City of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Defendant-appellant,andbowring Non-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t. Bowring& Company (insurance), Limited, Marsh & Mclennan,incorporated, Defendants.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Bowringnon-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t.bowring & Company (insurance), Limited,marsh & Mclennan,incorporated,defendants-appellees.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Bowringnon-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t.bowring & Company (insurance), Limited,marsh & Mclennan,incorporated,defendants-appellees.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Bowring Non-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t. Bowring& Company (insurance), Limited, Defendants-appellants,andinsurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Marsh & Mclennan,incorporated, Defendants.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Defendant-appellant,bowring Non-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t. Bowring& Company (insurance), Limited, Marsh & Mclennan,incorporated, Defendants-appellees.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Bowringnon-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t.bowring & Company (insurance), Limited,marsh & Mclennan,incorporated,defendants-appellees.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Bowring Non-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t. Bowring& Company (insurance), Limited, Defendants-appellants,andinsurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Marsh & Mclennan,incorporated, Defendants.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Bowring Non-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t. Bowring& Company (insurance), Limited, Defendants-appellants,andinsurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Marsh & Mclennan,incorporated, Defendants.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Bowring Non-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t. Bowring& Company (insurance), Limited, Defendants-appellants,andinsurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Marsh & Mclennan,incorporated, Defendants.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Defendant-appellant,andbowring Non-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t. Bowring& Company (insurance), Limited, Marsh & Mclennan,incorporated, Defendants-appellees.city of Lynchburg, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Limited, Bowringnon-marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.t.bowring & Company (insurance), Limited,marsh & Mclennan,incorporated,defendants-appellees, 937 F.2d 602 (4th Cir. 1991)
Annotate this CaseAppeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Lynchburg. James C. Turk, Chief District Judge. (CA-87-181-L)
S.D. Roberts Moore, Gentry, Locke, Rakes & Moore, Roanoke, Va., Michael Cohen, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, Baltimore, Md. (Argued), for appellant; Melissa W. Robinson, Gentry, Locke, Rakes & Moore, Roanoke, Va., J. Marks Moore, III, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, Baltimore, Md., on brief. Samuel James Thompson, Caskie & Frost, Lynchburg, Va., David Luther Hartsell, McCullough, Campbell & Lane, Chicago, Ill., for appellees; Joy Lee Price, Caskie & Frost, Lynchburg, Va., Michael C. Cook, McCullough, Campbell & Lane, Chicago, Ill., William M. Phillips, City Attorney, Lynchburg, Va., William B. Poff, Thomas A. Leggette, Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove, Roanoke, Va., on brief.
W.D. Va.
AFFIRMED.
Before BUTZNER and CHAPMAN, Senior Circuit Judges, and RICHARD L. WILLIAMS, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.
OPINION
PER CURIAM:
Defendants-appellants Ireland Insurance Company ("ICI"), Bowring Non-Marine Insurance Brokers, Limited, C.T. Bowring & Company (Insurance), Limited (collectively "Bowring"), and Marsh & McLennan, Incorporated ("Marsh") appeal an order of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Lynchburg Division resulting from a suit brought by the City of Lynchburg ("the City"). We find no errors and thus affirm the district court's order.
This action arose from an insurance contract dispute between the City and ICI. ICI began insuring the City against property loss in 1984. At that time, ICI was the reinsurer, receiving 99% of the insurance premium paid by the City. In 1985, ICI became the direct insurer. A flood occurred on November 5, 1985 causing substantial damage to the City and its properties. After the flood, ICI paid the City approximately $3.2 million for flood damage but it denied coverage for an additional $1.4 million in damage to underground properties. ICI claimed that these losses were excluded from coverage. The parties vigorously contested whether the insurance contract covered underground properties at trial before the district court, sitting without a jury. The district court found that underground properties were included under the parties' insurance contract and ordered ICI to pay the remaining amount of damages.
ICI sought additional relief from the district court in the form of: (1) indemnity from Bowring and Marsh, the insurance brokers who were involved in procuring the insurance; and (2) rescission of the insurance contract with the City. The City sought attorneys' fees from Bowring. The district court found that ICI was not entitled to indemnity nor rescission and that Bowring should pay the City's attorneys' fees resulting from Bowring's error in presenting the wrong policy to ICI after the flood.
After hearing oral arguments and considering the parties' briefs, we hold that the district court's findings of fact are not clearly erroneous and its conclusions of law are correct. Accordingly, the order of the district court is affirmed.
The appellant's motions to strike a portion of appellee's opening and answering brief and to file a reply brief with addendum are denied.
AFFIRMED.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
