United States District Court, D. Connecticut
FIRST STATE INSURANCE COMPANY and NEW ENGLAND REINSURANCE CORPORATION, Plaintiffs,
v.
FERGUSON ENTERPRISES, INC., et al., Defendants.
RULING ON MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION
VICTOR
A. BOLDEN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
On
October 5, 2018, First State Insurance Company and New
England Reinsurance Corporation (“Plaintiffs”)
moved for reconsideration of the Court's September 28,
2018 Ruling and Order on several motions for summary
judgment. First State Insurance Company and New England
Reinsurance Corporation's Motion for Reconsideration
Pursuant to Local Rule 7(c), dated Oct. 5, 2018
(“Pls.' Mot.”), ECF No. 265; see
Ruling and Order on Motions for Summary Judgment, dated Sept.
28, 2018 (“Ruling & Order”), ECF No. 262.
Specifically, Plaintiffs argue that discovery during the
pendency of the summary judgment motions yielded new evidence
that was unavailable at the time the motions were briefed.
Id. at 1.
For the
reasons that follow, the Court DENIES
Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration.
I.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Familiarity
with the facts and prior proceedings, summarized in the
Court's September 28, 2018 Ruling and Order, is assumed.
See Ruling & Order at 3-10.
On
January 8, 2018, Plaintiffs and Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.
(“Ferguson”) both filed motions for summary
judgment on the number of aggregate limits provided by a
policy issued by Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation
(“Swiss Re”), as successor-in-interest to Forum
Insurance Company. First State's Motion for Summary
Judgment on the Number of Aggregate Limits, dated Jan. 8,
2018 (“First State Mot.”), ECF No. 161;
Ferguson's Motion for Summary Judgment on the Swiss Re
Policy's Limits of Liability, dated Jan. 8, 2018
(“Ferguson Mot. on Swiss Re”), ECF No. 162.
On
March 1, 2018, Swiss Re moved for partial summary judgment on
the aggregate limits of its policy. Swiss Re's Motion for
Partial Summary Judgment, dated Mar. 1, 2018 (“Swiss Re
Mot.”), ECF No. 179.
On
April 30, 2018, American Home Assurance Company
(“American Home”) moved for partial summary
judgment on the number of aggregate limits under the policy
it issued to Familian, Ferguson's
predecessor-in-interest. American Home's Motion for
Partial Summary Judgment (Aggregate Limits), dated Apr. 30,
2018 (“American Home Mot. on Agg. Limits”), ECF
No. 192. American Home also moved for partial summary
judgment on the statute of limitations, which American Home
argued barred Plaintiffs' claims against them. American
Home's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Statute of
Limitations), dated Apr. 30, 2018 (“American Home Mot.
on SOL”), ECF No. 191.
On June
4, 2018, Columbia Casualty Company and The Continental
Insurance Company (together, “CNA”) moved for
partial summary judgment, arguing that certain claims are
barred by the statute of limitations, and for partial joinder
of American Home's motion for partial summary judgment on
the statute of limitations, to the extent that it asks the
Court to impose a limitations period on First State's
claims with respect to past settlements. CNA's Motion for
Partial Summary Judgment (Statute of Limitations), dated June
4, 2018 (“CNA Mot.”)
On
September 5, 2018, this Court held oral argument on the
parties' motions for summary judgment. Minute Entry,
dated Sept. 5, 2018, ECF No. 254; Transcript of Motion
Hearing, filed Sept. 13, 2018 (“Tr.”), ECF No.
256.
On
September 20, 2018, American Home moved for leave to file a
supplemental statement of facts and brief in support of their
motion for partial summary judgment on the statute of
limitations, based on the deposition testimony of First State
corporate representative Renee Trett that it believed was
“relevant to the Court's determination” of
that motion. American Home Assurance Company's Motion for
Leave to File a Supplemental Statement of Facts and Brief in
Support of its Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Statute
of Limitations), dated Sept. 20, 2018 (“Mot. to
Supp.”), ECF No. 260, ¶¶ 2-3.
On
September 24, 2018, Plaintiffs opposed the motion to
supplement the record. Response in Opposition to Mot. to
Supp., dated Sept. 24, 2018 (“Pls.' Opp. to Mot. to
Supp.”). Plaintiffs “disagree[d] that there is
need for additional briefing and statements of facts”
but stated that if the Court “believes the transcript
may be helpful to the Court's consideration of the
pending motion” it had “no objection to providing
to the Court the full deposition transcript so the Court may
read for itself what First State's designee said . . .
.” Id.
On
September 28, 2018, this Court issued several rulings on the
parties' motions for summary judgment.[1]
First,
the Court granted Swiss Re's motion, and denied
Plaintiffs' and Ferguson's motions, on the number of
aggregate limits in Swiss Re's policy, holding that
“the Swiss Re insurance policy cover[ed] a single
policy period of 15.5 months, from December 18, 1984 to April
1, 1986, and ha[d] a single aggregate limit of $5 million of
coverage.” Ruling & Order at 14, 33.
Second,
the Court granted American Home's motion and denied
Ferguson's motion on the number of aggregate limits in
American Home's policy, holding that American Home's
ten-day extension from March 5, 1977 to March 15, 1977
extended the third policy period and did not create a fourth
policy ...