IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 01-60541
GEORGE SOBLEY; LINDA SOBLEY,
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
versus
SOUTHERN NATURAL GAS COMPANY; ET AL.,
Defendants,
STATE FARM LLOYDS,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
For the Northern District of Mississippi
August 13, 2002
Before HIGGINBOTHAM, WIENER, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:
State Farm Lloyds appeals from a judgment of $1.25 million in
punitive damages entered against it on a verdict by a Mississippi
jury on the bad faith insurance claim of plaintiffs George and
Linda Sobley. We conclude that the punitive damages issue should
not have been submitted to the jury on remand from this court in
the appeal from the first trial in this case, Sobley v. Southern
Natural Gas Co. (Sobley I).1 We therefore REVERSE and RENDER in
favor of State Farm.
I.
Relying on our description of the factual background in Sobley
I, we recapitulate.
The Sobleys built their house in Columbus, Mississippi in 1993
and purchased homeowner’s insurance from State Farm Lloyds (“State
Farm”). In the fall of 1994, George Sobley noticed that the ground
around his pumphouse was saturated with water. His plumber found
small holes in the pipe running in that area. It was repaired only
to reoccur in pipes located several feet away. George Sobley sent
a section of damaged pipe to the manufacturer for analysis,
learning that the holes were caused by electrolysis, an electrical
current running through the pipe. It was later determined that
facilities belonging to Southern Natural Gas Company (SONAT) were
responsible for the charge on the pipes and the resulting
electrolysis.
When the Sobleys first discovered water leaking into their
house is disputed. State Farm contends that George Sobley
testified in a deposition early in this case that water entered his
house in mid-1994. The Sobleys allege that they first discovered
water problems in their house one morning in mid-December 1994,
when they found water seeping from the walls, through the tile, and
1
210 F.3d 561 (5th Cir. 2000).
2
in their carpet in several locations throughout the house. The
Sobleys immediately attempted to clean up the water with rags,
mops, and a shop vacuum. George Sobley found that water was
leaking into the house at each place where the plumbing pipes came
through the slab. He then shut off the main water source and re-
routed the damaged plumbing, completing the task in May 1995.
During that process, the Sobleys continued to live in the
house and turned on the water for brief periods of time to shower.
The Sobleys acknowledge that some water leaked into the house each
time they turned the water on but contend that this water never
soaked the house as badly as had the initial leakage and that they
contained any damage resulting from their daily water use by
immediately cleaning up any leakage.
The parties also dispute when the Sobleys first contacted
State Farm, with the Sobleys insisting on January 1995 and State
Farm insisting on March 31, 1995 as the date of first contact. It
is undisputed that Pat Dillard, a State Farm claims adjuster, first
spoke with Linda Sobley in April 1995 and arranged to visit the
house on April 21, 1995.
Dillard inspected the Sobleys’ house on April 21, where,
according to her own notes, she witnessed damage to the Sobleys’
carpet and tile which she photographed. Linda Sobley told Dillard
that their pipes had been damaged by electrolysis. The parties
disagree as to whether Dillard ever mentioned the policy’s water
exclusion to the Sobleys at any time in April 1995. It is
3
undisputed that an April 25, 1995 letter from Dillard to the
Sobleys explicitly cited the electrolysis exclusion in section 1.h
of the policy as the basis for denying coverage for their claim.2
That letter reads:
This letter will follow-up my inspection of your
loss on April 21, 1995, and discussion regarding cause of
loss being electrolysis. I have confirmed this cause of
loss is excluded on page 10 of your policy, Exclusion
1.h.
Should you find anything to the contrary or should
you have any further questions, or if I can be of further
assistance, please do not hesitate to call me. My number
is listed below. Based on the above, we are regretfully
unable to provide any coverage for this loss.
Attached to the letter was a copy of page 10 of the Sobleys’
homeowner’s policy. It is also undisputed that the Sobleys did not
contact State Farm again after receiving this letter until some
time in 1997, when Linda Sobley contacted State Farm to ask for
copies of the pictures which Dillard took at the house on April 21,
1995.
II.
The Sobleys filed suit against SONAT in Mississippi state
court in October 1996 for negligence in causing damage through
electrolysis to their house. In June 1997, after SONAT had removed
2
As we explained in Sobley I, “[t]he policy’s many exclusions include one
for damage to plumbing caused by electrolysis; other damage resulting from
electrolysis is covered, however, unless excluded by another provision of the
policy,” and “[t]he policy also excludes coverage for loss to property which is
caused by ‘continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water or steam from a ...
plumbing system ... which occurs over a period of time and results in
deterioration, corrosion, rust, mold, or wet or dry rot,’” which has been
referred to as the “water exclusion.” 210 F.3d at 562, 565 n.3. For unrelated
medical reasons, Dillard did not testify at any point in this litigation.
4
the case, the Sobleys amended their complaint to add State Farm as
a defendant, seeking coverage under their homeowner’s policy for
the water damage to their house from their leaking water pipes.3
State Farm answered in July 1997, raising numerous defenses and
policy exclusions to coverage as affirmative defenses. State Farm
also cross-claimed against SONAT for damages in the event that
State Farm was found to have insured losses caused by SONAT’s
negligence. All parties consented to proceed before a magistrate
judge.
In March 1998, the Sobleys amended their complaint to add a
claim for punitive damages against State Farm based on bad faith
denial of insurance coverage. After cross-motions for summary
judgment were denied, the case proceeded to a pre-trial conference
in early January 1999.
At the pre-trial conference, the Sobleys reached a settlement
with SONAT. SONAT moved to dismiss the Sobleys’ claim and State
Farm’s cross-claim against it, representing that, “[a]s a part of
the Settlement Agreement, Plaintiffs will not attempt to recover
property damage claims against State Farm Lloyds, but will litigate
only whether Plaintiffs are entitled to extra contractual damages,
attorney’s fees, court costs and punitive damages” and so the
settlement “will render moot the Cross-claim of State Farm Lloyds
against [SONAT].” The trial court granted the motion, concluding
3
The Sobleys originally sued State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, not
State Farm Lloyds, in May 1997.
5
that, pursuant to the settlement agreement, “all of Plaintiffs’
claims for property damages are satisfied and extinguished” and the
Sobleys’ claim and State Farm’s cross-claim against SONAT “are moot
as a result of this settlement.”
State Farm took the position, however, that it did not waive
any claims, cross-claims or positions as a result of the agreement
between the Sobleys and SONAT. State Farm also moved to dismiss
the Sobleys’ claim for extra-contractual or punitive damages
against it on the ground that there was no subject matter
jurisdiction over the claim where the order of dismissal provided
that the settlement agreement had extinguished all of the Sobleys’
claims for property damages under their homeowner’s policy, but
this motion was denied.4
The case proceeded to trial before a jury in late January
1999. At the first trial, the trial court first allowed the
Sobleys to present evidence only on the issue of coverage for their
claim under their policy and deferred the issues relating to
punitive or extra-contractual damages to a later phase of the
4
State Farm does not appeal the trial court’s refusal to dismiss the
Sobleys’ bad faith claim against State Farm based on the SONAT settlement.
Likewise, State Farm does not appeal the trial court’s decision at the second
trial, which it made with State Farm’s but not the Sobleys’ encouragement, to
submit for the jury’s determination the question of the amount of contractual
damages to which the Sobleys were entitled for their property damage claims under
their homeowner’s policy, despite the fact that the trial court intended to enter
judgment only on any punitive damages awarded to the Sobleys, a fact the trial
court did not share with the jury. Finally, State Farm does not appeal the trial
court’s decision at the second trial to keep the fact of and information about
the SONAT settlement from the jury or its limiting instruction at trial that the
jurors were “not to be concerned with [the other lawsuit with SONAT] and what
happened in that regard,” which “is a different matter totally from this case.”
6
trial. Following the Sobleys’ case-in-chief, however, the trial
court “ruled from the bench that the Sobleys had created a jury
issue as to coverage but that he was ‘jumping over to make a
determination of whether or not the jury, based upon the facts that
have been before the Court and the facts that the Court is aware of
... is it sufficient to put forth a bad faith claim; was there an
arguable basis for denial,’ and ruled that State Farm did have such
an arguable basis.”5 The trial court therefore issued a directed
verdict in favor of State Farm and entered a judgment dismissing
the Sobleys’ case against State Farm.
On appeal, this court reversed and remanded. We held that,
“[u]nder Mississippi law, a finding of coverage is a necessary
predicate to bringing a punitive damages claim,” and, “[o]nce
coverage is established, the issue of punitive damages should be
submitted to the jury if the trial court determines that there are
jury issues with regard to whether: (1) the insurer lacked an
arguable or legitimate basis for denying the claims, and (2) the
insurer committed a wilful or malicious wrong, or acted with gross
and reckless disregard for the insured’s rights.”6 We noted that,
in the instant case, “the trial court determined that there was a
jury issue as to coverage and this finding has not been appealed.”7
5
Sobley I, 210 F.3d at 563.
6
Id. at 564.
7
Id. at 564 n.1
7
We further held that, “once coverage is established, a court should
evaluate whether there was an arguable basis for denial of coverage
based solely on the reasons for denial of coverage given to the
insured by the insurance company,” such that, in this case, “the
trial court should determine whether there is a jury question
regarding arguable basis solely with respect to the reasons State
Farm gave to the Sobleys for denying the claim.”8
We reversed because, in determining that the water exclusion
provided an arguable basis for denying the Sobleys’ claim, “the
trial judge did not make a factual finding as to whether the water
exclusion was presented to the Sobleys as a reason for denying
coverage,” and so “this court cannot tell whether it was an error
under Mississippi law to consider whether that exclusion provided
State Farm with an arguable basis for denying coverage.”9 As such,
we held that, “[o]n remand, the trial court should reconsider
whether there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding the
arguable basis issue solely with reference to the reasons that
State Farm actually gave to the Sobleys.”10
We further instructed that, “[i]f a jury question on arguable
basis is found, the trial court must consider whether there is a
jury question on the second prong of the punitive damage analysis,
8
Id. at 564.
9
Id. at 565.
10
Id.
8
namely, whether State Farm ‘committed a wilful or malicious wrong
or acted with gross and reckless disregard for the insured’s
rights.’”11 Thereafter, “[i]f there is a jury question regarding
wilful conduct or reckless disregard, then the trial court is
instructed to submit the coverage issue to the jury, and if
coverage is found, to instruct the jury that in determining whether
State Farm had an arguable basis to deny coverage, it may not
consider reasons not given to the insured nor evidence discovered
after litigation began, but may only consider the facts known to
State Farm at the time of denial.”12
On remand, the trial court considered cross-motions for
judgment as a matter of law from the Sobleys and State Farm and
denied them entirely, specifically noting that “there is a genuine
issue of material fact as to whether the water exclusion was
presented to the Sobleys as a reason for denying coverage and
whether that exclusion provided States Farm with an arguable basis
for denying coverage.” The trial court later clarified that State
Farm’s motion was “denied in all respects.”
The case proceeded to trial in January 2001. Following the
trial court’s denial of motions for judgment as a matter of law by
State Farm at the close of the Sobleys’ case-in-chief and the close
of the evidence, the trial court, through special interrogatories,
11
Id. (quoting State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Grimes, 722 So.2d 637,
641 (Miss. 1998) (en banc)).
12
Id.
9
submitted to the jury the issues of coverage, arguable basis, and
whether State Farm committed a wilful or malicious wrong or acted
with gross and reckless disregard for the Sobleys’ rights, but did
not submit at that time the question of the appropriate amount of
any contractual damages or punitive damages. The jury returned
findings in favor of the Sobleys on each of the interrogatories.
After the parties stipulated to the amount of State Farm’s net
worth and were allowed to present additional closing arguments on
the issue of the appropriate amount of contractual damages and
punitive damages, the trial court submitted to the jury a verdict
form asking the jury to find the appropriate amount of contractual
damages and any punitive damages to be awarded to the Sobleys. The
jury returned a verdict for $39,683 in contractual damages and
$1.25 million in punitive damages.
The trial court entered judgment on the award of the punitive
damages only and later denied State Farm’s post-trial motion for
judgment as a matter of law or, in the alternative, new trial or
remittitur. The Sobleys also moved to recover from State Farm
their attorneys’ fees and expenses, which the trial court awarded
in the amount of $349,240.33.
State Farm appeals from the trial court’s judgment and the
order awarding the Sobleys their attorneys’ fees and expenses.
III.
10
State Farm raises several challenges to the trial court’s
decision to submit to the jury the issue of punitive damages for
bad faith denial of the Sobleys’ insurance claim.
A.
State Farm first argues that the trial court violated our
remand instructions in Sobley I by failing to consider on cross-
motions for judgment as a matter of law, based solely on the record
from the first trial, whether there was sufficient evidence to
create a jury issue on the issue of arguable basis and, if so, on
the issue of whether State Farm committed a wilful or malicious
wrong or acted with gross and reckless disregard for the insured’s
rights. According to State Farm, the trial court denied the cross-
motions and proceeded to trial, thereby abdicating its
responsibilities under our remand instructions because an
appropriate review of the record as it then existed would have
resulted in the conclusion that no jury question as to whether
State Farm committed a wilful or malicious wrong or acted with
gross and reckless disregard for the Sobleys’ rights was presented
by the Sobleys’ bad faith claim.
We review de novo whether the trial court faithfully and
accurately applied our instructions on remand.13 Here, the trial
court considered the cross-motions on all issues on the Sobleys’
bad faith claim and denied the motions in all respects, albeit
13
Hopwood v. Tex., 236 F.3d 256, 263 (5th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 533
U.S. 929 (2001).
11
without specific reasons as to the issue of whether State Farm
committed a wilful or malicious wrong or acted with gross and
reckless disregard for the Sobleys’ rights.
These rulings satisfy the requirements of our remand
instructions.14 We are without jurisdiction to conduct further
inquiry into the correctness of the trial court’s denial of State
Farm’s motion, based on our well-settled rule that “such
interlocutory orders are not to be reviewed where final judgment
adverse to the movant is rendered on the basis of a subsequent full
trial on the merits.”15
B.
State Farm also argues that the trial court erred in allowing
the Sobleys to proceed to trial on remand on an amended bad faith
claim based on State Farm’s post-denial and litigation conduct,
which State Farm alleges was an expanded claim from the bad faith
count alleged in the last amended complaint and pre-trial order for
the first trial. State Farm asserts that the only bad faith claim
properly before the trial court was a claim based solely on State
Farm’s actions in April 1995 in investigating and denying the
14
See Sobley I, 210 F.3d at 565 (“On remand, the trial court should
reconsider whether there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding the
arguable basis issue solely with reference to the reasons that State Farm
actually gave to the Sobleys. If a jury question on arguable basis is found, the
trial court must consider whether there is a jury question on the second prong
of the punitive damage analysis, namely, whether State Farm ‘committed a wilful
or malicious wrong or acted with gross and reckless disregard for the insured’s
rights.’” (quoting Grimes, 722 So.2d at 641)).
15
Johnson v. Sawyer, 120 F.3d 1307, 1331 (5th Cir. 1997); accord Brown
v. Slenker, 220 F.3d 411, 421 n.9 (5th Cir. 2000).
12
Sobleys’ claim for water damage to their carpet and tile and re-
routing their damaged piping. As such, State Farm contends that
the trial court violated this court’s mandate to reconsider whether
to grant judgment as a matter of law on the Sobleys’ bad faith
claim from the first trial and, further, that allowing the Sobleys
to add this new, expansive claim on the eve of the second trial
violated the Federal Rules and State Farm’s due process rights.
Under the “mandate rule,” the trial court was without power to
do anything contrary to the letter or spirit of our mandate
construed in the light of our opinion in Sobley I, taking into
account the circumstances that opinion embraces.16 And after a pre-
trial order is entered, “it controls the scope and course of the
trial,” and, “[i]f a claim or issue is omitted from the order, it
is waived, even if it appeared in the complaint.”17
These rules notwithstanding, a complete review of the record
and controlling Mississippi law does not support State Farm’s oft-
repeated complaint that a bad faith claim based on its post-denial
conduct was sprung on it at the last minute following remand.
State Farm relies almost exclusively on the statement of the
Sobleys’ bad faith claim in the last amended complaint:
State Farm failed to adequately investigate the
Plaintiffs’ claim, and subsequently denied coverage
without an arguable basis for said denial. State Farm’s
16
See Tollett v. City of Kemah, 285 F.3d 257, 364 (5th Cir. 2002).
17
Kona Tech. Corp. v. S. Pac. Transp. Co., 225 F.3d 595, 604 (5th Cir.
2000).
13
conduct in inadequately investigating the Plaintiffs’
claim and subsequently denying coverage without an
arguable basis amounts to reckless disregard for the
rights of the Plaintiffs, and the Plaintiffs are
therefore entitled to an award of punitive damages.
and the pre-trial order for the first trial:
9. The contested issues of fact are as follows:
a. By Plaintiffs:
....
(3) Whether State Farm properly and adequately
investigated the Plaintiffs’ claim.
(4) Whether State Farm had an arguable basis for
denial of Plaintiffs’ claim at the time of initial denial
on the basis of the electrolysis exclusion of the policy.
(5) Whether State Farm’s actions in denying the
claim rise to the level of willful, wanton misconduct or
reckless disregard for the rights of the Plaintiffs.
....
10. The contested issues of law are as follows:
a. By Plaintiffs:
....
3. Whether State Farm’s conduct and actions in
denying the claim of the Plaintiffs entitles the
Plaintiffs to recovery of attorney’s fees and/or punitive
damages.
In the pre-trial order for the second trial, the Sobleys stated:
9. The contested issues of fact are as follows:
a. By Plaintiffs:
....
6. Whether State Farm’s actions or inactions both
before and after its denial of coverage and/or subsequent
conduct rises to the level of willful, wanton misconduct
or reckless disregard for the rights of the Sobleys.
At first blush, the claim in the second pre-trial order
appears to be a more expansive claim than that in the Sobleys’ last
amended complaint, if not the statement of the claim in the first
pre-trial order. A review of the record and of our opinion in
Sobley I makes clear, however, that the Sobleys’ bad faith claim
14
encompassed State Farm’s post-denial conduct from the time the
Sobleys were allowed to amend their complaint to add the bad faith
claim.
In response to State Farm’s opposition to the Sobleys’ motion
to amend to add this claim, the Sobleys stated that “it has become
apparent that State Farm’s original and continuous denial of
coverage despite its knowledge of the facts and circumstances
surrounding this matter constitute bad faith, and that the
Plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages.” The Sobleys went on
to assert that they “are continuing to suffer damages because of
State Farm’s continuous denial of coverage, even though State Farm
is aware of facts which warrant coverage,” which “is precisely the
type of conduct for which punitive damages are prescribed.” After
receiving this response, the trial court allowed the Sobleys to
amend to add the bad faith claim for punitive damages.
Thereafter, in response to State Farm’s motion for summary
judgment prior to the first trial, the Sobleys argued that “State
Farm’s conduct in adjusting the Plaintiffs’ claim amounts to bad
faith and a reckless disregard for the rights of the Plaintiffs”
and that “State Farm’s duty to re-evaluate claims does not end
merely because a lawsuit has been filed,” such that “an example of
State Farm’s continued bad faith predisposition and unfounded
argumentative posture regarding the Plaintiffs’ claims” could be
found in State Farm’s responses to the Sobleys’ request for
admissions. The Sobleys contended that, “not only did State Farm
15
deny coverage based solely on the electrolysis exclusion despite
the fact that Pat Dillard’s inspection revealed water damage to the
carpet and the Mexican tile and the rerouting of the plumbing
system, but State Farm continues to deny coverage for the carpet
damage and tile damage based on an exclusion of coverage for
‘deterioration, corrosion, rust, mold, or wet or dry rot’ despite
the fact that Dillard’s investigation revealed no such damages.”
Thus, the Sobleys asserted that “this conduct on the part of State
Farm clearly entitles the Sobleys to have a jury make the
determination regarding the unreasonableness of State Farm’s denial
of coverage, and its reckless disregard for the rights of its
insured.”
At the first trial, the Sobleys’ counsel began his opening
statement by asserting that “[t]he proof will show in this case
that State Farm Lloyds never intended to provide coverage for the
damages that the Sobleys had in this case from the very beginning
until the present day.” Counsel went on to argue that, “as we sit
here today, they still deny coverage for that carpet and tile.”
This review of the record confirms that a bad faith claim
based on State Farm’s post-denial and litigation conduct was a part
of this case from the time the Sobleys moved to add a punitive
damages claim through the first trial, regardless of how inartfully
the last amended complaint or the first trial’s pre-trial order
were drafted. Indeed, in Sobley I, we observed:
16
According to State Farm, the Sobleys were allowed to put
on evidence during the trial relating to State Farm’s
conduct both before and after its denial of coverage.
Such evidence would presumably be relevant to their bad
faith claims given that the issue of coverage could be
determined from the comparing the damage to the policy
language itself.18
Consistent with this observation, evidence of post-denial conduct
by the insurer is relevant under Mississippi law to establish a
claim for bad faith denial of insurance coverage, as State Farm’s
counsel admitted at oral argument.19
State Farm’s protestations that the Sobleys raised a radically
different theory for the first time in January 2001, just before
the start of the second trial, are belied by the record.
Accordingly, bereft of this faulty factual premise, there is no
merit in State Farm’s point of error that the Sobleys’ new claim
was raised too late and without compliance with the requirements of
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 and that the trial court’s
ruling allowing this “new” theory of bad faith to be added without
a continuance for State Farm to prepare or conduct additional
18
210 F.3d at 563.
19
Gregory v. Cont’l Ins. Co., 575 So.2d 534, 541-42 (Miss. 1990) (en
banc); accord Eichenseer v. Reserve Life Ins. Co., 682 F. Supp. 1355, 1372 (N.D.
Miss. 1988) (“An insurance company is under a continuing duty to reevaluate its
position when it chooses to deny a claim. This is because an insurer may be
subject to punitive damages for initially denying a claim without an arguable
reason, even if it later decides to pay.”), aff’d, 881 F.2d 1355 (5th Cir. 1989),
vacated on other grounds, 499 U.S. 914 (1991); cf. Grimes, 722 So.2d at 644
(insurer argued that the jurors must be allowed to consider post-denial expert
testimony on which it relied in deciding whether its investigation was reasonable
for purposes of deciding whether State Farm acted in bad faith, but not in
deciding the predicate issue of whether State Farm had an arguable basis to deny
its insured’s claim).
17
discovery constitutes an abuse of discretion and a denial of due
process to State Farm.
C.
State Farm also contends that the trial court erred in sending
the punitive damages issue to the jury based on the analysis
prescribed in Sobley I. In particular, State Farm asserts that
there was insufficient evidence to establish a jury issue with
regard to whether State Farm committed a wilful or malicious wrong
or acted with gross and reckless disregard for the Sobleys’
rights.20
We review the trial court’s decision to submit this issue to
the jury through the vehicle of the court’s denial of State Farm’s
motion for judgment as a matter of law.21 As such, we review the
trial court’s decision de novo, applying the familiar standard
20
State Farm properly moved for judgment as a matter of law on this
ground following the Sobleys’ case-in-chief, at the close of the evidence, and
in its post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law. State Farm, however,
does not appeal the trial court’s conclusion that there was sufficient evidence
to create a jury issue with regard to the predicate coverage or arguable basis
issues or, correspondingly, in denying State Farm’s post-trial motion for
judgment as a matter of law, that there was sufficient evidence to support the
jury’s findings in favor of the Sobleys on those issues. State Farm also does
not appeal from the trial court’s denial of its post-trial motion for judgment
as a matter of law on the ground that there was sufficient evidence to support
the jury’s findings in favor of the Sobleys on the issue of whether State Farm
committed a wilful or malicious wrong or acted with gross and reckless disregard
for the Sobleys’ rights.
21
See Anthony v. Chevron USA, Inc., 284 F.3d 578, 583 (5th Cir. 2002);
accord Burkhart Grob Luft und Raumfahrt GmbH & Co. KG v. E-Systems, Inc., 257
F.3d 461, 467 (5th Cir. 2001) (“Whether Grob produced sufficient evidence to
present the question of its lost profits to the jury is a question we review de
novo.”).
18
first articulated in Boeing Co. v. Shipman:22 for the Sobleys “to
create a jury question, there must be a dispute in the substantial
evidence, that is, evidence which is of such quality and weight
that reasonable and fair-minded men in the exercise of impartial
judgment might reach different conclusions,” such that “a mere
scintilla of evidence is insufficient to present a question for the
jury” and, “[e]ven if the evidence is more than a scintilla, Boeing
assumes that some evidence may exist to support a position which is
yet so overwhelmed by contrary proof as to yield to a directed
verdict.”23 In applying this standard “[i]n determining whether
there is a jury question, the court should consider all the
evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to the
non-moving party.”24
Although we engage in a de novo review, it will be helpful to
review first the trial court’s rulings denying State Farm’s motions
on this issue. To recap, in Sobley I, we instructed the trial
22
411 F.2d 365, 374-75 (5th Cir. 1969) (en banc), overruled on other
grounds, Gautreaux v. Scurlock Marine, Inc., 107 F.3d 331 (5th Cir. 1997) (en
banc). See generally Ellis v. Weasler Eng’g Inc., 258 F.3d 326, 336 (5th Cir.)
(“Whether the evidence presented at trial is sufficient to create an issue of
fact for the jury or will permit the court to enter judgment as a matter of law
is governed by federal rather than state law.”), amended on denial of reh’g on
other grounds, 274 F.3d 881 (5th Cir. 2001).
23
Chaney v. New Orleans Pub. Facility Mgmt., Inc., 179 F.3d 164, 167 (5th
Cir. 1999); accord Anthony, 284 F.3d at 583 (“In order to survive a Rule 50
motion and present a question for the jury, the party opposing the motion must
at least establish a conflict in substantial evidence on each essential element
of their claim. In other words, the evidence must be sufficient so that a jury
will not ultimately rest its verdict on mere speculation and conjecture.”
(citation omitted)).
24
Anthony, 284 F.3d at 583.
19
court on remand that, “[i]f a jury question on arguable basis is
found, the trial court must consider whether there is a jury
question on the second prong of the punitive damage analysis,
namely, whether State Farm ‘committed a wilful or malicious wrong
or acted with gross and reckless disregard for the insured’s
rights.’”25 The trial court denied State Farm’s motion at the close
of the Sobleys’ case-in-chief, stating:
And, again, as far as the bad faith and the
questions about Mr. Sobley’s testimony in that regard,
that’s again, a who do we want to believe in this? The
unfortunate — I guess you could say unfortunate for State
Farm, post litigation conduct is admissible under
Mississippi law to determine these issues. At this
point, I’m going to allow it to go forward and I will
deny the motion as it stands at this time.
In denying State Farm’s renewed motion for judgment as a matter of
law at the close of the evidence, the trial court reasoned:
Now, it seems to me that [there’s] a logical conclusion
you can make, if they can say, State Farm — [the jurors]
could reach a conclusion that State Farm made a mistake
and instead of acknowledging the mistake, compounded it
by piling on other matters. And I have faith in that as
the whole thrust of how they presented those things
through the answer and what y’all have done is post
litigation conduct.
Finally, in denying State Farm’s post-trial motion for judgment as
a matter of law, the trial court observed:
The defendant also asserts that the court erred by
submitting the issue of punitive damages to the jury.
Clearly, the law of Mississippi does not allow the
imposition of punitive damages for mere negligence or
clerical mistake. This case, however, rises above simple
negligence or clerical mistake. The jury properly found
25
210 F.3d at 565 (quoting Grimes, 722 So.2d at 641).
20
based on the evidence that the defendant denied the
Sobleys’ claim without an arguable reason. The court
finds that the reasonableness of defendant’s actions was
properly submitted to the jury and the jury found the
intentional denial necessary for an award of punitive
damages.26
The Sobleys’ proof at trial as to State Farm’s alleged gross
and reckless disregard focused on several aspects of State Farm’s
conduct in investigating and initially and continually denying the
Sobleys’ claim for carpet and tile damage and re-routing expenses
without an adequate investigation.27 The Sobleys primarily argued
that their evidence showed that State Farm, after denying the
Sobleys’ claim in Dillard’s April 25, 1995 letter citing only the
electrolysis exclusion and later being sued by the Sobleys in June
1997, knew that the electrolysis exclusion did not bar coverage for
the Sobleys’ claim for carpet and tile damage and re-routing
expenses but, instead of admitting the mistake and paying the
claim, raised and pressed, without adequate investigation, several
other defenses and exclusions to deny coverage through the first
trial in January 1999.
26
(citations omitted).
27
The Sobleys have conceded, however, as they must, that from the date
of the settlement with SONAT, State Farm had no further obligation to pay any
claim under the Sobleys’ homeowner’s policy, since the Sobleys agreed, pursuant
to their settlement agreement with SONAT, that they would not attempt to recover
any contractual property damages from State Farm. As such, we review the
evidence only of State Farm’s conduct in investigating and denying the Sobleys’
claim through the date of the settlement in January 1999, and not its post-denial
or litigation conduct after that time, including its arguments and actions at the
first and second trial.
21
To this end, the Sobleys presented evidence that, after being
sued by the Sobleys in 1997, State Farm continued to stand by the
electrolysis exclusion as a basis for denying coverage of the
Sobleys’ claim. The Sobleys’ evidence also demonstrated that State
Farm raised the water exclusion as a basis for denying their claim
without sending a claims adjustor to inspect the carpet and tile
damage for almost four years after Dillard’s initial visit on April
21, 1995.28 The Sobleys presented evidence that Dillard’s April 21,
1995 inspection, according to her own contemporaneous notes,
revealed nothing which would fit within the Sobleys’ proffered
definition of “deterioration” to the carpet or tile and that Linda
Sobley’s own observations and the observations of a carpet
specialist and a construction specialist demonstrated that
“deterioration” required to deny coverage under the water exclusion
had not occurred. Moreover, there was testimony—later qualified to
some degree—from State Farm’s representative Rick McEuen that
neither the electrolysis nor the earth movement exclusion would bar
coverage for the claimed carpet and tile damage and that, during
his January 1999 inspection of the Sobleys’ house, he did not
observe “deterioration” or, in fact, any damage to the tile.29
28
The jury heard evidence that State Farm sent John Owens, an electrical
engineer it contracted for this case, to the Sobleys’ house in November 1997 to
investigate SONAT’s claim that lightning, not its facilities, caused the damage
to the Sobleys’ pipes.
29
The policy includes an “earth movement exclusion,” which provides:
We do not insure under any coverage for any loss which would not
have occurred in the absence of one or more of the following
22
The Sobleys also put on evidence that, after State Farm
initially obtained an affidavit from Cindy Morgan, the carpet
specialist, in which State Farm asked her how water damage will
generally affect a carpet but did not ask her to actually inspect
the Sobleys’ carpet, the Sobleys’ counsel asked Morgan to inspect
the Sobleys’ carpet and assess the extent of the damage or
“deterioration.” The jury heard testimony from Morgan that her
inspection in 1998 determined that the Sobleys’ carpet evidenced no
“deterioration,” i.e., decomposition or physical breakdown, or wet
or dry rot and that, despite the fact that she memorialized this in
an affidavit provided to State Farm in litigation, State Farm did
not contact her to learn what her inspection revealed; indeed, the
evidence showed that, after being sued in June 1997, State Farm
continued to press the water exclusion as a basis for denying the
Sobleys’ claim.
The Sobleys’ evidence at trial also showed that, after being
sued in June 1997, State Farm invoked several policy exclusions,
including the policy’s earth movement exclusion, and defenses,
excluded events. We do not insure for such loss regardless of (a)
the cause of the excluded event; or (b) other causes of the loss; or
(c) whether other causes acted concurrently or in any sequence with
the excluded event to produce the loss; or (d) whether the event
occurs suddenly or gradually, involves isolated or widespread
damages, arises from natural or external forces, or occurs as a
result of any combination of these:
....
b. Earth Movement, meaning the sinking, rising, shifting,
expanding or contracting of earth, all whether combined with water
or not. Earth movement includes but is not limited to earthquake,
landslide, mudflow, sinkhole, subsidence and erosion.
23
including that the Sobleys failed to mitigate the water damage or
engaged in neglect, intentionally misrepresented or concealed
material information, and failed to provide immediate notice of
loss as required under the policy. Like the earth movement
exclusion, the jury heard evidence that the notice defense was
raised for the first time after the Sobleys filed suit, despite
State Farm’s awareness at the time of its denial in April 1995 of
facts which State Farm later claimed indicated that the Sobleys
delayed notifying State Farm of the loss from water damage and
which it claimed justified denial of their claim on this basis
alone, regardless of its merits. The Sobleys also presented
evidence that State Farm failed to directly answer the Sobleys’
request for admissions, even on matters such as whether the Sobleys
had a homeowner’s policy with State Farm; that State Farm employed
an allegedly overbroad definition of “deterioration” in invoking
and pressing the water exclusion as a basis to deny coverage; and
that State Farm pressed the interpretation of McEuen, Dillard’s
supervisor in April 1995, of unclear statements in Dillard’s log
notes from her inspection on April 21, 1995 to indicate an
abbreviation for “water exclusion” and not “water leak,” from which
State Farm argued that Dillard had in fact raised the water
exclusion with Linda Sobley on April 21, 1995 as a basis to deny
the claim.
Mississippi law is well-settled that “[p]unitive damages
should be assessed with caution and within narrow limits as an
24
example and warning” and that a “plaintiff has a ‘heavy burden’
when seeking punitive damages based on a bad faith insurance
claim.”30 The evidence of State Farm’s conduct in investigating and
denying the Sobleys’ claim, both in April 1995 and through the date
of the SONAT settlement in January 1999, is simply not of such
quality and weight that reasonable and fair-minded men in the
exercise of impartial judgment might reach different conclusions as
to whether State Farm engaged in gross and reckless disregard of
the Sobleys’ rights.
To begin with, although the Sobleys argued at trial that the
evidence permitted an inference that Dillard denied the claim
knowing it was not excluded by the electrolysis exclusion but
hoping the Sobleys would not challenge it, our review of the
evidence of State Farm’s conduct in April 1995 in investigating the
Sobleys’ claim for carpet and tile damage and re-rerouting expenses
and denying it on the basis of the electrolysis exclusion persuades
us that, as a matter of law, it amounts to nothing more than
evidence of negligent acts for which punitive damages are
inappropriate under Mississippi law.31 Thereafter, State Farm next
heard from the Sobleys two years later when they sued State Farm to
30
Jenkins v. Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., 794 So.2d 228, 232 (Miss. 2001) (en
banc) (quoting Life & Cas. Ins. Co. of Tenn. v. Bristow, 529 So.2d 620, 622
(Miss. 1988) (en banc)).
31
See Dixie Ins. Co. v. Mooneyhan, 684 So.2d 574, 584 (Miss. 1996) (en
banc); accord Universal Life Ins. Co. v. Veasley, 610 So.2d 290, 295 (Miss.
1992).
25
recoup their losses assertedly covered by their homeowner’s policy.
The Sobleys testified that they did not contact or follow-up with
State Farm after April 1995 or challenge the basis for State Farm’s
denial of coverage sooner because they believed the damages were
caused by electrolysis and so excluded under the policy.
We have previously observed that, although an insured may
argue there should have been a more complete investigation, “there
simply was no bad-faith breach of any duty to the insured who
passively accepted the fact finding of the insurer’s
investigation.”32 There is no question but that, under Mississippi
law, State Farm had a “duty to its customer to make a reasonably
prompt investigation of all relevant facts”33 and a “continuing duty
to reevaluate its position when it chooses to deny a claim.”34
Here, however, there was nothing to trigger State Farm’s duty to
reevaluate its claim at least until the Sobleys filed suit in June
1997 and so no bad faith on State Farm’s part in failing to further
investigate the claim, which it had denied and which the Sobleys
chose not to further pursue during the intervening period of over
two years between April 1995 and June 1997.
The Sobleys’ evidence of State Farm’s alleged reckless
disregard after June 1997 consists primarily of State Farm’s
32
Dueringer v. Gen. Am. Life Ins. Co., 853 F.2d 283, 287 n.8 (5th Cir.
1988).
33
Murphee v. Fed. Ins. Co., 707 So.2d 523, 530 (Miss. 1997) (en banc).
34
Eichenseer, 682 F. Supp. at 1372.
26
litigation conduct and its raising defenses and exclusions
allegedly without adequate investigation. The conduct at issue,
however, does not rise to the level of gross and reckless disregard
for the Sobleys’ rights as insureds in State Farm’s investigating
and continuing to deny the Sobleys’ claim after June 1997 through
the date of the SONAT settlement in January 1999.
On appeal, the Sobleys rely heavily on the decision of the
Supreme Court of Mississippi in State Farm Mutual Automobile
Insurance Co. v. Grimes,35 in which the court held:
This is not a case in which the insurance company
was found to have had an arguable reason to deny a claim.
Nor is it a case in which the claim was denied because of
some clerical error or other inadvertence for which the
imposition of punitive damages would simply be unfair.
See Universal Life Ins. Co. v. Veasley, 610 So.2d 290
(Miss. 1992). On the contrary, here the jury could
conclude that the insurer deliberately refused to pay in
the face of knowledge that it could not reasonably expect
to succeed on any claimed defense based upon the
insured’s suspected involvement in the theft of his
automobile. This was not inadvertence promptly
corrected; the evidence was amenable to the conclusion
that there was deliberate indifference if not hostility
to the right of the insured which was never corrected.
After an investigation over a period which was clearly
reasonable in duration from the standpoint of the
insurance company, the company simply had no proof that
a theft had not occurred to refute the insured’s sworn
claim that there was a theft supported by the fact that
a motor and transmission was indubitably missing. It
should have paid, and, because it did not, the issue of
punitive damages was properly put before the jury.36
35
722 So.2d 637 (Miss. 1998) (en banc).
36
Id. at 642.
27
On the basis of Grimes, the Sobleys argue that State Farm’s
continued denial based on its self-serving, result-oriented
investigation, together with its unbelievable interpretations and
application of policy provisions, sufficiently showed that State
Farm’s denial was not merely the product of simple oversight or a
clerical mistake for which punitive damages would be improper.
While even State Farm does not claim that its post-denial and
litigation conduct is the product of simple oversight or a clerical
mistake, the Sobleys did not present substantial evidence from
which it could be inferred that State Farm “deliberately refused to
pay in the face of knowledge that it could not reasonably expect to
succeed on any claimed defense” or exclusion it raised in the
course of litigation.37 This case is therefore distinguishable from
Grimes, in which the insurer’s only basis for denial was its
suspicion that the insured had filed a bogus theft claim, in the
absence of any “proof that a theft had not occurred to refute the
insured’s sworn claim that there was a theft supported by the fact
that a motor and transmission was indubitably missing.”38 Although
the Sobleys’ counsel made much at trial of State Farm’s raising the
defenses of concealment or material misrepresentation, which he
characterized as State Farm’s calling the Sobleys liars and
accusing them of being dishonest, the evidence, even taken in the
37
Id.
38
Id.
28
light most favorable to the Sobleys, showed that State Farm was not
provided with potentially important information concerning the
Sobleys’ problems with damage to their pipes and water leakage in
and around their house until after the Sobleys sued State Farm in
June 1997. Under these circumstances, raising this defense and
other defenses and exclusions, such as the earth movement
exclusion, which might well have applied based on the newly-
obtained information does not amount to gross and reckless
disregard for the Sobleys’ rights in the form of State Farm’s
allegedly manufacturing defenses after it was sued or State Farm’s
relying on patently unjustifiable policy exclusions for denying the
claim.
On appeal, State Farm does not challenge the trial court’s
conclusion that there was substantial evidence of such quality and
weight that reasonable and fair-minded men in the exercise of
impartial judgment might reach different conclusions as to whether
the electrolysis, water, and earth movement exclusions and defenses
of failure to minimize damages and intentional misrepresentation or
concealment of material information which State Farm raised
actually barred coverage for the Sobleys’ claim. However, this
conclusion is of no moment to our analysis as to whether there was
substantial evidence that State Farm acted with gross and reckless
disregard for the Sobleys’ rights. Under Mississippi law, “[i]f
there is no arguable reason found for denying the claim, the issue
of punitive damages should not automatically be submitted to the
29
jury.”39 Rather, “‘[i]n the absence of an arguable reason for
denying the claim, the trial court must still determine whether
there is a jury issue as to the insurer’s having committed a
willful or malicious wrong, or acted with gross or reckless
disregard for the insured’s rights.’”40 An exclusion or defense
can, of course, constitute an “arguable basis” even if it does not
ultimately bar coverage.41 It follows that the fact that State Farm
raised defenses and exclusions that may not actually bar coverage
does not, in itself, establish that there is substantial evidence
as to the issue of gross and reckless disregard.42
Likewise, the positions advanced by State Farm in the course
of litigation, including McEuen’s testimony as to his “somewhat
strained interpretation of Dillard’s log notes,”43 reliance on an
allegedly overbroad definition of “deterioration,” and responses
39
Murphee, 707 So.2d at 530.
40
Id. (quoting Pioneer Life Ins. Co. of Ill. v. Moss, 513 So.2d 927, 930
(Miss. 1987)).
41
This logically follows from the definition of “arguable basis,” Grimes,
722 So.2d at 642 (an arguable basis is a reason “sufficiently supported by
credible evidence as to lead a reasonable insurer to deny the claim”), as well
as Mississippi law’s requirement that, “once coverage is established, a court
should evaluate whether there was an arguable basis for denial of coverage based
solely on the reasons for denial of coverage given to the insured by the
insurance company,” Sobley I, 210 F.3d at 564.
42
Cf. Gulf Guar. Life Ins. Co. v. Kelley, 389 So.2d 920, 923 (Miss. 1980)
(en banc) (“Defendant had the right to interpose its defense, and although we
have decided defendant was liable on its policy, we conclude there was an
arguable reason for failing to pay the claim; therefore, the question of punitive
damages should not have been submitted to the jury. The trial court should have
granted a peremptory instruction for the defendant on the question of punitive
damages.”).
43
Sobley I, 210 F.3d at 565.
30
denying or failing to directly answer the Sobleys’ first request
for admissions in discovery, are not evidence of gross and reckless
disregard for the Sobleys’ rights sufficient to create a jury issue
as to bad faith denial of insurance coverage. Again, State Farm
does not dispute on appeal the trial court’s conclusion that the
Sobleys presented substantial evidence as to whether there was
coverage under the policy for the Sobleys’ claim, whether State
Farm raised the water exclusion in 1995 such that it could be an
arguable basis for State Farm’s denial of the Sobleys’ claim, and
whether the electrolysis exclusion—and possibly the water
exclusion—constituted an arguable basis for denial. That these
litigation positions and tactics were ultimately unsuccessful does
not, however, alter the fact that such conduct does not constitute
the kind of malice, willfully wrongful conduct, gross negligence,
or reckless disregard for the insured’s rights for which punitive
damages are properly imposed under Mississippi law.44
As to State Farm’s allegedly inadequate investigation, the
Supreme Court of Mississippi has made clear that, “although it is
well settled under Mississippi law that an insurance company has a
duty to investigate promptly and adequately an insured’s claim, a
44
The trial court in its jury charge defined “gross negligence” as “a
course of conduct, which under the particular circumstances in any given case,
equals what amounts to a reckless indifference to the consequences of that course
of conduct without any exertion of any substantial effort to avoid the
consequences,” and “reckless disregard” as an act “done intentionally by a person
knowing or having reason to know of facts that would lead a reasonable man to
realize not only that the conduct creates an unreasonable risk of harm to someone
else, but also that such risk is substantially greater than that which is
necessary to make his conduct simply unreasonable.”
31
plaintiff’s burden in proving a claim for bad faith refusal goes
beyond merely demonstrating that the investigation was negligent.”45
Citing our holding in Merchants National Bank v. Southeastern Fire
Insurance Co.,46 the Supreme Court of Mississippi has held that “the
level of negligence in conducting the investigation must be such
that a proper investigation by the insurer ‘would easily adduce
evidence showing its defenses to be without merit.’”47 A review of
our decision upon which this holding relies reveals that evidence
showing an insurer’s defense to be without merit requires that
further investigation would undercover evidence “that would have
undermined at least the arguable merit” of the insurer’s defenses.48
Here, the Sobleys consistently argued that the water exclusion
was not raised by State Farm in April 1995 and so could not have
constituted an “arguable basis” for denying the Sobleys’ claim.
Considering the evidence presented at trial in the light most
favorable to the Sobleys, the jury apparently so found in favor of
the Sobleys on the issue of arguable basis. Accordingly, there was
no finding requested by the Sobleys nor made by the jury that the
water exclusion would not, had it been raised by State Farm in
April 1995, constitute at least an arguable basis for denying the
45
Murphee, 707 So.2d at 531 (citation omitted).
46
751 F.2d 771, 777 (5th Cir. 1985).
47
Murphee, 707 So.2d at 531 (quoting Szumigala v. Nationwide Mut. Ins.
Co., 853 F.2d 274, 280 (5th Cir. 1988)).
48
Szumigala, 853 F.2d at 281.
32
Sobleys’ claim, although the jury found that the water exclusion
did not actually bar coverage for the claim. An arguable basis is
a reason “sufficiently supported by credible evidence as to lead a
reasonable insurer to deny the claim,”49 and we understand “arguable
merit” in the same light.
The evidence at trial showed that, although other witnesses,
including Morgan, testified that there was no “deterioration” in
the Sobleys’ carpet, McEuen’s inspection in early January 1999 led
him to the conclusion that there was “deterioration” in the
Sobleys’ carpet. Accordingly, in the face of the evidence of the
observations and conclusions McEuen drew from his January 1999
inspection and State Farm’s interpretation of “deterioration,” the
Sobleys failed to present evidence that any further investigation
by State Farm after suit was filed in June 1997 would have easily
adduced evidence showing its defenses to coverage under the water
exclusion, or, for that matter, the earth movement exclusion, to be
without even arguable merit.
Based on our review of the entire record, we conclude that the
Sobleys failed to present substantial evidence that State Farm
acted with gross and reckless disregard for the Sobleys’ rights.
Accordingly, the trial court erred in denying State Farm’s motion
for judgment as a matter of law and submitting the bad faith issue
to the jury. We therefore reverse the trial court’s judgment on
49
Grimes, 722 So.2d at 642.
33
the jury’s punitive damage award and render judgment in favor of
State Farm.
IV.
State Farm further asserts that, because the Sobleys had no
entitlement to the punitive damages, they have no entitlement to an
award of their attorneys’ fees and expenses from State Farm. The
Sobleys argue that the jury’s unchallenged finding of a lack of
arguable basis entitles them to extra-contractual damages in the
form of attorneys’ fees pursuant to the decision of the Supreme
Court of Mississippi in Universal Life Insurance Co. v. Veasley.50
At the time of the first trial, the Sobleys had agreed,
pursuant to their settlement agreement with SONAT, that they would
not attempt to recover any actual or contractual damages from State
Farm under their homeowner’s policy, and the trial court, pursuant
to this agreement, did not enter judgment on the amount of
contractual damages which the jury found. A panel of this court
has previously held that “Mississippi law does not allow the
recovery of attorney’s fees where the insured recovers neither
actual nor punitive damages.”51 The Sobleys have pointed us to no
intervening authority under Mississippi law following this post-
Veasley holding, and we have not located any, which would negate
50
610 So.2d 290 (Miss. 1992).
51
Greer v. Burkhardt, 58 F.3d 1070, 1075 (5th Cir. 1995).
34
the binding effect of this holding of a prior panel of this court.52
Therefore, in the absence of an award of actual damages
against State Farm, and having reversed the award to the Sobleys of
punitive damages, there is no basis for the award of the Sobleys’
attorneys’ fees and expenses from State Farm. Accordingly, we
reverse the trial court’s order awarding the Sobleys their
attorneys’ fees and expenses.
V.
For the foregoing reasons, we REVERSE the trial court’s
judgment awarding the Sobleys punitive damages and order awarding
the Sobleys their attorneys’ fees and expenses and RENDER judgment
in favor of State Farm.
52
See Ford v. Cimarron Ins. Co., Inc., 230 F.3d 828, 832 (5th Cir. 2000)
(stating the rule that “a prior panel’s interpretation of state law has binding
precedential effect on other panels of this court absent a subsequent state court
decision or amendment rendering our prior decision clearly wrong”).
35