Ventilla v. Pacific Indemnity Co.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER   Plaintiff Martha Ventilla brings a supplemental insurance claim against Pacific Indemnity Company (“Pacific Indemnity”), seeking to recover, pursuant to a homeowner’s insurance policy (the “Policy”), nearly $400,000 in damages that occurred when, on January 31, 2015, the bathtub in her Manhattan apartment overflowed and flooded her apartment with one to two inches of water.¹ Pacific Indemnity now moves, pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, for summary judgment. See ECF No. 28 (“Motion”); ECF No. 29 (“Def.’s Mem.”), at 24. Among other things, Pacific Indemnity avers that all of Ventilla’s claims are time barred by the Policy’s two-year limitations clause. Ventilla, in response, contends that principles of equitable estoppel preclude Pacific Indemnity’s contractual defense. For the reasons that follow, the Court agrees with Pacific Indemnity. Accordingly, Pacific Indemnity’s motion must be and is granted, and Ventilla’s complaint is dismissed. The following relevant facts, taken from the Complaint, ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”), and admissible materials submitted in connection with the pending motion, are either undisputed or construed in the light most favorable to Ventilla. See Excelled Sheepskin & Leather Coat Corp. v. Or. Brewing Co., 897 F.3d 413, 420 (2d Cir. 2018). In brief, on January 31, 2015, Ventilla was in her apartment bedroom when she noticed water creeping in from under her door. ECF No. 30-3 (“Pl.’s Dep.”), at 37-39. She followed the rising stream to the bathroom, where she discovered that her bathtub was inexplicably overflowing. Id. at 40-41. In a desperate attempt to stem the flood and protect her most-cherished items, Ventilla (in addition to contacting building staff, who arrived with a wet vacuum cleaner) mopped up the water with clothing and linens. See id. at 44-45, 53; ECF No. 30-11 (“Stadler Dep.”), at 38; ECF No. 28-1 (“Def.’s 56.1 Stmt.”),

17. But instead of laundering the clothing and linens for reuse or, at the very least, keeping the damaged possessions in storage in support of a later insurance claim, Ventilla bagged the soaked items and other ruined contents from her apartment and threw them away that same day. Def.’s 56.1 Stmt.