Court Opinion

ID: 9926892
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-25 21:00:39.342001+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:13.462802
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 22-1542     Doc: 39           Filed: 01/24/2024   Pg: 1 of 14

                                              PUBLISHED

                              UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                  FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                               No. 22-1542

        SUSAN HARRIMAN,

                           Plaintiff – Appellant,

                    v.

        ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES INSURANCE COMPANY, INC.,

                           Defendant – Appellee.

                                               No. 22-1694

        SUSAN HARRIMAN,

                    Plaintiff – Appellee,

        v.

        ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES INSURANCE COMPANY, INC.,

                    Defendant – Appellant.

        Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at
        Charleston. David C. Norton, District Judge. (2:18-cv-02750-DCN)

        Argued: October 24, 2023                                     Decided: January 24, 2024
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        Before HEYTENS and BENJAMIN, Circuit Judges, and Elizabeth W. HANES, United
        States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

        Judgment in No. 22-1542 affirmed and appeal in No. 22-1694 dismissed by published
        opinion. Judge Heytens wrote the opinion, in which Judge Benjamin and Judge Hanes
        joined.

        ARGUED: Oana Dobrescu Johnson, OANA D. JOHNSON, ATTORNEY AT LAW,
        Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Catherine L. Hanna, HANNA
        & PLAUT L.L.P., Austin, Texas, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant. ON BRIEF: Douglas W.
        MacKelcan, Skyler C. Wilson, COPELAND, STAIR, VALZ & LOVELL, LLP,
        Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant.

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        TOBY HEYTENS, Circuit Judge:

               Susan Harriman appeals a judgment against her in a suit she brought challenging an

        insurance company’s failure to provide a defense when she was sued for defamation. The

        insurance company cross appeals, claiming the district court should have granted it

        summary judgment on different grounds. We dismiss the cross appeal as unnecessary and

        not properly taken. On the merits, we affirm.

                                                    I.

               Harriman was a registered representative and investment advisor with IMS

        Securities, Inc. In 2014, Harriman approached representatives from Palmaz Scientific

        about investing in the company for an IMS client. Harriman claims that, while doing so,

        she discovered damning information about Palmaz and its CEO and “blew the whistle” by

        sharing the information with her clients. JA 725.

               To put it mildly, Palmaz had a different view. In August 2015, Palmaz sued

        Harriman for defamation in federal district court. That suit was dismissed because there

        was no federal question and the parties were not diverse. See Palmaz Sci., Inc. v. Harriman,

        No. 15-cv-0734, 2015 WL 13298400 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 7, 2015). But then Harriman sued

        Palmaz in Texas state court, and Palmaz responded by asserting its defamation allegations

        as counterclaims.

               This litigation involves Harriman’s efforts to make Associated Industries Insurance

        Company pay for her defense against Palmaz’s claims. IMS (the company Harriman was

        working for at the time of the relevant actions) had an insurance policy with Associated,

        and that policy covered IMS’s representatives and investment advisers like Harriman. Such

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        agents, however, were covered only for “Wrongful Act[s]” “committed in the rendering or

        failing to render Professional Services on behalf of [IMS].” JA 101 (quotation marks

        removed). As defined in the policy agreement, a “Wrongful Act” was “any actual or alleged

        negligent act, error, omission, misstatement, misrepresentation or breach of duty by an

        Insured . . . in rendering or in failing to render Professional Services for [an IMS] client.”

        JA 105. “Professional Services” were defined as six types of “services which are provided

        by [IMS] to others,” including “Investment Advisory Services” and “the sale and/or serving

        of Securities.” JA 104.

               After Palmaz asserted its counterclaims in state court, Harriman told Associated

        about the federal and state court suits and requested a defense. An attorney examined the

        relevant documents and denied coverage. The coverage letter explained that “none of the

        conduct alleged in the [state court] Counterclaims involved a ‘Wrongful Act’ committed

        in the rendering of or failure to render ‘Professional Services’ within the meaning of the

        Associated Policy.” JA 200. Instead, the letter concluded, “[a]ll of the claims asserted in

        the Counterclaims [were] based on Harriman’s alleged harassment of ” Steven Solomon

        (Palmaz’s CEO) “and her disparagement of Palmaz” and involved “conduct occurr[ing]

        after Solomon declined Harriman’s offer to provide services to Palmaz and her solicitation

        with respect to Palmaz’s then-current offering.” Id. Because the counterclaim contained

        “no allegation . . . that Harriman and/or IMS Securities ever provided any services

        involving ‘the sale and/or servicing of Securities’ to Palmaz,” the letter concluded “any

        wrongful conduct allegedly committed by Harriman could not have occurred in rendering

        or failing to render ‘Professional Services.’ ” Id.

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               After receiving Associated’s letter, Harriman undertook her own defense and spent

        more than $1 million in legal fees. Two years later, a lawyer suggested Harriman seek

        coverage under a different policy she had with Travelers Insurance Company. Harriman

        tendered a claim, and Travelers agreed to defend her and cover all litigation costs from

        then on. The case eventually settled on Travelers’ dime.

               Around the time she was settling her dispute with Palmaz, Harriman sued

        Associated in federal district court in South Carolina. The complaint asserted claims for:

        (1) breach of contract; (2) insurance bad faith; and (3) a declaratory judgment.

               The district court granted summary judgment to Associated. The court first rejected

        Associated’s argument that—regardless of whether Harriman had other insurance—

        Palmaz’s allegations never triggered its duty to defend. But the district court still granted

        summary judgment to Associated on the breach of contract and declaratory judgment

        claims because it concluded the Associated coverage “was excess to the primary coverage

        provided to Harriman under her Travelers Policy.” JA 678. The district court also granted

        summary judgment to Associated on the bad faith claim, concluding the Travelers policy

        constituted “reasonable grounds for denying Harriman coverage.” JA 684.

               After losing on summary judgment, Harriman filed multiple post-judgment

        motions. As relevant here, the first motion asked the district court to reconsider its ruling

        on the bad faith claim because there was no evidence Associated knew about the Travelers

        policy when it denied coverage. Despite agreeing this point was well-taken, the district

        court concluded Associated was still entitled to summary judgment on the bad faith claim

        because Harriman “failed to assert any damages that flow[ed] from the failure to provide[ ]

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        her benefits she was purportedly owed as set out by contract.” JA 719. Harriman’s second

        post-judgment motion asked the district court to certify a question involving her breach of

        contract claim to the Supreme Court of South Carolina. The district court denied that

        motion.

               Harriman appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment and its denial of

        her motion to certify. Associated cross appeals, challenging the district court’s conclusion

        that its policy’s terms were broad enough to cover Palmaz’s claims and asserting the district

        court also should have granted summary judgment on the bad faith claim on the grounds

        that it had a reasonable basis for denying coverage.

                                                     II.

               We start by dismissing Associated’s cross appeal. True, the district court did not

        accept every argument Associated made and ruled against it on some matters. But appellate

        courts review “judgments, not statements in opinions,” Black v. Cutter Lab’ys, 351 U.S.

        292, 297 (1956), and the judgment we review here rejected Harriman’s entire suit on the

        merits. Associated could not have appealed that judgment because it was not adversely

        affected by that judgment in any way. See, e.g., Deposit Guar. Nat’l Bank v. Roper,

        445 U.S. 326, 333 (1980). And once Harriman appealed, Associated was entitled to defend

        its victory on any basis supported by the record, even if some of its arguments “involve an

        attack upon the reasoning of the lower court.” United States v. American Ry. Express Co.,

        265 U.S. 425, 435 (1924). Because Associated’s cross appeal merely seeks affirmance of

        a favorable judgment on an alternative ground, that cross appeal “must be dismissed.”

        Reynolds v. American Nat’l Red Cross, 701 F.3d 143, 155–56 (4th Cir. 2012).

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                                                      III.

               We next hold the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Harriman’s

        belated certification request. See McKesson v. Doe, 592 U.S. 1, 5 (2020) (choice to certify

        is committed to “the sound discretion of the” court to which a request is made). Harriman

        was not pulled into federal court by Associated’s removal of a case filed initially in state

        court. Instead, Harriman “chose to file suit in a federal forum” and seek a federal court’s

        resolution of her claims. Thompson v. Ciox Health, LLC, 52 F.4th 171, 173 (4th Cir. 2022).

        Nor did Harriman assert from the start that state law was so unclear as to warrant

        certification. To the contrary, Harriman litigated the issues before the district court, lost,

        and then asked that court to give her another shot by asking the state courts to weigh in.

        “This Court has declined requests for certification in analogous circumstances” (id.), and

        the district court acted well within its discretion in doing so here.

                                                      IV.

               With that underbrush cleared, we arrive at the merits. As always, we review the

        district court’s summary judgment ruling de novo, applying the same legal standards as

        that court. See, e.g., Noonan v. Consolidated Shoe Co., 84 F.4th 566, 572 (4th Cir. 2023).

                                                      A.

               We begin with Harriman’s contract and declaratory judgment claims. The district

        court concluded Associated was never obligated to defend Harriman because Palmaz’s

        claims triggered both its policy and the Travelers policy, and the terms of those policies

        made Travelers the primary coverage provider. We agree.

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               The Associated policy contained an “Other Insurance” clause, which outlined how

        the policy interacted with others providing overlapping coverage. JA 112. That clause

        stated that the coverage provided by the Associated policy “shall be excess over any other

        valid and collectable insurance available to the Insured . . . unless such other insurance is

        written only as specific excess insurance over the Limit of Liability provided in this

        Policy.” Id. The question is whether that clause was triggered. Like the district court, we

        conclude it was.

               For starters, we know that Travelers did, in fact, provide coverage to defend against

        Palmaz’s allegations. And it is not hard to see why. The Travelers policy covered “sums

        that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages” stemming from the “[o]ral

        or written publication” of “material that slanders or libels” an organization or their services.

        JA 496 (first quote), 501 (second and third quotes). Palmaz’s allegations—which accused

        Harriman of bad mouthing Palmaz to potential investors—fell comfortably within that

        language.

               Even so, Harriman insists Associated also had to provide coverage because the two

        policies were not “concurrent.” Harriman Br. 13–18. Each of Harriman’s arguments are

        quickly disposed of under South Carolina law.

               To begin, the Supreme Court of South Carolina has said we need not apply any

        special interpretive “rule[s] to allocate priority between the two carriers” where—as here—

        the two policies “are not mutually repugnant.” South Carolina Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co.

        v. S.E.C.U.R.E. Underwriters Risk Retention Grp., 578 S.E.2d 8, 11 (S.C. 2003). The

        Travelers policy said it provided “primary” coverage unless a series of inapplicable

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        exceptions applied. JA 427. The Associated policy said its coverage was “excess” unless

        another policy was “written only as specific excess insurance over” the Associated policy.

        JA 112. The Travelers policy was not so written. Thus, the two policies agreed on the

        outcome here: The Travelers policy provided primary coverage, and the Associated policy

        provided excess coverage.

               In contrast, the decisions Harriman relies on involve situations where two policies

        conflicted or were ambiguous about how they interacted. In one, the relevant policies both

        said their coverage was “in excess of the amount due from” any other policy “covering the

        same loss or damage.” South Carolina Ins. Co. v. Fidelity & Guar. Ins. Underwriters, Inc.,

        489 S.E.2d 200, 212 (S.C. 1997). In another, both policies contained “other insurance”

        clauses purporting to limit the amount one insurer must pay. See Michelin N. Am., Inc. v.

        Federal Ins. Co., No. 6:17-1599-HMH, 2017 WL 11458023, at *2 (D.S.C. Nov. 7, 2017).

        As a result, those courts thus had to look beyond the language of the conflicting clauses to

        determine how the policies interacted. Here, in contrast, we need only apply the Associated

        and Travelers policies as written. See South Carolina Ins. Co. v. White, 390 S.E.2d 471,

        474 (S.C. Ct. App. 1990) (“In the absence of ambiguity, the terms of an insurance policy

        . . . must be interpreted and enforced according to their plain and ordinary meaning.”).

               Harriman also insists that, because Travelers agreed to pay only her post-tender

        litigation costs, the cost of her pre-tender defense was not “collectable” and thus falls

        outside the Associated policy’s definition of “other insurance.” Harriman Br. 18–20. To

        support this claim, Harriman relies on the thinnest of reeds: an unpublished federal district

        court decision applying the law of a different State (Illinois). See id. (citing Rhone-

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        Poulenc, Inc. v. International Ins. Co., No. 94-C-3303, 1996 WL 328011, at *13 (N.D. Ill.

        June 11, 1996)).

               We need not venture so far afield. In South Carolina, the duty to defend arises when

        a covered lawsuit is filed—not when the insured gives notice of that suit or demands a

        defense. See Allstate Ins. Co. v. Wilson, 193 S.E.2d 527, 530 (S.C. 1972) (insurer’s

        obligation to defend “existed from the time the actions were instituted and continued until

        it fulfilled its obligation under its policy”). 1 For that reason, it appears that, under South

        Carolina law, an insurer that owes a duty to defend must reimburse the insured party for

        reasonable costs incurred both before and after notice of the suit was tendered.

        Cf. Episcopal Church in S.C. v. Church Ins. Co. of Vt., 53 F. Supp. 3d 816, 828–30 (D.S.C.

        2014) (collecting cases and predicting how South Carolina courts would treat the issue).

        We express no view about whether Harriman has a claim against Travelers based on its

        refusal to reimburse Harriman for costs she incurred before seeking coverage. We hold

        only that Harriman’s failure to collect such amounts from Travelers did not obligate

        Associated to provide them.

               From there, our analysis moves briskly. The Travelers policy provided “Primary

        Insurance” (JA 427), and the Associated policy provided “excess” coverage (JA 112). The

        general rule is “that an excess insurer” (like Associated) “that has a duty to defend is not

        obligated to provide a defense if the primary insurer” (here, Travelers) “is so obligated.”

               1
                  At oral argument, Harriman suggested the duty-to-defend question here—at least
        as it relates to Travelers—is governed by Texas or Colorado law. See Oral Arg. 12:21–
        12:51. That claim is waived because Harriman made no such argument in her opening brief.
        See, e.g., Short v. Hartman, 87 F.4th 593, 615 (4th Cir. 2023).
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        Allan D. Windt, Excess insurer’s duty to defend, 1 Insurance Claims and Disputes § 4:11

        (6th ed. 2023); accord ContraVest Inc. v. Mount Hawley Ins. Co., No. 9:15-cv-00304-DCN,

        2020 WL 901459, at *5–6 (D.S.C. Feb. 25, 2020) (applying South Carolina law). Seeing

        no reason to believe South Carolina’s highest court would reach a different result, we

        affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Associated on Harriman’s breach

        of contract and declaratory judgment claims. 2

                                                      B.

               Finally, we address Harriman’s bad faith claim. To prevail on that claim, Harriman

        needed to show: “(1) the existence of a mutually binding contract of insurance between the

        plaintiff and the defendant; (2) refusal by the insurer to pay benefits due under the contract;

        (3) resulting from the insurer’s bad faith or unreasonable action in breach of an implied

        covenant of good faith and fair dealing arising on the contract; (4) causing damage to the

        insured.” Crossley v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 415 S.E.2d 393, 396–97 (S.C. 1992).

               The district court ultimately granted summary judgment for Associated on this claim

        because it concluded Harriman failed to create a genuine issue of material fact about

        whether she suffered any damages. Harriman challenges that conclusion, asserting two

               2
                 When asked at oral argument, Harriman described Royal Insurance Co. of America
        v. Reliance Insurance Co., 140 F. Supp. 2d 609 (D.S.C. 2001), as her best case on this
        point. See Oral Arg. 3:54–5:18. That decision, however, is inapt because it involved a
        situation where an excess insurer was suing a primary insurer for violating an asserted duty
        “never to compromise their joint leverage with respect to plaintiffs.” Royal Ins. Co.,
        140 F. Supp. 2d at 610–11. We also express no view about whether the specific language
        of Associated’s policy could have warranted a different result on the duty-to-defend point
        because Harriman made no such argument. See Oral Arg. 34:34–35:07 (Harriman so
        acknowledging).
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        damages theories she believes are sufficient. We need not address whether either of these

        theories holds up because we conclude Harriman failed to create a genuine dispute of

        material fact about the reasonableness of Associated’s refusal to defend. We thus affirm

        the district court’s grant of summary judgment on Harriman’s bad faith claim on that

        alternative ground. See Pitt Cnty. v. Hotels.com, L.P., 553 F.3d 308, 311 (4th Cir. 2009)

        (“[We] may affirm on any grounds apparent from the record.”).

               For starters, the district court got it right when it rejected the argument that the

        existence of the Travelers policy—standing alone—gave Associated a good faith basis to

        deny Harriman coverage. Under South Carolina law, the reasonableness of an insurer’s

        actions are assessed when it denies coverage, and “[e]vidence that arises after the denial of

        the claim is not relevant to the propriety of the conduct of the insurer at the time of its

        refusal.” Howard v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 450 S.E.2d 582, 584 (S.C. 1994).

        Because Associated did not know about the Travelers policy until a year after it sent its

        coverage denial letter, Associated could not rely on that policy as a defense to Harriman’s

        bad faith claim.

               At the same time, we conclude Harriman failed to present any evidence that would

        permit a factfinder to conclude Associated lacked a reasonable basis for its coverage

        decision. South Carolina law defines “bad faith” as the “knowing failure on the part of the

        insurer to exercise an honest and informed judgment in processing a claim.” Doe v. South

        Carolina Med. Malpractice Liab. Joint Underwriting Ass’n, 557 S.E.2d 670, 674 (S.C.

        2001). In addition, “[i]f there is a reasonable ground for contesting a claim, there is no bad

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        faith,” even if a court later concludes an insurer breached its duty to defend. Crossley,

        415 S.E.2d at 397.

               As a reminder, Associated denied coverage based on an attorney’s determination

        that Palmaz’s allegations did not trigger the Associated policy. Courts applying South

        Carolina law have held that, when an insurer relies on an expert’s coverage opinion, the

        party asserting bad faith must present evidence showing the insurer knew or had reason to

        know the attorney’s report was somehow faulty. See, e.g., BMC Distribs. of S.C., LLC v.

        National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, No. 12-178-RMG, 2013 WL 11328259, at *3

        (D.S.C. June 13, 2013). To make out a bad faith claim, Harriman thus needed to do more

        than raise questions about the correctness of Associated’s coverage decision—she needed

        to create a genuine dispute of material fact about whether Associated acted so cavalierly as

        to violate the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. See Crossley, 415 S.E.2d at

        397 (reversing judgment for an insured party because the insurer “did not breach its implied

        covenant of good faith”).

               Harriman failed to clear that hurdle. Despite challenging the attorney’s

        interpretation of the terms “professional services” and “wrongful acts” in the Associated

        policy, Harriman’s briefs offer no response to Associated’s argument that her bad faith

        claim failed as a matter of law because the attorney’s coverage opinion was, at minimum,

        reasonable. See Associated Br. 35–37. To be clear, we do not endorse Associated’s

        broadest argument—that Harriman’s claim is “negated as a matter of law” because

        Associated     relied     on    its      attorney’s   recommendation.      Id.    at    36;

        see Varnadore v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 345 S.E.2d 711, 713 (S.C. 1986) (rejecting a

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        similar argument). Instead, we hold only that Harriman failed to present evidence raising a

        genuine dispute of material fact here.

                                                 *   *     *

               As with every diversity case, it is possible South Carolina’s highest court would

        see matters differently than we have. But Harriman assumed that risk by choosing a federal

        forum. The appeal in No. 22-1694 is dismissed. The judgment in No. 22-1542 is affirmed.

                                                                                   SO ORDERED

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