Phoenix Insurance Company, The et al v. Cantex, Inc. et al

Filing 337

ORDER denying in part and denying as moot in part 277 Third Party Defendant Scottsdale Insurance Company's Motion To Bifurcate and Stay Its Trial Deadlines. By Judge Robert E. Blackburn on 11/3/2015.(mlace, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge Robert E. Blackburn
Civil Action No. 13-cv-00507-REB-NYW
THE PHOENIX INSURANCE COMPANY,
THE TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY, and
THE TRAVELERS PROPERTY CASUALTY COMPANY OF AMERICA,
Plaintiffs,
v.
CANTEX, INC.,
CONCRETE MANAGEMENT CORP.,
LANDMARK AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY,
CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY, and
AMERISURE INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendants,
and
CANTEX, INC.,
Third Party Plaintiff,
v.
SCOTTSDALE INSURANCE COMPANY, and
CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY,
Third Party Defendants.

ORDER DENYING THIRD PARTY DEFENDANT SCOTTSDALE INSURANCE
COMPANY’S MOTION TO BIFURCATE AND STAY ITS TRIAL DEADLINES
Blackburn, J.
The matter before me is Third Party Defendant Scottsdale Insurance
Company’s Motion To Bifurcate and Stay Its Trial Deadlines [#277],1 filed

1

“[#277]” is an example of the convention I use to identify the docket number assigned to a
specific paper by the court’s case management and electronic case filing system (CM/ECF). I use this
convention throughout this order.

September 16, 2015. In light of the Notice of Settlement [#335], filed November 2,
2015, between Cantex, Inc. (“Cantex”) and Amerisure Insurance Company
(“Amerisure”) of Cantex’s cross-claims against Amerisure, third-party defendant
Scottsdale Insurance Company’s (“Scottsdale”) motion to bifurcate those claims from
the claims against Scottsdale is moot.
Moreover, I find no basis for otherwise staying the extant trial deadlines as they
relate to the sole remaining breach of contract claim against Scottsdale. Scottsdale’s
recent assertion of a counterclaim for declaratory judgment is nothing more than a
reiteration of its defense that the obligation of its excess insurance policy have not yet
been triggered. That issue has been briefed in Scottsdale’s currently pending summary
judgment motion (see Third-Party Defendant Scottsdale Insurance Company’s
Motion for Summary Judgment [#278], filed September 17, 2015), which is now ripe
for determination by this court. Under these circumstances, there is no justifiable
reason for yet further delay of this already overly protracted litigation.
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that Third Party Defendant Scottsdale
Insurance Company’s Motion To Bifurcate and Stay Its Trial Deadlines [#277], filed
September 16, 2015, is denied in part and denied as moot in part, as follows:
1. That the motion is denied to the extent it seeks a stay of the extant trial
deadlines; and
2. That the motion is denied as moot to the extent it seeks to bifurcate the trial of
Cantex’s claims against Amerisure and Scottsdale.
Dated November 3, 2015, at Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:

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