Century Surety Company v. Belmont Seattle, LLC
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Century Surety Company (“Century”) sued Belmont Seattle, LLC (“Belmont”), and two of its partners, Marwan and Jacqueline F. Bahu, seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend Belmont and the Bahus in a civil suit alleging construction defects in condominium units Belmont had converted from rental units and subsequently sold. Century had issued a liability insurance policy that Belmont asserts covered the units it sold. Whether any of the units were covered by the policy — and whether Century had a duty to defend— depends on whether Belmont had ever “rented” any of the units or “held [them] for rental” while the policy was in effect. The district court determined that Westm-oore Management, LLC (“Westmoore”), a partner in Belmont that was also responsible for managing the rental tenancies of units prior to their conversion and sale, “stood in the shoes of Belmont.” On this basis it found that Belmont had “rented” the units or “held [them] for rental,” and so granted summary judgment to Century. However, on this record, at the summary judgment stage, it was not appropriate to reach the conclusion that Westmoore “stood in the shoes of Belmont.”