fact] could reasonably find" for the non-moving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Such facts must be presented in the form of exhibits and sworn affidavits. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); see also M & M Med. Supplies & Serv., Inc. v. Pleasant Valley Hosp., Inc., 981 F.2d 160, 163 (4th Cir.1993) ("A motion for summary judgment may not be defeated by evidence that is `merely colorable' or `is not sufficiently probative.'" (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505)).
On summary judgment, the court is not to "weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Instead, the court will draw any permissible inference from the underlying facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). But a failure by a plaintiff to rebut a defendant's motion with sufficient evidence will result in summary judgment when appropriate. "[T]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment ... against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; see also Felty v. Graves-Humphreys Co., 818 F.2d 1126, 1128 (4th Cir.1987) (finding district courts have an "affirmative obligation ... to prevent `factually unsupported claims and defenses' from proceeding to trial." (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548)).
DMC has moved for partial summary judgment only as to the Citizens commercial
With regard to the first issue, DMC argues that the installation of and damage caused by the defective drywall constitutes an occurrence as it is defined in the policies. Citizens and Hanover appear to agree in part. They do not contest that damage caused by a subcontractor's defective work to an insured's non-defective work is an occurrence under the policies. However, Citizens and Hanover argue that DMC has not proven that summary judgment is proper at this juncture, because the defective condition of the drywall itself is not an occurrence and DMC has not shown the cost it accrued in remedying damage to non-defective work separate from the cost of replacing the drywall itself.
Under Virginia law, an insured bears the burden of bringing itself within the insurance policy coverage. Maryland Cas. Co. v. Cole, 156 Va. 707, 158 S.E. 873, 876 (1931). Thus DMC must show that it meets all the conditions for coverage to attach. The policies in question define "occurrence" as "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions." E.g., Compl. Ex. B. at 20. The policies do not define what is meant by an "accident." Black's Law Dictionary defines "accident" as "[a]n unintended and unforeseen injurious occurrence." Black's Law Dictionary 15 (7th ed.1999) (emphasis added); see also Wooden v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co., 205 Va. 750, 139 S.E.2d 801, 804 (1965); Am. Fam. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Am. Girl, Inc., 268 Wis.2d 16, 673 N.W.2d 65, 76 (2004). Thus, under the policy, an occurrence is an unforeseen and unintended consequence.
The Fourth Circuit has previously discussed whether damage caused by the defective work of a subcontractor is an occurrence under a commercial general liability policy. First, in French v. Assurance Co. of America, 448 F.3d 693 (4th Cir.2006), the Fourth Circuit determined, under Maryland law, whether the installation by a subcontractor of defective synthetic stucco to the outside of a home that allowed moisture to damage the otherwise non-defective walls was an occurrence. The court drew a line between the replacement of the defective stucco itself and the resulting damage to non-defective areas of the home. The court initially held that because the contractor had hired the subcontractor specifically to install the stucco, the necessity of repairing or replacing the stucco was not unforeseen, and therefore not an occurrence. Id. at 703. However, the court drew the opposite conclusion with relation to the damage done to the rest of the house where moisture had been allowed to seep in. The court held that the commercial general liability policy "provides liability coverage for the cost to
The court reached the same conclusion in an unpublished opinion, Stanley Martin Cos., Inc. v. Ohio Casualty Group, 313 Fed.Appx. 609 (4th Cir.2009), applying Virginia law. In that case, a subcontractor installed defective trusses in a number of townhouses, which trusses caused mold to grow. The court held that the contractor's obligation to replace the defective trusses "was not unexpected or unforeseen under the terms of its building contracts for the townhouses," but the damage which spread beyond the trusses to non-defective parts of the homes "was an unintended accident, or an occurrence that triggered coverage." Id. at 614. Thus, again the court held that the replacement of the defective work was not an occurrence but that repair of the other damage caused by the defective work was.
This court sees no reason why the decisions in Stanley Martin and French should not control the results in this case. Therefore, under the Fourth Circuit's precedent, this court holds that the replacement of the defective drywall is not an occurrence under the policy; however, any repair or replacement of non-defective components of the homes at The Hampshires and Cromwell Park or personal property of the homeowners constituted an occurrence under the Citizens policies at issue.
As to the second issue, DMC argues that each installation of the defective drywall constitutes a separate occurrence because the introduction of the drywall was the cause of the resulting damage. Citizens and Hanover argue, to the contrary, that the damage had a single cause, the purchase of the defective Chinese drywall by Porter-Blaine.
Virginia follows the "cause" test for determining the number of occurrences under an insurance policy. E.g., Am. Cas. Co. of Reading, Pa. v. Heary, 432 F.Supp. 995, 997 (E.D.Va.1977). Thus, court must look to the cause of the injury in deciding the number of occurrences. Citizens and Hanover rely on a case from the South Carolina Supreme Court, Owners Ins. Co. v. Salmonsen, 366 S.C. 336, 622 S.E.2d 525 (2005), where that court held that in the distribution of defective goods, there was only one occurrence because "the distributor has taken no distinct action giving rise to liability for each sale." Id. at 526. However, this court finds that case inapposite because there the insured in question only distributed the defective product; it did not install or otherwise involve itself with the product post-distribution.
DMC, by contrast, relies on the Virginia Supreme Court's decision in S.F. v. West American Insurance Co., 250 Va. 461, 463 S.E.2d 450 (1995). In that case, the plaintiffs sought recovery from a property management company for the resident manager's molestation of a number of children. In determining how many occurrences there were under the policy, the court found that the word "occurrence" under the policy was ambiguous. Id. at 452. Therefore, the court construed the policy in favor of coverage and found that there was a separate occurrence for each child that was molested, though not a separate occurrence for each time that child was molested given the ongoing pattern of conduct. Id.
No Virginia court has applied the "cause" test to determine the number of occurrences in a construction case specifically, but the court finds one decision from Texas to be informative. In Lennar Corp.
Looking to the Virginia Supreme Court's reasoning in S.F. and the decision in Lennar, this court holds that each installation of the defective drywall constituted a separate occurrence.
The court does not, however, enter judgment for DMC for the amount requested. DMC bears the burden of proving that the "property damage" alleged occurred during the relevant policy period, here between 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. DMC has provided accurate accounting of its costs for remediation, but it has provided no such proof of when the damage occurred.
On the final issue, DMC asks the court to declare that the "your work" exclusion does not bar coverage under the policies because Porter-Blaine used subcontractors to install the drywall in each of the homes.
The policies exclude from coverage "`property damage' to `your work' arising out of it or any part of it and included in the `products-completed operations hazard.'" E.g., Compl. Ex. B, at 11. However, "[t]his exclusion does not apply if the damaged work or the work out of which the damage arises was performed on your behalf by a sub-contractor." E.g., id. "Your work" is defined as "[w]ork or operations performed by you or on your behalf; and ... [m]aterials, parts, or equipment furnished in connection with such work or operations." E.g., id. at 22. DMC points to testimony at deposition by Sam Porter that Porter-Blaine used second-tier subcontractors in the installation of the drywall. Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 1, Sam Porter Dep. 846:12-847:3. However, the evidence is far from clear whether Mr. Porter meant that Porter-Blaine always used subcontractors to install the drywall, or whether the subcontractors were used in addition to Porter-Blaine's own employees.
Accordingly, as detailed herein, the court