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Saiz v. Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co.

Saiz v. Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co.

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

September 12, 2007, Decided; September 12, 2007, Filed

Civil Action No. 06-cv-01144-EWN-BNB

Opinion

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

This is an insurance case. Plaintiffs Robert Saiz and Brighton Santa-Fe, Inc., d/b/a Brighton Depot, Inc. ("Brighton Depot"), assert that Defendant Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company breached an insurance contract and acted in bad faith by failing to cover certain property. This matter comes before the court on "Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment," filed December 15, 2006. Jurisdiction is premised on diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 1332 (West 2007).

FACTS

1. Factual Background

Plaintiff Saiz was the sole owner of Brighton  [*2] Depot, a restaurant that is no longer in business. (First Am. Compl. and Jury Demand PP 1-2 [filed Nov. 3, 2006] [hereinafter "Am. Compl."].) In August 2002, Plaintiff Saiz listed the Brighton Depot restaurant for sale. (Br. in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts P 9 [filed Dec. 15, 2006] [hereinafter "Def.'s Br."]; admitted at Pls.' Resp. to Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Resp. to Statement of Additional Facts P 9 [filed Jan. 19, 2007] [hereinafter "Pls.' Resp."].) In July 2004, Plaintiff Saiz ceased operations at Brighton Depot and closed the restaurant. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts P 10; admitted at Pls.' Resp., Resp. to Statement of Additional Facts P 10.) After closing the restaurant, Plaintiff Saiz retained "kitchen equipment, dishes, tables, chairs, etc. [sic]" in the building. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts P 11; admitted at Pls.' Resp., Resp. to Statement of Additional Facts P 11.) Additionally, Plaintiff Saiz maintained an office in the basement and continued to receive utility services in the building, including electricity, heat, and phone services. (Am. Compl. PP 8-9.) Plaintiff Saiz used the office to work on selling  [*3] the Brighton Depot building and on other restaurant projects located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Def.'s Br., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts P 11; admitted at Pls.' Resp., Resp. to Statement of Additional Facts P 11.)

a. The Incident Underlying Plaintiffs' Claim

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2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67767 *; 2007 WL 2701398

ROBERT SAIZ, Individually, and, BRIGHTON SANTA-FE INC., d/b/a Brighton Depot, Inc., a Colorado corporation, Plaintiffs, v. CHARTER OAK FIRE INSURANCE Co., a Connecticut corporation, Defendant.

Subsequent History: Costs and fees proceeding at, Motion granted by, in part, Motion denied by, in part Saiz v. Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110236 (D. Colo., Aug. 1, 2008)

Affirmed by Saiz v. Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co., 299 Fed. Appx. 836, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23659 (10th Cir. Colo., 2008)

Prior History: Saiz v. Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83530 (D. Colo., Nov. 2, 2006)

CORE TERMS

Undisputed, coverage, material fact, vandalism, sprinkler, leakage, water damage, restaurant, vacant, freezing, insured, summary judgment, sprinkler head, limitations, ambiguous, tampering, malfunction, dictionary, customary, genuine issue, email, heat, deliberate, premises, percent, occurs