Citizens Insurance Company of America, et al. v. Banyan Tree Management, LLC, et al.

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-13581
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
CITIZENS INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA,
MASSACHUSETTS BAY INSURANCE COMPANY,
Plaintiffs-Counter Defendants-Cross Defendants-
Appellees-Appellants,
WESTFIELD INSURANCE COMPANY,
Intervenor Plaintiff-Appellee-Appellant,
versus
BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT, LLC,
ALBANY DOWNTOWN HOTEL PARTNERS, LLC,
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2 Opinion of the Court 22-13581
Defendants-Counter Claimants-Third-Party Plaintiffs-
Counter Defendants-Appellees,
JANE DOE,
Defendant-Cross Defendant-Appellee,
STARR INDEMNITY & LIABILITY COMPANY,
Third-Party Defendant-Cross Claimant-Counter Claimant
Cross Claimant-Appellant-Appellee.
____________________
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
D.C. Docket No. 1:19-cv-05292-MHC
____________________
Before W ILSON, ROSENBAUM , and JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Four companies (collectively, the appellants) appeal the dis-
trict court’s order finding they are required to provide insurance
coverage for an incident at Hampton Inn-Albany, a hotel owned by
Albany Downtown Hotel Partners, LCC (Albany), and managed
by Banyan Tree Management, LCC (Banyan). Appellants, the four
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22-13581 Opinion of the Court 3
insurance companies—Citizens Insurance Company of America
and Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company (collectively, Hano-
ver), Westfield Insurance Company (Westfield), and Starr Indem-
nity & Liability Company (Starr)—issued commercial general lia-
bility insurance to Banyan and Albany.
In 2015, an employee of Hampton Inn-Albany secretly rec-
orded a hotel guest while she was showering in the hotel bath-
room. Years later, the video was circulated, and the guest sued Ban-
yan and Albany for negligence, premises liability, and vicarious lia-
bility, alleging she suffered emotional and subsequent physical in-
jury (Underlying Complaint). Banyan and Albany subsequently
sought coverage from their insurance providers, who disputed
their duty to cover this injury, primarily arguing that the Underly-
ing Complaint did not include allegations of “personal and adver-
tising injury” arising out of Albany’s “legitimate business,” and that
their policy exclusions precluded coverage.
Georgia law requires a liberal construction of coverage and
strict construction of exclusion. Great Am. All Ins. Co v. Anderson,
847 F.3d 1327, 1332 (11th Cir. 2017). The district court therefore
rejected Hanover’s, Westfield’s, and Starr’s motions for summary
judgment.1
After careful review of the briefs and record, we agree with
the district court on all counts. Georgia law makes clear that
1 But the district court found Starr was entitled to summary judgment on
Count II of its counterclaim and crossclaim. This claim is not on appeal.
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4 Opinion of the Court 22-13581
ambiguities are to be resolved in favor of the insured. Hoover v.
Maxum Indem. Co., 730 S.E.2d 413, 417 (Ga. 2012); see also World
Harvest Church v. Guideone Mut. Ins. Co., 695 S.E.2d 6, 10 (Ga. 2010)
(noting that “if [the policy exclusions] [are] ambiguous, the pur-
ported reservation of rights must be construed strictly against the
insurer and liberally in favor of the insured”).
The appellants failed to even make a showing of ambiguity,
let alone definitively establish that the Underlying Complaint falls
outside their policies or that an exclusion precludes coverage. No-
tably, we find unpersuasive their arguments that the hotel guest’s
right to privacy was not violated, and that the recording did not
arise out of Banyan and Albany’s business. While filming a show-
ering guest is clearly not a “legitimate” hotel practice, when a hotel
employee—who would not have had access to the room but for his
authority—places the camera in the bathroom and circulates the
video, the injury undoubtably imputes to the hotel. Moreover, the
only policy exclusion argument we find compelling again aligns
with the district court’s findings: coverage under Coverage A of
Starr’s policy is excluded, as the Underlying Complaint does not
include allegations of “bodily injury” required to trigger coverage.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s well-reasoned de-
cision.
AFFIRMED.
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