Houston Casualty Co. v. Strata Corp., No. 17-3404 (8th Cir. 2019)
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The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Strata's excess insurer, Houston Casualty, and denial of its cross-motion for summary judgment. After an employee was killed in a mine accident, his estate filed the underlying suit alleging that Strata's intentional failure to maintain a safe workplacae triggered an exception to the Montana Workers Compensation Act which provided the exclusive remedy for work injuries.
The court held that the district court properly granted summary judgment to Houston Casualty because the excess insurance policy did not cover the estate's claims against Strata in the underlying suit. Therefore, Houston Casualty had no duty to indemnify Strata and thus it did not breach its duty of good faith. In this case, under the policy's plain and unambiguous language, coverage was subject to the Montana Intentional Acts Exclusion Endorsement.
Court Description: Gruender, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Loken, Circuit Judge] Civil case - Insurance. Strata's employee was killed in a mine accident and his estate brought suit under Montana law, alleging that the Strata's intentional failure to maintain a safe workplacae triggered an exception to the Montana Workers Compensation Act which provided the exclusive remedy for work injuries; Strata settled the suit and sought contribution from Houston under an excess liability policy; the district court did not err in determining the excess insurance policy did not cover the estate's claim as the policy was subject to the exclusions contained in the underlying coverage by the primary insurer which plainly state that coverage is subject to the Montana Intentional Acts Exclusion Endorsement; because the excess policy did not provide coverage, Houston did not breach its duty of good faith by denying coverage and refusing payment.
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