Augsburger v. Navy Mutual Aid Association
Filing
30
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S 22 MOTION TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT signed by Hon. Brian A Tsuchida. Counsel is directed to e-file their Second Amended Complaint (as proposed) within seven (7) days of this Order. (KMP)
1
2
3
4
5
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
6
7
8
REBECCA AUGSBURGER,
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Plaintiff,
v.
NAVY MUTUAL AID ASSOCIATION,
CASE NO. 2:17-cv-1817-BAT
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION TO FILE SECOND
AMENDED COMPLAINT
Defendant.
Plaintiff Rebecca Augsburger requests leave to file a second amended complaint. Dkt. 22.
Defendant Navy Mutual Aid Association (“Navy Mutual”) objects to the motion on the grounds
that Plaintiff’s proposed claims are futile. The Court finds, for the reasons stated herein, that
leave to amend shall be granted.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Plaintiff filed her original and first amended complaints in King County Superior Court
on October 27, 2017 and November 29, 2017, respectively. Navy Mutual removed the case to
this court on December 1, 2017. Dkt. 1. The case is set for jury trial on May 13, 2019. Dkt. 27.
The parties must complete discovery by December 7, 2018 and file dispositive motions by
January 4, 2019. Id. Plaintiff does not seek amendment of the Court’s scheduling order.
23
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-1
1
In her First Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that in 2006, she and her husband John
2
Augsburger purchased a term life insurance policy from Navy Mutual, which insured their lives
3
for $400,000 each (the “2006 Policy”). The 2006 Policy had a termination date of September 6,
4
2023. The Augsburgers paid all premiums and the policy was in full force and effect, and was
5
never cancelled. After John Augsburger died on April 13, 2017, Navy Mutual wrongfully refused
6
to pay Plaintiff any policy benefits and claimed that the Augsburgers had cancelled the policy on
7
John’s life in 2010. Dkt. 1-1 at 2. Plaintiff asserts claims against Navy Mutual of breach of
8
contract, bad faith, violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, and the Insurance Fair
9
Conduct Act. Id. at 3.
10
After taking the deposition of Navy Mutual on June 20, 2018 and receiving additional
11
documents from Navy Mutual on June 26, 2018, Plaintiff states she is better able to understand
12
the facts relating to and law applicable to this dispute, which she now seeks to add to a second
13
amended complaint. Dkt. 22, p. 14, Hanson Decl. ¶¶ 13-16.
14
In her proposed Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges the 2006 Policy contains a
15
provision to upgrade the term life coverage and in 2009, the Augsburgers tried to upgrade their
16
coverage, but Navy Mutual rejected that request. In 2010, Navy Mutual contacted the
17
Augsburgers about upgrading their policy and the Augsburgers attempted to cooperate with
18
Navy Mutual, but Navy Mutual did not adequately assist them to upgrade and maintain their
19
existing coverage. Navy Mutual now says that in 2010, it cancelled coverage on John
20
Augsburger while upgrading coverage on Rebecca Augsburger, which was against the wishes of
21
the Augsburgers. Dkt. 22, Ex. 1, Proposed Second Amended Complaint, ¶¶ 3.10 – 3.15.
22
23
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-2
1
In addition to the claims included in her First Amended Complaint, Plaintiff seeks to add
2
claims of estoppel/equitable estoppel, negligence, reformation of contract, and mutual mistake.
3
Id. at ¶¶ VIII, IX, X, and XI.
4
5
DISCUSSION
Under Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, once an answer has been filed, a
6
party may amend a pleading only with leave of court or after obtaining the written consent of the
7
adverse party. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). A court should grant leave to amend freely when justice so
8
requires. Id.; see Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962):
11
In the absence of any apparent or declared reason—such as undue delay,
bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failure to cure
deficiencies by amendments previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing
party by virtue of allowing the amendment, futility of the amendment, etc.—the
leave sought should, as the rules require, be “freely given.”
12
Foman, 371 U.S. at 182; see also Bowles v. Reade, 198 F.3d 752, 757–58 (9th Cir. 1999). “Not
13
all of the factors merit equal weight. As this circuit and others have held, it is the consideration
14
of prejudice to the opposing party that carries the greatest weight.” Eminence Capital, LLC v.
15
Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 2003); see also Sonoma Cty. Ass’n of Retired
16
Employees v. Sonoma County, 708 F.3d 1109, 1117 (9th Cir. 2013). “Absent prejudice, or a
17
strong showing of any of the remaining Foman factors, there exists a presumption under Rule
18
15(a) in favor of granting leave to amend.” Eminence Capital, LLC, 316 F.3d at 1052; see also
19
Sonoma Cty. Ass’n of Retired Employee, 708 F.3d at 1117.
9
10
20
There are no issues here of bad faith, dilatory motive, or undue delay. Navy Mutual does
21
not argue that the proposed amendment will result in any prejudice. Rather, Navy Mutual’s
22
objection to the proposed amendment focuses solely on whether allowing the amendment would
23
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-3
1
be futile. Before reaching the substance of this argument, the Court must decide what materials it
2
may consider.
Plaintiff submits, as exhibits to her motion to amend1, the declaration of her attorney,
3
4
insurance applications, deposition excerpts, and emails. These documents are not attached to the
5
proposed amended complaint nor are they incorporated by reference in the proposed amended
6
complaint. Dkt. 22, pp. 13-62. Navy Mutual submits as evidence material developed in
7
discovery, declarations of counsel and its Vice President of Operations and IT. Dkts. 24 and 25.
8
Given the case’s current procedural posture, the Court declines to consider these materials.
The test for futility is whether the amendment can survive a motion to dismiss under Rule
9
10
12(b)(6). “A proposed amended complaint is futile if it would be immediately ‘subject to
11
dismissal.’” Nordyke v. King, 644 F.3d 776, 788 n.12 (9th Cir.2011) (quoting Steckman v. Hart
12
Brewing, Inc., 143 F.3d 1293, 1298 (9th Cir.1998)), aff'd on reh'g en banc on other grounds, 681
13
F.3d 1041 (9th Cir.2012). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient
14
factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft
15
v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corporation v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544,
16
570 (2007)).
17
In ruling on a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), the court is permitted to consider material
18
which is properly submitted as part of the complaint, documents that are not physically attached
19
to the complaint if their authenticity is not contested and the plaintiff’s complaint necessarily
20
relies on them, and matters of public record. Lee v. City of Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668, 688–89
21
Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(b)(1) requires a party seeking to amend to “state with particularity the grounds
for seeking” the amendment. W.D. Washington Local Civil Rule 7(b)(1) requires that “if the
motion requires consideration of facts not appearing of record, the movant shall also serve and
file copies of all affidavits, declarations, photographic or other evidence presented in support of
the motion.”
1
22
23
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-4
1
(9th Cir. 2001), overruled on other grounds by Galbraith v. Cty. of Santa Clara, 307 F.3d 1119
2
(9th Cir. 2002). Material which is not properly considered in a Rule 12(b)(6) motion should not
3
be considered in deciding whether a proposed amendment is futile. See e.g., Oushana v. Lowe’s
4
Home Ctrs., LLC, No. 1:16–cv–01782–AWI–SAB, 2017 WL 1292717, at *4 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 7,
5
2017), findings and recommendations adopted in relevant part, 2017 WL 2417198 (refusing to
6
consider evidence outside the pleadings in determining whether a proposed amendment was
7
futile); Johnston v. Int’l Mixed Martial Arts Fed’n, No. 2:14–cv–941–JAD–NJK, 2015 WL
8
273619, at *2 (D. Nev. Jan. 22, 2015) (same).
At this stage in the proceedings, the Court is to accept the factual allegations in the
9
10
complaint as true. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, (1989), superseded by statute on other
11
grounds. On this basis, the Court concludes that Plaintiff’s motion to file the proposed second
12
amended complaint should be granted.
13
A.
14
Estoppel
Equitable estoppel is a doctrine that operates to prevent a party from asserting a right
15
where it has in the past made statements or assertions to the contrary that would make it
16
inequitable to now assert that right. L.L. Buchanan v. Switzerland Gen. Ins. Co., 76 Wash.2d
17
100, 455 P.2d 344, 349 (Wash.1969). The elements of equitable estoppel are: (1) an admission,
18
statement, or act inconsistent with the claim afterwards asserted; (2) action by the other party on
19
the faith of such admission, statement, or act; and (3) injury to such other party resulting from
20
allowing the first party to contradict or repudiate such admission, statement, or act. Dombrowsky
21
v. Farmers Ins. Co. of Wash., 84 Wash.App. 245, 928 P.2d 1127, 1134 (Wash.Ct.App.1996)
22
(citing McDaniels v. Carlson, 108 Wash.2d 299, 738 P.2d 254 (Wash.1987)). The elements of
23
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-5
1
estoppel are nearly identical. See Deacy v. College Life Insurance Co. of America, 25 Wash.App.
2
419, 424 (1980).
3
Under Washington law, “the general rule is that, while an insurer may be estopped, by its
4
conduct or its knowledge or by statute, from insisting upon a forfeiture of a policy, yet under no
5
conditions can the coverage or restrictions on the coverage be extended by the doctrine of waiver
6
or estoppel.” Carew, Shaw & Bernasconi v. General Cas. Co., 189 Wash. 329, 336, 65 P.2d 689
7
(1937). There are at least two exceptions to this general rule. Estate of Hall v. HAPO Fed. Credit
8
Union, 73 Wash.App. 359, 362–63, 869 P.2d 116 (1994) (quoting 16B J. APPLEMAN, INSURANCE
9
LAW § 9090, at 582 n. 5 (1981)); see Saunders v. Lloyd’s of London, 113 Wash.2d 330, 336, 779
10
P.2d 249 (1989) (holding that an insurer can be estopped from denying coverage for failure to
11
make payments where the insurer has established a course of conduct of accepting late
12
payments); Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Butler, 118 Wash.2d 383, 823 P.2d 499, 505–06 (1992)
13
(holding the Carew rule is inapplicable to claims of insurer bad faith refusal to defend). See also,
14
Ellis v. William Penn Life Assur. Co. of America and Strother v. Capitol Bankers Life Insurance
15
Company, 124 Wash.2d 1, 15, 873 P.2d 1185, 1192 (1994) (internal cites omitted) (consolidated
16
on appeal) (innocent beneficiary is allowed to rely on equitable estoppel in the context of
17
replacement life insurance where both insurer and insured engaged in wrongful conduct).
18
Plaintiff generally asserts that “Defendant should be estopped from refusing payment due
19
to Defendant’s conduct and failure to comply with applicable law.” Dkt. 22, Ex. 1, ¶ 8.1. Facts
20
alleged in the proposed amended complaint include that the Augsburgers never cancelled the
21
2006 Policy on John Augsburger and paid all premiums requested (¶ 3.3); they never gave
22
permission Navy Mutual to cancel the 2006 Policy (¶ 3.15); Navy Mutual failed to upgrade and
23
maintain their existing coverage (¶¶ 3.12 – 3.14), and instead, against the Augsburgers’ wishes,
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-6
1
Navy Mutual cancelled the 2006 Policy on John’s life and upgraded the 2006 Policy on
2
Rebecca’s life (¶ 3.15) – a fact unknown to the Augsburgers until after John’s death when Navy
3
Mutual failed to pay any policy benefits to Rebecca when she made a claim on the 2006 Policy
4
(¶¶ 3.6 – 3.8).
5
Considering all of the facts that could be alleged and proved under the proposed
6
amendment to the pleadings that would constitute a valid and sufficient claim, the Court
7
concludes that it would not be futile to allow Plaintiff to allege estoppel at this juncture. Simply
8
put, she alleges that the Augsburgers had insurance coverage, they wanted to upgrade to maintain
9
that coverage, they communicated their wishes to Navy Mutual, and seven years later when
10
Plaintiff made a claim on her husband’s policy, she was told the policy had been cancelled,
11
something neither she nor her husband had requested or authorized. Whether Plaintiff can
12
ultimately prove that Navy Mutual wrongfully failed to maintain coverage, that she had no
13
knowledge of the true facts, and that she justifiably relied on the conduct, silence, or declarations
14
of Navy Mutual and/or its agents, are not questions of fact or issues that can be decided at this
15
time.
16
B.
17
Reformation of Contract / Mutual Mistake
Plaintiff seeks to amend the complaint to include remedies of “Reformation of Contract”
18
and “Mutual Mistake,” stating: “[t]he contract should be reformed to reflect the intent of the
19
Augsburgers[]” (Dkt. 22, Exhibit 1, ¶ 10.1), and “[i]f both parties made a mistake in modifying
20
the coverage, the contract should be reformed accordingly[]” (id., ¶ 10.2). Navy Mutual argues
21
that reformation is not a proper remedy for the enforcement of terms to which the defendant
22
never assented. Further, Navy Mutual contends that mutual mistake will support reformation
23
only where the contracting parties had identical intentions and Navy Mutual never intended to
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-7
1
either maintain the 2006 Policy or insure John Augsburger under a separate plan. Dkt. 23 at 7
2
(citations omitted).
“Reformation is an equitable remedy employed to bring a writing that is materially at
3
4
variance with the parties’ agreement into conformity with that agreement.” Denaxas v. Sandstone
5
Ct. of Bellevue, L.L.C., 148 Wash.2d 654, 63 P.3d 125, 132 (2003) (citing Akers v. Sinclair, 37
6
Wash.2d 693, 226 P.2d 225 (1950)). “A party may seek reformation of a contract if (1) the
7
parties made a mutual mistake or (2) one of them made a mistake and the other engaged in
8
inequitable conduct.” Id. (citing Wash. Mut. Sav. Bank v. Hedreen, 125 Wash.2d 521, 886 P.2d
9
1121 (1994)). “The party seeking reformation must prove the facts supporting it by clear, cogent
10
and convincing evidence.” Id. (citing Akers, 226 P.2d 225; Kaufmann v. Woodard, 24 Wash.2d
11
264, 163 P.2d 606 (1945)).
As previously discussed, Plaintiff alleges that the Augsburgers mistakenly believed the
12
13
2006 Policy was still in effect and Navy Mutual wrongfully cancelled the 2006 Policy on John’s
14
life and upgraded coverage on Plaintiff’s life, without the Augsburgers’ knowledge or consent.
15
Assuming Plaintiff can prove Navy Mutual engaged in inequitable conduct in the cancellation of
16
the 2006 Policy and/or formation of the 2010 Policy, reformation of the contract may be an
17
available remedy and Plaintiff may plead it here.
18
C.
19
Negligence
In her proposed claim of negligence, Plaintiff alleges Navy Mutual failed to properly
20
communicate with her; failed to assist and comply with her intent to maintain all coverages and
21
upgrade the policy; and, failed to convert the policy. Dkt. 22, Exhibit 1, ¶¶ 9.1 – 9.3. A claim for
22
negligent claim handling exists in Washington. First State Insurance Co. v. Kemper National
23
Insurance Co., 94 Wash.App. 602, 612-13, 971 P.2d 953 (1999) (holding that plaintiff's claim
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-8
1
for negligence against an insurer was not subsumed within its claim for common law bad faith
2
because “a party may fail to use ordinary care yet still not act in bad faith.”)
3
4
Navy Mutual raises no objection to the inclusion of Plaintiff’s proposed negligence claim
in the second amended complaint.
5
Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
6
(1)
Plaintiff’s motion to file a second amended complaint (Dkt. 22) is GRANTED;
7
(2)
Plaintiff shall file the Second Amended Complaint (as proposed) within seven (7)
8
days of this Order;
9
(3)
10
11
12
13
Defendant shall file an Answer to the Second Amended Complaint within the
time set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
(4)
The deadlines contained in the Court’s Revised Scheduling Order (Dkt. 27) are
unchanged.
DATED this 6th day of September, 2018.
14
15
A
16
BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA
Chief United States Magistrate Judge
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
-9
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?