Opinion ID: 1498440
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Minerva Application

Text: For its next point, State Auto claims that even if Minerva and Anderson were correctly decided, the summary judgment granted to the Burch Trust should be reversed. We agree that it should be reversed, and we further believe that the case must be remanded to the fact-finder to consider the extrinsic evidence. It is State Auto's position that the exhibits it attached to its motion for summary judgment and its response to the Birch Trust's motion for summary judgment removed the purported ambiguity in the policy language and decided the case in its favor under the plain language of the exclusion. According to State Auto, it is not disputed that gasoline and its constituent chemicals contaminated the Burch property. It notes that the Burch Trust specifically alleged contamination in its Montgomery County Circuit Court complaint, had evidence of that contamination introduced, and obtained a judgment stating that damage to its property was due to the release of contaminants. Thus, State Auto maintains, there was no doubt that gasoline was a contaminant in this case. State Auto concludes, as a result, that the evidence presented here should mandate a different result in its favor, and the judgment below should be overturned. It contends, in addition, that a majority of jurisdictions now hold that gasoline falls within a pollution-exclusion clause that is absolute and cites this court to a recent case, Federated Mutual Insurance Co. v. Abston Petroleum, Inc., 967 So.2d 705 (Ala., 2007). [2] The Burch Trust responds by contending that the circuit court has already decided that the pollution exclusion applies only to persistent industrial pollution, thereby leaving no fact issues for a fact-finder to resolve. According to the Burch Trust, the circuit court correctly granted summary judgment in its favor. Moreover, the Burch Trust maintains that State Auto misapprehends the law of Minerva and Anderson . It argues that in both cases, this court remanded the matters for a decision of whether the insured had engaged in persistent industrial pollution. The Burch Trust claims that State Auto's argument that it has somehow removed any ambiguity through the affidavit of its insurance agent, the Material Data Safety Sheets for gasoline and its constituents, and a Limited Site Assessment Report is simply not the case. The Burch Trust contends that the circuit court found that the pollution-exclusion provision applies only to persistent industrial pollution, and this case does not involve persistent industrial pollution. As a final point, the Burch Trust urges that the parol or extrinsic evidence submitted by State Auto was not relevant. We disagree, however, with the circuit court's application of Minerva to the instant case. Typically, in reviewing a grant of summary judgment, where interpretation of an insurance policy is involved, any ambiguities in the policy are construed liberally in favor of the insured. See, e.g., First United, Inc. v. Chicago Title Ins. Co., 366 Ark. 508, 237 S.W.3d 15 (2006). However, we have also noted an exception to this general rule where disputed extrinsic evidence is offered to establish what the ambiguous language means. See Gammill v. Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co., 346 Ark. 161, 55 S.W.3d 763 (2001); Smith v. Prudential Prop. and Cas. Ins. Co., 340 Ark. 335, 10 S.W.3d 846 (2000). In Smith , we quoted a previous opinion of this court as follows: An insurance policy is to be construed strictly against the insurer, who chooses its language. The construction and legal effect of written contracts are matters to be determined by the court, not by the jury, except when the meaning of the language depends upon disputed extrinsic evidence. (Emphasis added.) 340 Ark. at 340, 10 S.W.3d at 850 (quoting Southall v. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co., 276 Ark. 58, 60, 632 S.W.2d 420, 421 (1982)). A correct application of Minerva would start with a determination of whether the language in the contract was ambiguous, which the circuit court did. An ambiguity was found, because this case involves the same language that was deemed ambiguous by the Minerva court. It is going to the next step where the circuit court encountered a problem. It is true that in Minerva this court applied ejusdem generis. No extrinsic evidence, however, was apparently submitted by the insurance company to resolve the ambiguity in that case prior to the appeal. In the instant case, on the other hand, extrinsic evidence was submitted by State Auto in favor of its interpretation that gasoline was excluded by the pollution-exclusion clause. While ejusdem generis is an important canon of construction, we hold that the fact-finder must consider the extrinsic evidence submitted by State Auto to resolve the ambiguity. This was not done. Accordingly, we reverse the order of summary judgment and remand to the circuit court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Reversed and remanded. CORBIN, J., concurs in part and dissents in part. CORBIN, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part. While I agree with the majority opinion reversing the instant case, I respectfully dissent with regard to the majority's failure to overrule Minerva Enterprises, Inc. v. Bituminous Casualty Corp., 312 Ark. 128, 851 S.W.2d 403 (1993), and its decision to apply it to the present case. Just as I did fourteen years ago, I feel that Minerva was wrongly decided because the Minerva policy, which is virtually identical to the State Farm policy here, did not contain ambiguous language. I hold true to my analysis in Minerva that [a]ny reasonable and common sense interpretation of the word `sewage' would classify sewage as a `contaminant.' Id. at 137, 851 S.W.2d at 407. Similarly, any reasonable and common sense interpretation of the word gasoline would classify gasoline as an irritant or contaminant. Since gasoline qualifies as an irritant or contaminant, any property damage arising from the actual discharge or seepage of gasoline is excluded under the terms of the policy. The trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees and the judgment should be reversed. For this reason, I dissent.