No. 21-2956 ___________________________

White Knight Diner, LLC; Larry Lee Hinds; Karen Freiner

Plaintiffs - Appellants

v.

Owners Insurance Company

Defendant - Appellee ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri – St. Louis ____________

Submitted: September 21, 2022 Filed: June 6, 2023 ____________ Before SMITH, Chief Judge, KELLY and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________ KELLY, Circuit Judge.

White Knight Diner, LLC, Larry Lee Hinds, and Karen Freiner (collectively, White Knight) appeal the decision of the district court 1 to grant summary judgment

1 The Honorable Matthew T. Schelp, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri. in favor of Owners Insurance Company (Owners). Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

I.

On March 15, 2015, Ambar Arango and Dzemal Omervic were involved in a car accident in St. Louis, Missouri. One of the cars crashed into White Knight Diner, resulting in property damage to the restaurant. At the time, White Knight was insured by Owners pursuant to a policy that provided coverage for property damage and loss of business income (the Policy). The Policy included the following subrogation2 clause:

If any person or organization to or from whom we make payment under this Coverage Part has rights to recover damages from another, those rights are transferred to us to the extent of our payment. That person or organization must do everything necessary to secure our rights and must do nothing after loss to impair them. But you may waive your right against another party in writing[.] The Policy was also subject to a $1,000 deductible.

Following the accident, White Knight submitted a claim to Owners pursuant to the Policy, and Owners paid White Knight $66,366.27. That amount represented $49,965.10 for property damage and $16,371.17 for loss of business income. The repairs for White Knight’s property damage were completed by October 2015.

White Knight subsequently brought suit in Missouri state court against Arango and Omervic for lost income (the Arango Litigation). Arango was insured by State Farm, and Omervic was insured by Progressive. Both drivers were subject

2 In the insurance context, subrogation is the “principle under which an insurer that has paid a loss under an insurance policy is entitled to all the rights and remedies belonging to the insured against a third party with respect to any loss covered by the policy.” Subrogation, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).

-2- to policy limits for liability coverage: Arango’s State Farm policy limit was $50,000, and Omervic’s Progressive policy limit was $25,000.

Before White Knight initiated the Arango Litigation, Owners sought to recoup from State Farm and Progressive the money it had paid to White Knight under the Policy, as well as White Knight’s $1,000 deductible. Specifically, on July 15, 2015, Owners 3 sent State Farm a “Request for Payment” with instructions to “CONTACT [OWNERS] PRIOR TO SETTLEMENT.” On December 8, 2015, State Farm issued a check to Owners in the amount of $33,668.14, which represented half of the money Owners had paid to White Knight plus half of White Knight’s $1,000 deductible. Owners then issued a $500 check to White Knight. State Farm did not require a full release of White Knight’s claims or future claims in exchange for its payment to Owners