Court Opinion

ID: 9900818
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-20 16:01:50.211975+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:21:18.733686
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 23-10169    Document: 24-1     Date Filed: 11/20/2023   Page: 1 of 5

                                                  [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                   In the
                United States Court of Appeals
                        For the Eleventh Circuit

                          ____________________

                                No. 23-10169
                          Non-Argument Calendar
                          ____________________

       DC CAPITAL LAW FIRM, LLP,
                                 Plaintiﬀ-Counter Defendant-Appellant,
       versus
       THE HANOVER INSURANCE COMPANY,

                                Defendant-Counter Claimant-Appellee.

                          ____________________

                 Appeal from the United States District Court
                     for the Southern District of Florida
                    D.C. Docket No. 9:22-cv-80512-AHS
                          ____________________
USCA11 Case: 23-10169        Document: 24-1         Date Filed: 11/20/2023        Page: 2 of 5

       2                         Opinion of the Court                      23-10169

       Before WILSON, LUCK, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
       PER CURIAM:
              Plaintiff-Appellant DC Capital Law Firm, LLP (DC Capital),
       appeals the district court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings in
       favor of The Hanover Insurance Company (Hanover). After care-
       ful review, we affirm.
                                          I.
               DC Capital obtained a Lawyers Professional Liability Insur-
       ance Policy (Policy) from Hanover. Under the Policy, Hanover
       would pay for claims which DC Capital is legally obligated to pay
       if the “Claim [is] first made against Insured [DC Capital] during the
       Policy Period . . . [and] arising from a Wrongful Act in the render-
       ing or failure to render Professional Services.” 1 The Policy applies
       to claims made from December 21, 2018, through December 21,
       2019 (Policy Period). The Policy defines a claim as:
              A. Oral or written demand received by an Insured for
                 monetary or non-monetary relief including in-
                 junctive relief;
              B. Civil proceeding commenced by the service of a
                 complaint or similar pleading;

       1 For claims made during the policy period or in the extended reporting period,

       DC Capital had to show that the Wrongful Act must have occurred after De-
       cember 21, 2017; DC Capital “had no knowledge of the Claim or facts which
       could have reasonably caused such Insured to foresee the Claim, prior to the
       effective date” of the Policy; and DC Capital properly reported the claim.
USCA11 Case: 23-10169     Document: 24-1    Date Filed: 11/20/2023    Page: 3 of 5

       23-10169              Opinion of the Court                      3

             C. Formal administrative or regulatory proceeding
                commenced by the ﬁling of charges, formal inves-
                tigative order or similar document;
             D. Arbitration or mediation proceeding commenced
                by the receipt of a demand for arbitration or me-
                diation or similar document; or
             E. Written request ﬁrst received by an Insured to toll
                or waive a statute of limitations relation to a po-
                tential Claim described in A. through D. above;
                  Against an Insured for a Wrongful Act, including
                  an any appeal therefrom.
              In November 2018, several individuals and companies sued
       DC Capital in the Southern District of Florida. On December 19,
       2018, DC Capital’s registered agent was served with the complaint
       and summons. DC Capital received those documents on Decem-
       ber 27, 2018. DC Capital made a claim under the Policy, but Han-
       over denied coverage, asserting that the claim was first made out-
       side the policy period. DC Capital sued Hanover for breach of con-
       tract, alleging that Hanover improperly denied coverage for a
       claim made during the Policy Period. Hanover answered, asserted
       affirmative defenses, and brought a counterclaim.
               Hanover moved for judgment on the pleadings, arguing that
       this claim was first made outside the Policy Period. The district
       court granted the motion for judgment on the pleadings, agreeing
       with Hanover that the claim was first made on DC Capital on De-
       cember 19, 2018, two days before the Policy Period. DC Capital
       timely appealed.
USCA11 Case: 23-10169         Document: 24-1        Date Filed: 11/20/2023         Page: 4 of 5

       4                         Opinion of the Court                       23-10169

                                           II.
              DC Capital argues that the district court erred when it
       granted Hanover’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, 2 finding
       that the claim was not made during the Policy Period.
               Whether an insurer has a duty to defend “is determined gen-
       erally by the terms of the insurance policy and the allegations in the
       complaint against the insured.” Stevens v. United Gen. Title Ins. Co.,
       801 A.2d 61, 67 (D.C. 2002) (internal quotation marks omitted). 3
       “An insurance policy is a contract between the insured and the in-
       surer, and in construing it [a court] must first look to the language
       of the contract.” Cameron v. USAA Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 733 A.2d
       965, 968 (D.C. 1999). When insurance policies “are clear and un-
       ambiguous, they will be enforced by the courts as written.” Smalls
       v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 678 A.2d 32, 35 (D.C. 1996). The

       2 “We review a judgment on the pleadings de novo.” Cannon v. City of W. Palm

       Beach, 250 F.3d 1299, 1301 (11th Cir. 2001). “Judgment on the pleadings is
       appropriate when there are no material facts in dispute and the moving party
       is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Winder Lab’ys,
       LLC, 73 F.4th 934, 940 (11th Cir. 2023) (internal quotation marks omitted).
       “We must accept the facts alleged in the complaint as true and view them in
       the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Cannon, 250 F.3d at 1301.
       3 Hanover asserted that District of Columbia law applies.    Although DC Cap-
       ital did not specifically argue otherwise, DC Capital and Hanover agreed that
       the laws of District of Columbia and Florida were substantially similar and that
       the outcome would be the same no matter which state laws apply. For sim-
       plicity, this opinion references only District of Columbia law, but agrees with
       the district court—and the parties—that the resolution remains the same un-
       der both states.
USCA11 Case: 23-10169      Document: 24-1      Date Filed: 11/20/2023     Page: 5 of 5

       23-10169               Opinion of the Court                          5

       insured must show that the action for which it seeks coverage falls
       within the policy’s coverage, and if it falls within the coverage, the
       insurer must show that an exclusion under the policy applies. See
       Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Cole, 809 F.2d 891, 895 (D.C. Cir. 1987).
              DC Capital has failed to show that the Policy covers this
       claim. In looking at the language of the Policy, it covers claims first
       made during the Policy Period. The Policy Period began on Decem-
       ber 21, 2018. DC Capital does not dispute that its registered agent
       received the summons and complaint on December 19, 2018,
       which is outside the Policy Period. Instead, DC Capital argues that
       the Policy is triggered when DC Capital learned about the claim
       and gives notice to Hanover. DC Capital asserts that it learned
       about the claim on December 27, 2018, when it received the sum-
       mons and complaint from its registered agent. But this argument
       ignores how the Policy defines a claim. Specifically, the Policy ex-
       plains that when the service of process of a civil proceeding oc-
       curred on DC Capital’s registered agent, then a claim was first
       made on DC Capital. Because service of process occurred on De-
       cember 19, 2018, the claim was first made on that date. As a result,
       the claim was made two days before the start of the Policy Period
       and falls outside the Policy’s coverage.
             Thus, the district court did not err granting judgment on the
       pleadings in favor of Hanover.
              AFFIRMED.