UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

GUIDEONE ELITE INSURANCE COMPANY

1111 Ashworth Road

West Des Moines, IA 50265

V.

DIOCESE OF THE NORTHEAST AND MIDATLANTIC OF THE REFORMED EPISCOPAL

CHURCH

826 Second Avenue

Blue Bell, PA 19422

 CIVIL ACTION

 NO.

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT

Plaintiff, GuideOne Elite Insurance Company, through its

attorneys, Margolis Edelstein, hereby files this Complaint for

Declaratory Judgment and against Diocese of the Northeast and MidAtlantic of the Reformed Episcopal Church and in support thereof

states as follows:

PARTIES

1. At all times relevant hereto, GuideOne Elite Insurance

Company was a corporation organized and existing under the laws of

the State of Iowa with its principal place of business located at

1111 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265 and at all relevant

times hereto was authorized to transact business in the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as an insurance company.

2. At all times relevant hereto, Diocese of the Northeast

and Mid-Atlantic of the Reformed Episcopal Church was an

association of churches and/or other parochial enterprises

organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania and having a principal place of business at 826 Second

Avenue, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania 19422.

Case 2:05-cv-04162-RK Document 1 Filed 08/04/05 Page 1 of 6
3. Plaintiff issued a blanket commercial insurance policy to

Episcopal Diocese including commercial property coverage,

commercial general liability coverage, and commercial inland marine

coverage for the policy period June 15, 2004 to June 15, 2005

having Policy No. 1206-719. A true and correct copy of the policy

is attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “A”.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

4. Jurisdiction is invoked under the provisions of 28 U.S.C.

§1332 as this is an action between citizens of different states.

5. The amount in controversy, exclusive of interest and

costs, exceeds the sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars

($100,000.00).

6. Venue is proper in this jurisdiction pursuant to 28

U.S.C. §1391.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

7. Among the churches belonging to the Diocese of the

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic of the Reformed Episcopal Church is the

Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church located at 43 and rd

Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104.

8. Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church is a named

insured on the Schedule of Named Insureds of the GuideOne Elite

Insurance Company Policy No. 1206-719.

9. On or about August 3, 2004, the Christ Memorial Reformed

Episcopal Church at 43 and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia, rd

Pennsylvania suffered a steeple collapse.

10. The church which presently houses the Christ Memorial

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Reformed Episcopal Church was originally constructed in 1887 and

included a 180 foot bell tower in the southwest corner.

11. Prior to the collapse, Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal

Church had secured the services of architects, DPK&A in conjunction

with Partners for Sacred Places, a non-profit organization

organized and existing to preserve America’s older religious

properties.

12. DPK&A conducted an extensive property survey in mid-2004

resulting in the production of a July, 2004 report detailing the

condition of the steeple tower. A true and correct copy of the

DPK&A report is attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “B”.

13. In its pre-collapse report, the architects advised Christ

Memorial Church that there were large cracks in the tower and that

the tower was undergoing an active and accelerating process of

implosion. 

14. In its pre-collapse report, the architects also stated

that several support rods had failed and that the church was in

unstable condition.

15. In its pre-collapse report, the architects also found

that active stone loss and instability had lead to the loss of an

entire corner or pier and that catastrophic collapse was eminent.

16. As a result of the DPK&A pre-collapse report, Christ

Memorial Church erected fencing around the steeple, discontinued

use of the building, and also engaged a committee to explore

fundraising activities to demolish a portion of the tower and

restore it to a safe condition.

17. GuideOne Elite Insurance Company investigated the claim

Case 2:05-cv-04162-RK Document 1 Filed 08/04/05 Page 3 of 6
including the retention of consulting structural engineers, The

Kacheli Group, who confirmed that the collapse was the result of

extreme decay and deterioration and ruled out all reasonable

alternative causes. A true and correct copy of the report issued by

Kacheli Group is attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “C”.

APPLICABLE POLICY PROVISIONS

18. The GuideOne Elite Insurance Company policy issued to

Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic of the Reformed Episcopal

Church provides basic insuring language of the Building and

Personal Property Coverage Form stating that:

“we will pay for direct physical loss of or

damage to Covered Property at the premises

described in the Declarations caused by or

resulting from any Covered Cause of Loss”.

19. The Causes of Loss - Special Form specifies that Covered

Causes of Loss are risks of direct loss unless the loss is excluded

or limited. Exclusion B.2 states that:

We will not pay for loss or damage caused by

or resulting for any of the following:

d. (1) Wear and tear;

(2) ...decay, deterioration... or

any quality in property that 

causes it to damage or destroy 

itself;

f. Continuous or repeated seepage or 

leakage of water that occurs over a 

period of 14 days or more. ...

k. Collapse, except as provided below

in the Additional Coverage for 

Collapse. But if collapse results 

in a Covered Cause of Loss at the 

described premises, we will pay for 

the loss or damage caused by that 

covered Cause of Loss. 

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19. The Additional Coverage for Collapse states that:

“We will pay for direct physical loss or

damage to Covered Property, caused by collapse

of a building insured under this Coverage

Form, if the collapse is caused by one or more

of the following:

a. The “specified cause of loss’...” Those

“specified causes of loss include 

 lightning.”

20. Exclusion B.3 states that:

“We will not pay for loss or damage caused by

or resulting from any of the following, 3.a

through 3.c. But is an excluded cause of loss

that is listed in 3.a. through 3.c. results in

a Covered Cause of Loss, we will pay for the

loss or damage by the Covered Cause of Loss.

b. Acts or decisions, including the failure to act

or decide, of any person, group, organization

or governmental body.

c. Faulty, inadequate or defective:

(2)... repair,...;

(4) Maintenance;

of part or all of any property on or off the

described premises.”

21. For the reasons set forth above, GuideOne Elite Insurance

Company issued a denial of coverage to Diocese of the Northeast and

Mid-Atlantic of the Reformed Episcopal Church for the steeple

collapse at Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church dated

September 27, 2004. A true and correct copy of the GuideOne Elite

Insurance Company denial of coverage letter is attached hereto and

marked as Exhibit “D”.

REQUESTED RELIEF AGAINST EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF PENNSYLVANIA

22. GuideOne Elite Insurance Company affords no coverage to

Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic of the Reformed Episcopal

Church for any damage sustained as a result of the steeple collapse

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at the Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church as the collapse

was not the result of any covered cause of loss.

WHEREFORE, GuideOne Elite Insurance Company respectfully

requests a determination from this Honorable Court that GuideOne

Elite Insurance Company affords no coverage to Diocese of the

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic of the Reformed Episcopal Church for any

losses sustained by Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania as a result

of the steeple collapse at Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal

Church.

MARGOLIS EDELSTEIN

 EH716 

ELIZABETH HORNEFF, ESQUIRE

Attorney for Plaintiff, 

GuideOne Elite Insurance Company

The Curtis Center, 4 Floor th

Independence Square West

Philadelphia, PA 19106

(215) 922-1100

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