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Aetna Insurance Co. v. Aaron12/4/1996
problems. Consequently, the Council of Unit Owners of The Warrington (the "Council") repaired appellee's Glass Enclosure in order to prevent further leaks into St. Clair's unit and the common areas. Thereafter, the Council filed suit against Aaron to recover the sum of $97,370.73, which represented the amount it expended to repair the Glass Enclosure. The suit alleged that Aaron was contractually obligated to repair any part of his unit that caused damage to the property of others. Based on a theory of quantum meruit, the Council also contended that Aaron was responsible for the cost of the repairs.
Aaron submitted the Council's claim to Aetna, which declined coverage. In view of Aetna's position, Aaron filed a declaratory judgment action against Aetna, seeking a determination of his rights under the Policy.
After some discovery was conducted, Aaron moved for summary judgment in the declaratory judgment action. In his motion, he contended that the undisputed facts established that Aetna had an obligation to defend and indemnify him under the terms of the Policy and was thus also liable for his attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses in connection with the declaratory judgment action. He relied on the Policy language, which provides protection for "a suit for damages" (i.e., the Council's suit), instituted "because of . . . property damage . . . ." (i.e., the damage to Unit 1200 and the common areas). To support his assertion, he submitted a report dated September 30, 1993 from an engineering firm retained by the Council, which concluded that water was leaking internally from the Glass Enclosure and "finding its way" to St. Clair's unit and the common elements of the building.
Aaron further argued that the Council's claim was not within the Policy's exclusion for property that he owned (hereinafter, the "owned property exclusion"), because the repairs to the Glass Enclosure were necessary to prevent imminent damage to third-party property. Aaron asserted that the repairs were undertaken to alleviate a condition with respect to his property that did not present any problem to him, but was damaging St. Clair's unit and the common areas. Alternatively, he argued that, if the factfinder in the Warrington suit determined that he did not even own the Glass Enclosure, then the owned property exclusion would not apply. In its opposition, Aetna asserted that material facts were in dispute, making summary judgment inappropriate. Further, it contended that the Council's claim was barred by the Policy's owned property exclusion, and that the claim was not "for" property damage, as defined in the Policy.
On August 9, 1995, the court issued an order granting summary judgment in favor of Aaron. The order stated, in part:
It is hereby determined that Aetna is liable to satisfy any judgment entered against Aaron in connection with the [Warrington suit] to the extent that the judgment is for (1) damages suffered by any third-party; (2) damages for the cost of investigating the source of the water leak into the condominium unit located below Aaron's condominium unit; or (3) damages for the cost of making repairs or doing other work to stop the water leak or to prevent further damage to either the common elements of the condominium or the condominium unit located below Aaron's unit; . . . .
It is hereby determined that Aetna shall not be liable to satisfy any judgment entered against Aaron in connection with the [Warrington suit] to the extent that the judgment is solely for property damage to property owned by Aaron, provided, however, that Aetna shall be liable for repairs to Aaron's property that were made to stop the water leak or to prevent further damage to
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