Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. v. Project Tri-Force LLC

OPINION & ORDER This action arises out of an insurance contract between Plaintiff Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Defendant Project Tri-Force. Before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for a default judgment. For the reasons given below, the Court grants this motion in full.I. BackgroundPlaintiff is an insurance company organized under Massachusetts law and with a principal place of business in Boston, Massachusetts. Compl. 4. Defendant is a corporation organized under the laws of Delaware with a principal place of business in New York, New York. Compl. 5. The parties entered into a marine insurance policy (the “Policy”). Compl. 8. Under the Policy, Plaintiff would be subrogated to the rights of Defendant in the event of a payment for any loss, damage, or expense. Compl. 9. The Policy included an Impairment of Recovery provision, under which Defendant “shall not waive, transfer, or take any action tending to defeat or decrease any claim against the carrier or other person or persons, whether before or after the insurance is effected under this policy.” Compl. 10. The Policy ran from October 20, 2016 to October 20, 2017. Compl. 8.On or around March 30, 2017, Defendant submitted claims under the Policy for damages to a shipment of figurines from China, which had been delivered on or around January 23, 2017. Compl. 12. After investigating Defendant’s claims related to the shipment, it was determined that the damage was caused by wet and/or improper packaging by Genimex Jersey Ltd. (“Genimex”), which had packaged the shipments. Compl. 13. In or around July 2017, Plaintiff paid Defendant $128,791.92 for its claim arising from the damage. Compl. 14. On or around July 5, 2017, Defendant signed subrogation receipts that, inter alia, assigned and transferred all claims arising from the shipments to Plaintiff and warranted that no settlement regarding the claims had been made and no release had been given. Wamser Affidavit, Dkt. No. 20,

29, Ex. 7. Yet when Plaintiff sought to pursue its subrogation claim against Genimex regarding the shipments, Genimex advised Plaintiff that on April 14, 2017, it had entered into a settlement agreement with Defendant. Compl.