Mist Pharmaceuticals, LLC v. Berkley Insurance Company

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-1286-22

MIST PHARMACEUTICALS, APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION

LLC, July 9, 2024

APPELLATE DIVISION

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

BERKLEY INSURANCE

COMPANY,

Defendant-Appellant.

___________________________

Argued January 30, 2024 – Decided July 9, 2024

Before Judges Rose, Smith and Perez Friscia.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey,

Law Division, Union County, Docket No. L-3329-17.

Adam M. Smith argued the cause for appellant

(Coughlin, Midlige & Garland, LLP, attorneys; Adam

M. Smith and Michael Edward Hrinewski, of counsel

and on the briefs; Tanya M. Mascarich, on the briefs).

Lynda Anne Bennett argued the cause for respondent

(Lowenstein Sandler, LLP, attorneys; Lynda Anne

Bennett, Eric Jesse and Alexander B. Corson, on the

brief).

The opinion of the court was delivered by

SMITH, J.A.D.

In this appeal we consider, as a matter of first impression, the operation

of capacity exclusion language in a directors and officers commercial

insurance policy where the insured director/officer is alleged to have engaged

in wrongful corporate acts in a dual capacity: first, acting in an official

capacity as a director/officer of the insured business; and second, in an official

capacity as a director/officer of an uninsured business.

Defendant Berkley Insurance appeals from six trial court orders

including: a December 5, 2018 order granting Mist Pharmaceutical's motion

for partial summary judgment, declaring Berkley's ongoing duty to defend

Mist in the underlying action and a January 9, 2019 order denying Berkley's

motion for reconsideration; an April 22, 2019 order granting Mist's motion for

counsel fees; a July 7, 2021 order denying Berkley's motion for summary

judgment; an October 12, 2022 order granting partial summary judgment to

plaintiff Mist, finding Mist was covered under Berkley's D&O policy and

Berkley was responsible for indemnification; and the trial court's November

18, 2022 final judgment order, awarding Mist the remaining policy limit,

prejudgment interest, and counsel fees.

In its October 12 order, applying Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. v.

Security Insurance Co. of Hartford, 72 N.J 63 (1976), the trial court found

Berkley's refusal to provide Mist consent to settle multiple business lawsuits

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unreasonable. The trial court thus ordered coverage as a matter of law.

Because it used Fireman's Fund as the basis for its order compelling coverage,

the court did not consider the effect of the capacity exclusion on this record.

We distinguish Fireman's Fund, concluding the policy exclusion applies to

preclude coverage, and we reverse the trial court's orders for the reasons that

follow.

I.

Mist was named as a party to an action brought by CelestialRX

Investments, LLC in Delaware chancery court on November 20, 2015 (the

Delaware action). CelestialRX Invs., LLC v. Krivulka, et al., No. 11733-VCG,

2017 Del. Ch. LEXIS 22 (Del. Ch. Jan. 31, 2017).1 Other named parties

included Joseph Krivulka, Akrimax Pharmaceuticals, LLC (Akrimax) and

various other Krivulka Family Entities (KFEs). Celestial alleged in its twelve -

count complaint that Krivulka, one of three Akrimax directors, engaged in a

1

Although we generally do not cite an unpublished opinion, we do so here to

provide a full understanding of the issues presented and pursuant to the

exception in Rule 1:36-3, permitting citation "to the extent required by res

judicata, collateral estoppel, the single controversy doctrine or any other

similar principle of law." See Zahl v. Hiram Eastland, Jr., 465 N.J. Super. 79, 86

n.1 (App. Div. 2020). Here, the Delaware court's opinion provides a concise

factual and procedural history of the alleged scheme which serves as the

background for this litigation.

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scheme of self-dealing which defrauded Celestial. 2 The Delaware court

summarized the allegations this way:

Krivulka improperly inserted various entities that he

controlled or was invested in . . . as middlemen

between Akrimax and other drug companies from

whom Akrimax sought to receive drug rights. The

[m]iddlemen [e]ntities received a cut of the sales or

marketing performed by Akrimax. The favorability of

the terms under which the [m]iddlemen [e]ntities were

interposed between the company and third parties is

heavily disputed.

[CelestialRX, No. 11733-VCG at *2.]

Mist was identified as one of the "middlemen entities." At all relevant

times, Krivulka was the Chairman of Mist's board, and held greater than a

ninety percent interest in the company. Krivulka also controlled other

middlemen entities, including Mist Partners, LLC and Mist Acquisition, LLC.

These other businesses were not insured by Berkley.

Mist was a covered insured under a Directors and Officers Liability

insurance policy (D&O policy) through Berkley with a $2 million policy limit.

The policy term ran from April 8, 2014 to November 30, 2015. Under the

D&O policy, Mist was insured for loss arising from claims that were both

2

Celestial owned a forty-nine percent share of voting units for Akrimax and

Krivulka and Leonard Mazur each owned a twenty-five percent share.

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made and reported during the policy period, for any actual or alleged wrongful

act. The policy defined a wrongful act as follows:

1. [W]ith respect to Insured Persons[,] any actual or

alleged breach of duty, neglect, error, misstatement,

misleading statement, omission or act by the Insured

Persons in their respective capacities as such, or any

matter claimed against them by reason of their status

as Insured Persons, or any matter claimed against

them arising out of their serving as a director, officer,

trustee or governor of an Outside Entity in such

capacities, but only if such service is at the specific

request or direction of the Insured Entity, or

2. [W]ith respect to an Insured Entity[,] any actual or

alleged breach of duty, neglect, error, misstatement,

misleading statement, omission or act by the Insured

Entity.

The policy also contained certain exclusions, including a "capacity

exclusion," which stated:

[T]he Insurer shall not be liable to make any payment

for Loss in connection with a claim made against any

Insured:

....

G. based upon, arising out of, directly or indirectly

resulting from or in consequence of, or in any way

involving any Wrongful Act of an Insured Person

serving in their capacity as director, officer, trustee,

employee, member or governor of any other entity

other than an Insured Entity or an Outside Entity, or

by reason of their status as director, officer, trustee,

employee, member or governor of such other entity.

[(Emphasis added).]

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There are numerous pharmaceutical business transactions at issue in the

Delaware action, however, two transactions relevant to Mist are the 2011

"Primlev Agreement" and the 2012 "InnoPran Agreement." In each

transaction, Mist entered into a marketing rights agreement with a third party

to acquire distribution rights for the drugs Primlev and InnoPran. Pursuant to

the terms of the agreements Mist assigned the respective drugs' distribution

rights to Akrimax; in exchange, Akrimax bore all costs and expenses

associated with commercialization of each drug. Plaintiffs in the underlying

action alleged that the insertion of Mist as a "middleman" in these transactions

lacked a substantive business purpose and was done because Krivulka's

personal interest in Mist was greater than his interest in Akrimax. The record

shows that the favorability of the terms of the agreements were heavily

disputed by the parties.

In 2018, Krivulka passed away prompting Celestial to file suit in New

Jersey (the New Jersey action) seeking, among other things, a stay of the

distribution of Krivulka's estate. Celestial also filed suits in Connecticut and

Delaware to reform certain related business agreements and preserve

Celestial's rights in the reformation actions. Together, the Delaware action,

New Jersey action, and the reformation actions constitute the "underlying

actions."

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On March 9, 2016, Berkley sent Mist a reservation of rights letter under

the policy, reserving a denial of coverage on several grounds. The letter stated

in pertinent part:

[C]overage for Krivulka is limited to any actual or

alleged breach of duty, neglect, error, misstatement,

misleading statement, omission or act in his capacity

as the chairman of Mist Pharma. Coverage is

therefore not available for Krivulka for allegations

pertaining to his roles with Mist Acquisition, Mist

Partners, Akrimax, or any other entity. We further

reserve Berkley's rights under Exclusion G.

[(Emphasis added.)]

The letter continued:

[T]he allegations in the complaint pertain almost

exclusively to the transfer and/or acquisition of the

Tirosint license from Akrimax to Mist Acquisition.

Mist Acquisition is not a Policy Insured. The

allegations against Mist Pharma, and Krivulka in his

capacity as a director of Mist Pharma are minimal and

ancillary. Accordingly, Berkley has agreed to

pay/reimburse 10% of the legal fees incurred . . . [and]

moving forward."

The undisputed record shows that, as early as March 2016, Berkley notified

Mist the capacity exclusion may apply to either bar or limit coverage.

On July 6, 2017, Mist advised Berkley of an upcoming mediation with

Celestial and requested settlement authority as per the policy. In response,

Berkley wrote Mist again, highlighting potential bars to liability coverage, and

expressly reserving its rights under the capacity exclusion, Exclusion G.

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Berkley also advised Mist it was not obligated to continue its participation in

Mist's or Krivulka's defense, finding the underlying disputed claim arose prior

to the policy period, as early as 2013.

In response, Mist filed a declaratory judgment action seeking coverage

from Berkley under six theories: breach of contract; duty to defend; duty to

indemnify; bad faith; estoppel for failure to timely deny coverage; and

estoppel for failure to inform Mist of its right to reject defense. The trial court

ordered Mist to provide Berkley with the Delaware action-related discovery.

Mist turned over 12,000 documents. After the close of discovery, the trial

court granted partial summary judgment to Mist, finding "[t]he clear, and now

fully developed[] record along with Mist's reasonable expectations, confirm

that there was no [c]laim to report in 2013." The court found Berkley had a

duty to defend Mist.

Thereafter, while participating in settlement negotiations, Mist sought

consent to settle and indemnification from Berkley. When Berkley refused

both requests, Mist sought Berkley's waiver of the "consent to settle" provision

in the policy to resolve the underlying actions while preserving the coverage

issue. Mist also provided Berkley with a liability analysis which stated in

pertinent part:

[P]laintiffs' claims generally threaten joint-and-several

liability, so that even if the claims were alleged

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against only one of the Krivulka Defendants (instead

of multiple Krivulka Defendants as Plaintiffs have

pled), the legal fees and expenses necessary to defend

against the claim would generally be the same. There

therefore seems little benefit in attempting to estimate

allocations among different Krivulka Defendants

because of the imprecise nature of such an exercise

coupled with the overlapping defense costs and

overlapping liability exposure across claims and

defendants.

In subsequent correspondence, Mist summarized its potential exposure

in the underlying actions, detailing the theories of liability and explaining

"[o]ne advantage that [p]laintiffs possess is that they are able to argue two

different bases for liability against Mist Pharmaceuticals: both as independent

actor participating in the alleged acts and as alter egos of Joseph Krivulka

under a veil-piercing theory."

Berkley countered that Mist still had not provided it the information

needed to justify issuing consent to settle or justify contribution to settlement.

Berkley rejected Mist's liability analysis. In a letter dated February 18, 2020,

Berkley stated its position firmly:

Mist Pharmaceuticals must agree to provide additional

information to Berkley so that Berkley can perform its

own assessment of Mist Pharmaceuticals’ exposure

with regard to the underlying claim. If Mist

Pharmaceuticals is prepared to provide this

information or identify where the information can be

found in materials previously provided, we can move

forward with a mediation.

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Mist insisted that the approximately 12,000 pages of discovery, the related

correspondence between the two parties, and the ongoing settlement

negotiations were sufficient for Berkley to provide its informed consent to

settle.

On October 8, 2020, the Delaware court approved a $12 million global

settlement covering all pending underlying actions, allocating twenty-five

percent liability to Mist. On November 6, 2020, Mist moved in the Law

Division for partial summary judgment on its declaratory judgment action, and

Berkley cross-moved for summary judgment. The trial court denied both

motions.

Next, Mist deposed Berkley's corporate counsel, Carol Threlkeld, and in

May 2022, moved for reconsideration of the court's order denying its partial

summary judgment motion seeking indemnification. Berkley again cross-

moved, this time supplying Threlkeld's July 15, 2022 affidavit.

After argument, the trial court granted Mist's motion for reconsideration.

The court also struck Threlkeld's affidavit from the record. In a statement of

reasons accompanying the order, the court made findings.

First, the court found Threlkeld's affidavit contradicted her prior

deposition testimony. As Berkley was bound to Threlkeld's deposition

testimony, the court reasoned her affidavit could not support one of Berkley's

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main arguments on reconsideration—that it conducted a good-faith claim

investigation.

Next, the court found:

[I]n the absence of competent evidential facts to the

contrary, . . . Berkley's continued refusal to contribute

to the [g]lobal [s]ettlement was a breach of its duty to

indemnify Mist because, under the Policy, Berkley

promised to pay "all Loss [i.e., "settlements"] . . .

arising from any Claim . . . for any actual or alleged

Wrongful Act.

In addition, the court made findings which established the

reasonableness of the global settlement allocation to Mist, among them: the

Mist Insureds' potential liability under theories pursued by Celestial, exposing

the Mist Insureds to joint and several liability; Krivulka's dominion and

control over Mist; the amount of the royalty payments allegedly diverted from

Akrimax to KFEs; the impact of Akrimax not having access to the diverted

royalty payments; the complexity of litigating the underlying actions in

multiple jurisdictions; Celestial's claimed damages of more than $300 million;

Mist's estimated liability exposure of $30 million; defendants' failure to file an

answer in any of the actions after nearly five years of litigation in multiple

jurisdictions; and Mist's projection of substantial counsel fees required to

defend itself in the ongoing underlying actions.

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Considering the record and using these findings, the court found

Berkley's withholding consent to settle was unreasonable under Fireman's

Fund. Regarding the capacity exclusion, the court found it "need not reach the

[issue] because . . . a recalcitrant insurer that breaches its policy can no longer

look to contractual defenses to avoid coverage." In a subsequent order, the

trial court awarded counsel fees to Mist.

On appeal, Berkley argues the trial court erred when it: failed to apply

the capacity exclusion; struck Threlkeld's affidavit; and awarded Mist counsel

fees.

II.

In reviewing the grant or denial of summary judgment, the standard of

review is de novo. Templo Fuente De Vida Corp. v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co.

of Pittsburgh, 224 N.J. 189, 199 (2016). "We ask first if, viewing the evidence

in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, genuine issues of material

fact exist." New Gold Equities Corp. v. Jaffe Spindler Co., 453 N.J. Super.

358, 372 (App. Div. 2018) (citing Rowe v. Mazel Thirty, LLC, 209 N.J. 35, 41

(2012)). If not, this court is required to "decide whether the trial court

correctly interpreted the law." DepoLink Court Reporting & Litig. Support

Servs. v. Rochman, 430 N.J. Super. 325, 333 (App. Div. 2013) (quoting

Massachi v. AHL Servs., Inc., 396 N.J. Super. 486, 494 (App. Div. 2007)); see

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also Bhagat v. Bhagat, 217 N.J. 22, 38 (2014) ("[T]his [c]ourt must review the

competent evidential materials submitted by the parties to identify whether

there are genuine issues of material fact and, if not, whether the moving party

is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.").

III.

A.

The initial question is whether the trial court correctly applied Fireman's

Fund to preclude Berkley from excluding coverage based on the policy's

capacity exclusion language.

In Fireman's Fund, our Supreme Court held that where a policy has a

consent to settle provision, an insurer has a duty to not unreasonably withhold

consent to settle. 72 N.J. at 69-70. When an insurer breaches this duty, it is

liable for indemnification in the amount of the settlement. Ibid. The Court

stated:

[T]he considerations of good faith and fair dealing

require that the insurer make such an investigation

within a reasonable time. If the insurer delays

unreasonably in investigating and dealing with a claim

asserted against its insured, the insured may make a

good faith reasonable settlement and then recover the

settlement amount from the insurer, despite the policy

provision conditioning recovery against the insurer on

its policy on the prior entry of a judgment against the

insured or acquiescence by the insurer in the

settlement.

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[Id. at 73 (internal citations omitted) (emphasis

added).]

"While the right to control settlements reserved to insurers is an

important and significant provision of [a] policy contract, it is a right which an

insurer forfeits when it violates its own contractual obligation to the insured."

Id. at 71 (internal citations omitted). To this end, an insurer must uphold its

contractual duties before "seeking to rely on the powers reserved to it by the

language of the policy contract." Id. at 72.

The Court also noted that whether an insurer's breach is "that of its

express obligation to defend, of its implied obligation to make a timely

investigation of the claim or of its implied obligation to exercise, in good faith

and with concern for the interests of the insured, its reserved power with

respect to settlements," damages are essentially the same. Id. at 78. "[T]he

measure of the insured's damages is either the amount of the judgment entered

against the insured in the negligence action or the amount paid by the insured

in making a reasonable good faith settlement of the negligence action before

trial." Ibid. "Where the measure of recovery is the amount paid in settlement,

the defaulting insurer receives all the protection to which it is entitled from the

requirement that the insured, in establishing his damages, prove—as was done

here—that the settlement was made in good faith and for a reasonable

amount." Id. at 79.

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We note similarities to the facts in Fireman's Fund. Mist's allocation of

the global settlement went beyond its policy limit and was also significantly

below the potential liability exposure it was facing. Also, Berkley refused to

provide Mist consent to settle. However, unlike Fireman's Fund, Berkley

asserted withholding consent to settle was reasonable given the relevant

facts—that the global settlement represented the separate interests of multiple

entities not insured under the policy, and Berkley reserved its rights under the

capacity exclusion repeatedly from its earliest communications with Mist

regarding the claim. These are material distinctions that the trial court should

have considered, and the court's legal analysis would have been better

informed if it had first addressed the application of the policy's capacity

exclusion.

B.

Turning to the exclusion provision, we begin with well-settled

jurisprudence. "Insurance policies are reviewed using contract principles, and

the 'agreement "will be enforced as written when its terms are clear in order

that the expectations of the parties will be fulfilled."'" Norman Int'l, Inc. v.

Admiral Ins. Co., 251 N.J. 538, 552, reconsideration denied, 251 N.J. 579, 279

(2022) (quoting Mem'l Props., LLC v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 210 N.J. 512, 525

(2012)). As such, the terms of insurance contracts are to be given their plain

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and ordinary meaning. Ibid. "Where a policy contains no ambiguities, 'courts

should not write for the insured a better policy of insurance than the one

purchased.'" Birmingham v. Travelers N.J. Ins. Co., 475 N.J. Super. 246, 255

(App. Div. 2023) (quoting Zacarias v. Allstate Ins. Co., 168 N.J. 590, 596

(2001)). Consequently, an insurance policy will not be construed to indemnify

an indemnitee against losses resulting from its own independent fault, active

wrongdoing, or tortious conduct, unless such an intention is expressed in

unequivocal terms in the policy. New Gold Equities Corp., 453 N.J. Super. at

386-87.

Policy exclusion interpretation is "a question of law subject to de novo

review." Homesite Ins. Co. v. Hindman, 413 N.J. Super. 41, 46 (App. Div.

2010). "Exclusionary clauses are presumptively valid and are enforced if they

are 'specific, plain, clear, prominent, and not contrary to public policy.'"

Flomerfelt v. Cardiello, 202 N.J. 432, 441 (2010) (quoting Princeton Ins. Co.

v. Chunmuang, 151 N.J. 80, 95 (1997)). It is the insurer's burden "to bring the

case within the policy exclusion." Norman Int'l, 251 N.J. at 552 (quoting Burd

v. Sussex Mutual Ins. Co., 56 N.J. 383, 399 (1970)). If such an exclusion is

conditioned on a "causal link" we first look to the nature and extent of the link

as "evaluating that link will determine the meaning and application of the

exclusion." Ibid. (quoting Flomerfelt, 202 N.J. at 442-43). We have not

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analyzed a capacity exclusion paragraph in a commercial D&O policy on facts

like these before. However, there is guidance for exclusions with similar

qualifying language. In Am. Motorists Ins. Co. v. L-C-A Sales Co., 155 N.J.

29 (1998), the Supreme Court explained:

The critical phrase "arising out of," which

frequently appears in insurance policies, has been

interpreted expansively by New Jersey courts in

insurance coverage litigation. "The phrase 'arising out

of' has been defined broadly in other insurance

coverage decisions to mean conduct 'originating from,'

'growing out of' or having a 'substantial nexus' with

the activity for which coverage is provided."

[Id. at 35 (quoting Records v. Aetna Life & Cas. Ins.,

249 N.J. Super 463, 468 (App. Div. 1996)).]

This construction applies whether the phrase appears in a coverage grant

or an exclusion. See ibid. (holding "arising out of and in the course of

employment" language contained in policy's exclusion precluded coverage for

employee's wrongful discharge claim); see also Prudential Prop. & Cas. Ins.

Co. v. Brenner, 350 N.J. Super. 316, 322 (App. Div. 2002) (concluding

homeowner's murder fell under policy exclusion for injuries "'arising out of the

use, sale, manufacture, delivery transfer, or possession' of illegal drugs").

Recently, our Supreme Court applied a policy exclusion for liability

"arising out of, related to, caused by, contributed to by, or in any way

connected with . . . [a]ny operations or activities performed by or on behalf of

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any insured" in certain specifically identified counties. Norman Int'l, 251 N.J.

at 542. Deciding for the insurer, the Court held "a causal relationship between

[the insured's] conduct and [the] plaintiff's injuries was not required in order

for the exclusionary clause to apply; rather, any claim 'in any way connected

with' [the insured's] operations or activities in a county identified in the

exclusionary clause [was] not covered under the policy." Ibid.

The Eleventh Circuit, considering a Georgia insurance coverage dispute

involving similar capacity exclusion language, gives us further insight. In

Langdale Co. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Penn., 609 Fed.

Appx. 578 (11th Cir. 2015), the defendants, who were directors, officers, and

majority shareholders of a family-owned corporation with multiple business

holdings, were sued for breach of their fiduciary duty to certain minority

shareholders of the corporation. The defendants were also trustees of a family

trust in which the plaintiff/minority shareholders were beneficiaries. The

family trust owned nearly twenty-five percent of the holding company's stock.

Id. at 580. In their capacity as trustees, the defendants misrepresented the

value of the trust's shares to the plaintiffs to persuade them to sell the stock

back to the holding company at a substantial discount. Ibid. After being sued

in their capacity as directors and officers of the holding company, the

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defendants sought coverage under the company's D&O policy. The insurance

carrier disclaimed coverage.

The D&O policy exclusion in Langdale was Exclusion 4(g). It stated:

The Insurer shall not be liable to make any payment

for Loss in connection with any Claim made against

an Insured:

....

(g) alleging, arising out of, based upon or attributable

to any actual or alleged act or omission of an

Individual Insured serving in any other capacity, other

than as an Executive or Employee of a Company, or as

an Outside Entity Executive of an Outside Entity.

[Langdale, 609 Fed. Appx. at 586.]

The Eleventh Circuit concluded that the insureds' "wrongful acts as

[insured company] directors arose out of their wrongful acts as trustees of the

Trust." Id. at 594. Because the wrongful acts arose out of their conduct in a

capacity other than as executive of the insured company, the exclusion applied.

Id. at 596. We adopt Eleventh Circuit's sound interpretation of the Langdale

D&O policy's capacity exclusion.3 We apply its interpretation here, given the

3

In addition to Georgia, a similar approach to analyzing dual capacity claims

is taken by California, New York, and Pennsylvania. See also Abrams v.

Allied World Assurance Co. (U.S.) Inc., 657 F. Supp. 3d 1280, 1288 (N.D.

Cal. 2023) (holding under California law, capacity exclusion did not apply to

underlying fiduciary duty claims against insureds as they arose "solely from

the Insureds' actions in their capacities as . . . executives" of relevant

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similarity in language, operation, and effect between Langdale's and Berkley's

capacity exclusions.

Like Langdale, the loss alleged by Akrimax, the plaintiff in the

underlying actions against Mist and other non-insured entities, stemmed from

Krivulka's self-dealing. Krivulka was acting in his capacity as both a director

of Akrimax and majority shareholder of Mist. The undisputed record shows

Krivulka used his position as an Akrimax director to require that Akrimax

guarantee to Mist certain obligations—including over $28 million in royalties

and distribution rights as well as a termination provision—without

consideration. It is undisputed that Krivulka acted in a dual capacity. The

record, including the 12,000 pages of additional discovery, reveals nothing to

change this fact. The loss claimed by Mist against Berkley's D&O policy

__________________

company); L. Offs. of Zachary R. Greenhill, P.C. v. Liberty Ins. Underwriters,

Inc., 147 A.D.3d 418, 420 (2017) (applying New York law, holding

counterclaim allegations in underlying action clearly show capacity exclusion

applies to bar coverage as conduct arose out of plaintiff's dual capacities);

Niagara Fire Ins. Co. v. Pepicelli, 821 F.2d 216, 220-21 (3d Cir. 1987)

(applying Pennsylvania law, "outside business exclusion," with language

analogous to capacity exclusion, barred coverage where a lawsuit arose from

an attorney acting simultaneously as both an attorney and officer or director of

an uninsured business, but concluded that the exclusion did not apply to the

malpractice claim against the attorney as that claim did not result from the

attorney's outside business interests).

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arose from and could not have occurred but for Krivulka's conduct in his

capacity as a director of Akrimax.

The "but for" analysis we adopt here does not require us to unpack the

percentage of Krivulka's conduct attributable to his role as a director/officer at

Akrimax and compare it to the percentage of Krivulka's conduct attributable to

his role as a director/officer at Mist. The clear language in the policy and the

jurisprudence we apply to it foster a simpler approach. It follows that

Krivulka's actions constituted a sufficient basis to trigger the capacity

exclusion, and thus there is no coverage under the Berkley policy. It follows

that Berkley's refusal to consent to a settlement by Mist was not unreasonable.

We need not reach the Threlkeld affidavit issue.

We comment briefly on Berkely's duty to defend in relation to the trial

court's order awarding counsel fees to Mist. Our jurisprudence concerning an

insurer's duty to defend is well-settled. See Norman Int'l, 251 N.J. at 549–50.

The record shows there were disputed issues of material fact concerning

whether the capacity exclusion applied to bar coverage under the policy when

Mist moved for partial summary judgment on Berkley's duty to defend. The

thrust of Berkley's argument on the duty to defend motion was that the claim

arose prior to the policy period.

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In its December 5, 2018 order, granting Mist's motion, the court found,

"Mist did not receive a policy-defined '[c]laim' until the Delaware Action was

filed, that Mist timely complied with the notice provision of the Berkley

insurance policy at issue[,] and that Berkley ha[d] a duty to defend Mist in the

[underlying a]ction." However, the court limited its ruling, and noted that its

duty to defend conclusion expressly rested on the continuation of coverage.

We discern no reason to disturb the December 5 order as the record shows

Berkley did not raise the capacity exclusion argument until the exchange of

pleadings and argument leading to the trial court's July 7, 2021 order, after

addition discovery had taken place.

Consequently, we reverse the trial court's July 7 order denying Berkley

summary judgment, its October 12, 2022 order granting partial summary

judgment for Mist, and its November 18, 2022 order entering judgment against

Berkley for the remaining policy limit, pre-judgment interest, and counsel fees.

In turn, we dismiss Mist's declaratory judgment complaint, and remand for the

trial court to enter judgment in favor of Berkley and determine counsel fees

due and owing to Mist based on Berkley's duty to defend up to July 7, 2021.

Reversed and remanded. We do not retain jurisdiction.

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