Sw Traders LLC v. United Specialty Insurance Com

Appellant SW Traders, LLC appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellees United Specialty Insurance Company (“USSIC”), Optimum Claims Services, Inc., and WFT Incorporated, and the district court’s denial of its Rule 56(f) request. Appellant filed this suit to recover payment under a marine insurance contract for losses sustained by the MTV PACIFIC DAWN on its voyage from Vancouver to Hawaii. Prior to the exchange of discovery, but after Appellant moved for summary judgment, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Appellees, holding that the contract was void at its inception under the admiralty doctrine of uberrimae fidei The district court also denied Appellant’s request for further discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f). We have jurisdiction over this appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we now affirm.

I.

We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellees. Cascade Health Solutions v. PeaceHealth, 515 F.3d 883, 912 (9th Cir.2008) (citation omitted). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) entitles a party to summary judgment “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and…