Summary
This per curiam opinion from the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals affirms the Medina County Court of Common Pleas' grant of summary judgment in favor of Allstate Insurance Company. The underlying dispute concerns the insurer's denial of a claim for windstorm damage to a boat stored outside an enclosed structure, which was explicitly excluded by the homeowners' policy. The appellate court held that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidentiary support for their allegations of oral misrepresentations, thereby failing to establish a genuine issue of material fact on their breach of contract, bad faith dealing, and fraud claims.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on the breach of contract claim.
- Whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on the bad‑faith and fraud claims.
Holdings
- The trial court did not err; summary judgment is affirmed because the policy unambiguously excludes coverage for watercraft not kept in an enclosed structure and the plaintiffs offered no evidence of any oral representation expanding coverage.
Key quotations
“We do not cover: b) loss to watercraft and their trailers . . . unless inside a fully enclosed building structure.” (¶8)
“Defendants relied upon the terms of the Policy, which expressly excluded from coverage any damage to watercraft and their trailers that were not in an enclosed structure.” (¶22)
Factual background
Raymond Botsch's boat and trailer were damaged by a windstorm while stored in an open yard. The homeowners' policy, transferred to John Botsch, excluded coverage for watercraft not kept inside a fully enclosed building. Allstate denied the claim based on that exclusion. Plaintiffs alleged oral representations by Allstate agents that the policy would cover the boat.
Procedural history
The Medina County Court of Common Pleas granted Allstate's motion for summary judgment, dismissing breach of contract, bad faith, and fraud claims with prejudice. The appellants appealed.