Opinion ID: 2639532
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Motion for Summary Judgment in the Insurance Coverage Context

Text: We review the circuit court's grant or denial of summary judgment de novo. Hawaiì [sic] Community Federal Credit Union v. Keka, 94 Hawai`i 213, 221, 11 P.3d 1, 9 (2000). The standard for granting a motion for summary judgment is settled: [S]ummary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A fact is material if proof of that fact would have the effect of establishing or refuting one of the essential elements of a cause of action or defense asserted by the parties. The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. In other words, we must view all of the evidence and the inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Id. (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Coon v. City and County of Honolulu, 98 Hawai`i 233, 244-45, 47 P.3d 348, 359-60 (2002) (second alteration in original). Kau v. City and County of Honolulu, 104 Hawai`i 468, 473-74, 92 P.3d 477, 482-83 (2004). This court has further explained the burdens of the moving and non-moving parties on summary judgment as follows: The burden is on the party moving for summary judgment (moving party) to show the absence of any genuine issue as to all material facts, which, under applicable principles of substantive law, entitles the moving party to judgment as a matter of law. This burden has two components. First, the moving party has the burden of producing support for its claim that: (1) no genuine issue of material fact exists with respect to the essential elements of the claim or defense which the motion seeks to establish or which the motion questions; and (2) based on the undisputed facts, it is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Only when the moving party satisfies its initial burden of production does the burden shift to the non-moving party to respond to the motion for summary judgment and demonstrate specific facts, as opposed to general allegations, that present a genuine issue worthy of trial. Second, the moving party bears the ultimate burden of persuasion. This burden always remains with the moving party and requires the moving party to convince the court that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving part is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. French v. Hawaii Pizza Hut, Inc., 105 Hawai`i 462, 470, 99 P.3d 1046, 1054 (2004) (quoting GECC Fin. Corp. v. Jaffarian, 79 Hawai`i 516, 521, 904 P.2d 530, 535 (App. 1995)) (emphasis deleted). In the insurance context, with specific regard to the insurer's duties to defend and indemnify under the policy, this court has distilled the summary judgment standard still further: It is well settled that the duty to provide coverage [ i.e., the duty to indemnify,] and the duty to defend on the part of an insurer are separate and distinct. Moreover, the parties' respective burdens of proof with respect to the duties to indemnify and to defend are also distinct. With respect to [an insurer's] prayer for a declaration that it has no duty to defend . . . pursuant to the polic[y, its] already heavy burden of proof as a movant for summary judgment [i]s significantly augmented. The obligation to defend is broader than the duty to pay claims and arises wherever there is the mere potential for coverage. In other words, the duty to defend rests primarily on the possibility that coverage exists. This possibility may be remote but if it exists, the insurer owes the insured a defense. All doubts as to whether a duty to defend exists are resolved against the insurer and in favor of the insured. Accordingly, in connection with the issue of its duty to defend, [the insurer bears] the burden of proving that there [i]s no genuine issue of material fact with respect to whether a possibility exist[s] that [the insured] would incur liability for a claim covered by the polic[y]. In other words, [the insurer is] required to prove that it would be impossible for the [claimant] to prevail against [the insured] in the underlying lawsuit[ ] on a claim covered by the policies. Conversely, [the insured's] burden with respect to its motion for summary judgment [i]s comparatively light, because it ha[s] merely to prove that a possibility of coverage exist[s]. With respect to [an insurer's] prayer for a declaration that it ha[s] no duty to indemnify [the insured] pursuant to the polic[y, it is] not required to disprove any possibility that its insured might be liable for a claim asserted in the underlying lawsuits. Rather, without reference to what the eventual outcome of the underlying lawsuits might actually be, [the insurer is] required only to establish the absence of a genuine issue of material fact regarding the question of coverage pursuant to the plain language of the insurance polic[y] and the consequent entitlement to the entry of judgment as a matter of law. Dairy Rd. Partners v. Island Ins. Co., Ltd., 92 Hawai`i 398, 412-13, 992 P.2d 93, 107-08 (2000) (internal citations, quotation signals, and footnote omitted; some brackets and ellipses deleted and some brackets and ellipses added; emphases in original).