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Lenning v. Commer. Union Ins. Co.

Lenning v. Commer. Union Ins. Co.

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

April 25, 2001, Argued ; August 7, 2001, Decided ; August 7, 2001, Filed

No. 00-5332

Opinion

 [***2]   [*577]  CLAY, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff, Sandra Lenning, appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant Commercial Union Insurance Company in this diversity action alleging breach of a homeowner's insurance policy and violation of Kentucky consumer protection and insurance statutes. The district court determined that Defendant did not breach the terms of the policy and did not act in bad faith by denying Plaintiff a [**2]  legal defense against a lawsuit filed against her. The district court further held that Defendant did not violate the Kentucky statutes. We now AFFIRM.

The following account of the facts is adopted from the district court opinion.

Plaintiff is employed by PNC Bank as a Vice President in its private client group, a position she describes as a lender. Plaintiff's fiance, Ed Gatterdam, has worked as a general contractor for residential homes. His own construction business ended with his personal bankruptcy in 1990. In 1996, Plaintiff and Gatterdam agreed to build six homes, using the profits from the sale of each home to finance  [***3]  construction of the next home. According to their plan, Plaintiff would obtain a construction loan to finance the building of each house. Gatterdam would then serve as construction manager and receive a fee paid by Plaintiff. The couple hoped that their plan would generate enough money so that they could retire to Florida. However, Plaintiff now claims that when she purchased the first lot in June of 1996, she intended to build a home for use as her personal residence.

Sale of the Home

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260 F.3d 574 *; 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 17617 **; 2001 FED App. 0259P (6th Cir.) ***

SANDRA K. LENNING, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COMMERCIAL UNION INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.

Prior History:  [**1]  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at Louisville. No. 99-00154. Jennifer B. Coffman, District Judge.

Disposition: AFFIRMED.

CORE TERMS

coverage, insured, occurrence, lawsuit, district court, business pursuit, property damage, contends, damages, argues, summary judgment, duty to defend, policies, courts, interview, telephone, homeowner's insurance, consumer protection, personal liability, bodily injury, change order, allegations, workmanship, tri-party

Civil Procedure, Appeals, Standards of Review, General Overview, Summary Judgment Review, Standards of Review, Summary Judgment, Motions for Summary Judgment, Entitlement as Matter of Law, Discovery, Methods of Discovery, Genuine Disputes, Materiality of Facts, Supporting Materials, Burdens of Proof, Contracts Law, Breach, Breach of Contract Actions, Insurance Law, Liability & Performance Standards, Good Faith & Fair Dealing, Duty to Defend, Responses, Defenses, Demurrers & Objections, Denial of Allegations, Defenses, Ambiguities & Mistakes, Remedies, Declaratory Judgments, Property Insurance, Obligations, Covered Losses, Claim, Contract & Practice Issues, Policy Interpretation, Privileged Communications, Work Product Doctrine, Commercial General Liability Insurance, Coverage, Products & Workmanship, Business Insurance, Property Claims, Triggers, Exclusions, Bad Faith & Extracontractual Liability, Elements of Bad Faith, Refusals to Defend, Fiduciary Responsibilities, Payments, Business & Corporate Compliance, Industry Practices, Unfair Business Practices, Claims Investigations & Practices, Antitrust & Trade Law, Consumer Protection, False Advertising, Deceptive & Unfair Trade Practices, State Regulation