American Family Mutual Insurance v. National Fire & Marine Insurance

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff-appellant American Family Mutual Insurance (“American Family”) appeals the district court’s summary judgment order in favor of National Fire & Marine Insurance Company (“National Fire”) and Owners Insurance Company (“Owners”) (collectively “defendants”). American Family seeks indemnification from defendants for legal defense it is providing on behalf of George F. Tibsherany Development Corporation (“GFTDC”) in a construction defect suit. The district court concluded that American Family-failed to produce sufficient evidence to invoke the mailbox rule with regards to the tender letters and that GFTDC breached the notice provisions in the defendants’ policies. The district court also found that Owners was not equitably estopped from denying coverage. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we reverse and remand.

American Family asserts that it produced sufficient evidence to invoke a rebuttable presumption of delivery under the mailbox rule with regards to the insurance tender letters and that it provided sufficient notice of the construction defect suit to the defendants. In the context of summary judgment, the Court must view the evidence in the…