André R. Gómez López Del Valle, et al. v. Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico denied Antilles Insurance Company’s motion to dismiss negligence and survivorship claims brought against Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority and other defendants. The court held that the insurance policy’s term “bodily injury” could encompass mental anguish and emotional damages, and that the applicability of the professional-services exclusion could not be resolved without discovery. The court also construed an ambiguous designated-premises provision in favor of coverage throughout Puerto Rico.

Holdings

1. Under the policy and Puerto Rico law, mental anguish and emotional suffering may qualify as bodily injuries, particularly where the plaintiffs are direct relatives of the decedents; the policy did not categorically exclude such damages.
2. The court could not determine as a matter of law whether the professional-services exclusion applied without discovery concerning the nature of the services provided by the Puerto Rico Fire Department and therefore denied dismissal on that ground.
3. The designated-premises endorsement was ambiguous, and its reference to a location described as anywhere in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico extended coverage to the entire Commonwealth rather than only to San Juan.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the complaint plausibly alleged claims potentially covered by the policy despite Antilles's argument that bodily injury excludes mental anguish and emotional suffering.
2. Whether the policy's professional-services exclusion barred the claims as a matter of law at the pleading stage.
3. Whether the designated-premises limitation barred coverage because the alleged injuries occurred outside the premises identified in the policy.

Disposition

other