United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

____________ FILED August 1, 2023 No. 22-30041 Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk

Great Lakes Insurance, S.E.,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Gray Group Investments, L.L.C.,

Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:20-CV-2795 ______________________________

Before Wiener, Higginson, and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Cory T. Wilson, Circuit Judge: Hello, Dolly Well, hello, Dolly It’s so nice to have you back where you belong . . . .1 Great Lakes Insurance, S.E. insured the Hello Dolly VI, a boat owned by Gray Group Investments, L.L.C. The Hello Dolly sank in Pensacola,

_____________________ 1 From the Musical Production “Hello Dolly!” Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, copyright 1963. Case: 22-30041 Document: 00516842419 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/01/2023

No. 22-30041

Florida, during a hurricane. Gray Group filed a claim under the insurance policy, Great Lakes denied coverage, and Great Lakes then sought a declaratory judgment that it properly did so. Ironically, the question largely turned on whether, contra her musical namesake, the Hello Dolly was “back where [she] belong[ed],” for purposes of coverage. The district court agreed with Great Lakes that she was not. We affirm. I. A. Hurricane Sally struck the Gulf Coast in September 2020. In its path lay the Hello Dolly VI (hereafter, the Vessel), which was moored behind Gray Group’s eponymous member Michael Gray’s house in Pensacola. The Vessel sustained damage during the storm and sank at its mooring. The Vessel was insured under an insurance policy issued by Great Lakes. Great Lakes also insured several other watercraft within Gray Group’s fleet under similar policies. Though the operative policy provided coverage for “named windstorms,” Great Lakes denied coverage, asserting that Gray Group had breached several warranties. Specifically, Great Lakes faulted Gray Group for breaching the “hurricane protection plan” (the HPP) that Gray Group had submitted in response to Great Lakes’s “hurricane questionnaire” (the HQ). The HQ requested the Vessel’s location during hurricane season and asked a series of questions regarding Gray Group’s contingency plans in the event of a hurricane. In the HPP, Gray Group stated that the Vessel would be located at the Orleans Marina in New Orleans, Louisiana, and detailed the protective measures Gray Group would take when a hurricane approached. The parties contest whether the HPP was incorporated by reference into the insurance policy, and, if so, whether Gray Group breached the HPP.

2 Case: 22-30041 Document: 00516842419 Page: 3 Date Filed: 08/01/2023

No. 22-30041

Before laying anchor there, we briefly chart the policy’s incorporation clauses and the underlying documents at issue.