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Payless Shoesource, Inc. v. Travelers Companies, Inc.

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Before O’BRIEN, SEYMOUR, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.

This is a dispute over the meaning of a misplaced modifier. Travelers doesn’t disagree that a critical modifying clause in the insurance policy it issued may be misplaced as a matter of good grammar. It argues, though, that the meaning of the document remains clear and clearly excludes coverage for Payless’s claim. Payless replies that the (mis)placement of the modifying clause precludes Travelers’ interpretation, or at least renders the insurance policy’s meaning ambiguous. At summary judgment, the district court rejected Payless’s arguments and entered judgment for Travelers. Payless now seeks to have that ruling undone. But while misplaced modifiers are syntactical sins righteously condemned by English teachers everywhere, our job is not to critique the parties’ grammar, but only, if possible, to adduce and enforce their contract’s meaning. Here, a punctuation peccadillo notwithstanding, the meaning of the parties’ contract is unambiguous. By operation of the plain terms of the agreement, Payless has no claim for coverage against Travelers, and so we affirm.

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