Landmark Trucking, LLC, and Landmark Forward Companies, LLC v. Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Insurance Company, and Hanover Insurance Group

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Utah grants Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Insurance Company’s motion for summary judgment in an insurance coverage dispute arising from damage to an excavator transported by Landmark Trucking. The court holds that the policy’s cargo coinsurance provision limited repair-cost coverage to $12,662.11 and that rental expenses were subject to a $5,000 mitigation limit and a consent requirement. The court also rejects Landmark’s claims based on delayed claim processing and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Holdings

1. Berkshire did not breach the policy by refusing to pay $55,448.20 in rental expenses because the expenses were subject to the policy's $5,000 loss-mitigation limit and the requirement that the insured obtain Berkshire's consent before assuming obligations, making payments, or incurring expenses.
2. Berkshire did not breach the policy by refusing to pay the full $68,161.86 repair cost because the excavator was cargo, not a covered auto or the covered auto's equipment, and the cargo coinsurance provision limited recovery to $12,662.11.
3. Landmark failed to establish a breach of contract based on claim-processing delay because it identified no contractual provision Berkshire violated and offered no evidence that the six-month repair period was unreasonable.
4. Berkshire did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing because its investigation, valuation, communications, and claim handling were objectively reasonable on the undisputed record.
5. Landmark was not entitled to reformation because it did not establish by clear and convincing evidence a mutual or unilateral mistake concerning the policy's coverage or terms.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Berkshire breached the insurance policy by refusing to pay Landmark's full claimed rental and repair expenses.
2. Whether Berkshire breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by allegedly delaying investigation, claim processing, communications, and approval of repairs.
3. Whether the policy should be reformed based on mutual or unilateral mistake.

Disposition

other