Zurn Industries Inc v. Allstate Insurance Co ( 2023 )


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  •                                             PRECEDENTIAL
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
    ____________
    Nos. 21-3032 and 21-3119
    ____________
    ZURN INDUSTRIES, LLC,
    v.
    ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, individually and as
    successor in interest to
    Northbrook Excess and Surplus Insurance Company
    (formerly Northbrook Insurance Company); TRAVELERS
    CASUALTY & SURETY COMPANY,
    individually and as successor in interest to the Aetna Casualty
    and Surety Company formerly known as THE AETNA
    CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY;
    FIRST STATE INSURANCE COMPANY, a subsidiary of
    The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. doing business
    as Arrowhead Indemnity Company
    formerly known as Royal Indemnity; NEW ENGLAND
    INSURANCE COMPANY, a subsidiary of The Hartford
    Financial Services Group, Inc.; AMERICAN HOME
    ASSURANCE COMPANY; GRANITE STATE
    INSURANCE COMPANY
    NEW ENGLAND INSURANCE COMPANY,
    a subsidiary of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.;
    FIRST STATE INSURANCE COMPANY,
    a subsidiary of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.,
    Third Party Plaintiffs
    v.
    GRANITE STATE INSURANCE COMPANY;
    LEXINGTON INSURANCE COMPANY;
    AMERICAN HOME ASSURANCE COMPANY;
    LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY,
    Third Party Defendants
    American Home Assurance Company,
    Appellant in 21-3032
    Zurn Industries, LLC.
    Appellant in 21-3119
    ____________
    On Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Western District of Pennsylvania
    (D.C. No. 1-18-cv-00299)
    District Judge: Honorable Susan Paradise Baxter
    ____________
    Argued on June 15, 2023
    Before: PORTER, FREEMAN and FISHER, Circuit Judges.
    (Filed: July 28, 2023)
    Robert L. Byer ARGUED
    Thomas E. Sanchez
    Duane Morris
    2
    625 Liberty Avenue, Suite 1000
    Pittsburgh, PA 15222
    Gavin Fung
    Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
    175 Berkley Street
    Boston, MA 02117
    Ralph J. Luongo
    Kennedys CMK
    1600 Market Street
    Suite 1410
    Philadelphia, PA 19103
    Counsel for Appellant American Home Assurance Co.
    in No. 21-3032 and Appellee Granite State Insurance Co. in
    No. 21-3119
    Patrick J. Murphy ARGUED
    Quarles & Brady LLP
    411 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2400
    Milwaukee, WI 53202
    Counsel for Appellant Zurn Industries, LLC in No. 21-
    3032
    Robert R. Anderson, III ARGUED
    Christopher A. Johnson
    Margaret Truesdale ARGUED
    Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dyn
    70 W Madison Street, Suite 400
    Chicago, IL 60602
    3
    Timothy R. Smith
    Pion, Nerone, Girman, Winslow & Smith
    1500 One Gateway Center
    Pittsburgh, PA 15222
    Counsel for Appellee Allstate Insurance Co.
    Myles D. Morrison ARGUED
    James P. Ruggeri
    Ruggeri Parks & Weinberg
    1875 K Street NW, Suite 600
    Washington, DC 20006
    Michael A. Shiner
    Tucker Arensberg
    One PPG Place
    Suite 1500
    Pittsburgh, PA 15222
    Counsel for Appellee First State Insurance Co. and
    New England Insurance Co.
    ____________
    OPINION OF THE COURT
    ____________
    FISHER, Circuit Judge.
    Zurn Industries, LLC is a manufacturer of plumbing
    products and accessories. For over a decade, it has faced a
    litany of lawsuits in which claimants allege bodily injury or
    wrongful death caused by asbestos in its products. To cover
    litigation costs, Zurn used various insurance policies issued by
    various insurance companies. Eventually, Zurn was told by its
    primary and umbrella insurers that Zurn had exhausted the
    4
    limits of liability under those policies. So Zurn turned to its
    excess insurance policies for coverage. When Zurn’s excess
    policy insurers refused to pay, Zurn filed suit in federal court.
    Among other relief, Zurn sought a declaratory judgment that it
    had exhausted the limits of liability under its primary and
    umbrella policies and that Zurn’s excess policy insurers had a
    duty to defend and pay defense costs in the underlying asbestos
    suits. The excess policy insurers responded with counterclaims
    seeking declaratory judgments to the opposite effect. After
    discovery, the parties filed numerous partial summary
    judgment motions regarding pure questions of law and issues
    of contract interpretation. The District Court addressed some
    of the motions, interpreting the meaning of various primary,
    umbrella, and excess policies, and determining the scope of
    some duties insurers have under them. Dissatisfied with the
    District Court’s interpretation of the policy it issued to Zurn,
    one excess policy insurer—American Home Assurance
    Company—appealed several of the partial summary judgment
    orders. In response, Zurn cross-appealed to challenge different
    portions of the District Court’s orders interpreting the terms of
    other excess policies Zurn held. We conclude American Home
    does not challenge orders that are functionally equivalent to an
    injunction; thus, we lack the power to review its appeal. And
    because Zurn’s cross-appeal is jurisdictionally dependent on
    American Home’s, we also lack jurisdiction to review it.
    I.
    A. Factual History
    Zurn Industries, LLC is the defendant in numerous
    underlying suits in which claimants allege the company’s
    products exposed them to asbestos and caused bodily injury or
    wrongful death. To cover the costs of defending itself against
    these suits and paying any resulting judgments, Zurn invoked
    the defense and indemnity coverage of its insurance policies.
    5
    As relevant here, Zurn maintained several layered policies
    providing it coverage throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During
    that time, Zurn’s first layer of defense and indemnity coverage
    (its primary policies) came from Liberty Mutual Insurance
    Company (April 1974 to April 1980) and Travelers Casualty
    and Surety Company (April 1980 to April 1986). Its second
    layer of defense and indemnity coverage (its umbrella policies)
    came from Liberty Mutual (April 1974 to April 1978 and April
    1979 to April 1980), Northbrook Insurance Company (April
    1978 to April 1979)1, and Aetna Casualty and Surety Company
    (April 1980 to April 1986). Finally, Zurn maintained several
    excess policies which provided a third layer of defense and
    indemnity coverage that kicked in when underlying primary
    and umbrella policies were exhausted. Relevant to these
    appeals, the following companies provided excess policies to
    Zurn: American Home Assurance Company (December 1974
    to December 1977), Granite State Insurance Company
    (December 1977 to April 1979), Northbrook (April 1979 to
    April 1983), Royal Indemnity Company (April 1983 to April
    1984), New England Insurance Company (April 1984 to April
    1985), and Lexington Insurance Company (April 1985 to April
    1986).
    For many years, Zurn tendered the asbestos suits to its
    insurers and obtained coverage under its primary and umbrella
    policies. When Zurn’s primary and umbrella insurers notified
    Zurn that certain policies’ liability limits had been reached,
    Zurn turned to its excess policy insurers for coverage. The
    excess policy insurers refused.
    1
    Zurn and Allstate characterize this Northbrook policy
    as an umbrella policy, while the District Court simply stated it
    was excess to the primary policy. We make no holdings as to
    the type or scope of coverage provided under the policy.
    6
    B. Procedural History
    In response, Zurn filed suit against its insurers:
    Travelers2, Allstate Insurance Company3, American Home,
    Granite State, First State Insurance Company4, and New
    England. Zurn sought a declaratory judgment that its primary
    and umbrella policies had been exhausted and that each of its
    excess policy insurers had a duty to defend Zurn and pay
    defense costs in addition to the excess policies’ limits of
    liability. Zurn also alleged breach of contract and bad faith
    against Allstate. The insurers responded with their own
    counterclaims, seeking declaratory judgments about the fact
    and scope of their obligation to defend and indemnify Zurn as
    well as the allocation of defense and indemnity costs if
    coverage were triggered.
    After discovery, the District Court permitted any party
    to submit “dispositive motion[s] whose resolution depends
    solely on matters of contractual interpretation and/or pure
    questions of law.” Dist. Ct. Dkt. No. 171. Summary judgment
    motions poured in. Zurn moved for partial summary judgment
    on its claims for declaratory relief regarding insurers’ duty to
    defend and pay defense costs in addition to liability limits
    under each excess policy. American Home moved for partial
    summary judgment, arguing that it did not have a duty to
    defend or pay defense costs. Several other excess policy
    insurers moved for summary judgment, asking the Court to
    declare the limits of liability under American Home’s policy,
    2
    Travelers is the successor in interest to the Aetna
    policies.
    3
    Allstate is the successor in interest to the Northbrook
    policies.
    4
    First State is the successor in interest to the Royal
    policy.
    7
    as did American Home. And other primary and excess policy
    insurers also moved for partial summary judgment on similar
    issues including: the limits and exhaustion of policies; whether
    defense costs must be paid in addition to liability limits under
    certain excess policies; and how defense costs ought to be
    allocated among insurers. Finally, Liberty Mutual moved for
    partial summary judgment that its primary and umbrella
    policies were fully exhausted.
    In October 2021, the District Court resolved many of
    the legal issues raised by the parties. Relevant here, the Court
    denied American Home’s partial summary judgment motion
    for a declaration that it owed Zurn no duty to defend or pay
    defense costs in the underlying asbestos suits. Simultaneously,
    the Court granted in part and denied in part Zurn’s partial
    summary judgment motion. Specifically, the Court granted
    summary judgment “with respect to Count VI . . . insofar as
    Zurn seeks a declaration that American Home Assurance
    Company must pay defense costs in addition to policy limits
    under [the relevant] American Home policy.” App. 52. The
    Court also granted partial summary judgment and entered
    declaratory relief “with respect to Count VII . . . insofar as
    Zurn seeks a declaration that Granite State Insurance Company
    is required to pay defense costs in addition to policy limits”
    under its policy covering December 1977 to April 1978. App.
    52. However, the Court denied declaratory relief to the same
    effect for Granite State’s excess policy covering April 1978 to
    April 1979 and Northbrook’s umbrella and excess policies
    covering April 1978 to April 1983. The Court entered
    corresponding orders on First State’s and New England’s joint
    motion, which sought partial summary judgment for
    8
    declaratory relief largely identical to the declarations Zurn had
    requested.5
    After the District Court issued its opinion and orders,
    American Home appealed. It challenges three orders: the order
    denying American Home’s motion for partial summary
    judgment on defense and defense costs; and two orders
    granting partial summary judgment, one in favor of Zurn and
    the other in favor of First State and New England, regarding
    the scope of defense costs under American Home’s excess
    policy. We will call the former order the declaration-denying
    order and the latter two orders the declaration-granting orders
    for short. Zurn cross-appealed, challenging the District Court’s
    orders regarding the scope of costs under Northbrook’s and
    Granite State’s excess policies.6
    II.7
    As a threshold matter, we must address the parties’
    dispute about our jurisdiction to review the District Court’s
    partial summary judgment orders. We always have jurisdiction
    to determine our own jurisdiction. United States v. Kwasnik,
    
    55 F.4th 212
    , 215 & n.1 (3d Cir. 2022). And we exercise
    plenary review over the issue. Ramara, Inc. v. Westfield Ins.
    Co., 
    814 F.3d 660
    , 665 (3d Cir. 2016). American Home argues
    5
    Several summary judgment motions remain
    outstanding, such as whether Liberty Mutual’s and Travelers’
    primary and umbrella policies have been exhausted, and
    whether limits on certain excess policies, including American
    Home’s, apply annually or aggregately.
    6
    Thus, Zurn’s cross-appeal impacts the rights and
    obligations of insurers other than American Home.
    7
    The District Court exercised jurisdiction over the
    cases pursuant to 
    28 U.S.C. § 1332
    . Our jurisdiction is at
    issue on appeal.
    9
    we have appellate jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1292
    (a)(1)
    because the District Court’s orders are the functional
    equivalent of an injunction. Zurn disagrees, arguing that the
    District Court neither practically nor literally granted
    injunctive relief because the orders merely resolved American
    Home’s policy obligations in general. We agree with Zurn and
    conclude we do not have jurisdiction.
    A.
    “The Judiciary Act of 1789, 
    1 Stat. 73
    , ‘established the
    general principle that only final decisions of the federal district
    courts would be reviewable on appeal.’” Abbott v. Perez, 
    138 S. Ct. 2305
    , 2319 (2018) (quoting Carson v. Am. Brands, Inc.,
    
    450 U.S. 79
    , 83 (1981)). Thus, 
    28 U.S.C. § 1291
    , which grants
    us jurisdiction over final orders from district courts, is our
    primary source of appellate jurisdiction. Over time, however,
    several limited exceptions developed to the final-decision rule.
    See 
    28 U.S.C. § 1292
    ; Will v. Hallock, 
    546 U.S. 345
    , 349
    (2006) (discussing collateral order doctrine). One exception
    grants appellate courts jurisdiction over “[i]nterlocutory orders
    of the district courts of the United States . . . granting,
    continuing, modifying, refusing or dissolving injunctions, or
    refusing to dissolve or modify injunctions.” 
    28 U.S.C. § 1292
    (a)(1). Our Court has recognized that this exception
    extends to orders that expressly grant or deny injunctions as
    well as those that “have the practical effect” of doing so. Def.
    Distributed v. Att’y Gen. of N.J., 
    972 F.3d 193
    , 198 (3d Cir.
    2020) (quoting Rolo v. Gen. Dev. Corp., 
    949 F.2d 695
    , 702 (3d
    Cir. 1991)). Even so, to ensure the exception does not “swallow
    the final-judgment rule,” we construe § 1292(a)(1) “narrowly.”
    In re Pressman-Gutman Co., 
    459 F.3d 383
    , 392 (3d Cir. 2006)
    (quoting Hershey Foods Corp. v. Hershey Creamery Co., 
    945 F.2d 1272
    , 1276 (3d Cir. 1991)).
    10
    To determine whether an order is injunctive, “we must
    look past labels to consider functional effects.” Hope v.
    Warden York Cnty. Prison, 
    956 F.3d 156
    , 161 (3d Cir. 2020);
    see also Cohen v. Bd. of Trs. of Univ. of Med. & Dentistry of
    N.J., 
    867 F.2d 1455
    , 1466 (3d Cir. 1989) (en banc) (“label put
    on an order by the district court” not dispositive). Under a
    functionalist approach, an order is an injunction if it is
    “directed to a party, enforceable by contempt, and designed to
    accord or protect ‘some or all of the substantive relief sought
    by a complaint’ in more than a [temporary] fashion.” Cohen,
    867 F.2d at 1465 n.9 (quoting Wright, Miller, Cooper &
    Gressman, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 3922, at 29
    (1977)).
    The parties identify two cases that fall on opposite sides
    of the dividing line under Cohen’s functionalist approach:
    American Motorists Insurance Co. v. Levolor Lorentzen, Inc.,
    
    879 F.2d 1165
     (3d Cir. 1989), and Ramara, Inc. v. Westfield
    Insurance Co., 
    814 F.3d 660
     (3d Cir. 2016). In the former case,
    we concluded jurisdiction was lacking under § 1292(a)(1); in
    the latter, we held that we had jurisdiction under the statute. To
    determine which side of the line this case falls, we discuss
    American Motorists and Ramara in detail.
    We begin with American Motorists. There, an insured
    party, Levolor, sought coverage for certain claims asserted
    against it by the United States Environmental Protection
    Agency. Am. Motorists, 
    879 F.2d at 1167
    . Levolor’s insurer,
    American Motorists, declined coverage. 
    Id.
     American
    Motorists then filed suit in federal court, seeking a declaratory
    judgment that it had no duty to defend or indemnify Levolor.
    
    Id. at 1166
    . Levolor counterclaimed for a declaration that
    American Motorists did have a duty to defend and indemnify
    and sought damages for breach of contract. 
    Id.
     Both parties
    moved for partial summary judgment. 
    Id.
     The district court
    11
    held that American Motorists had a duty to defend Levolor,
    subject to outstanding disputes of material fact about an
    exception to the policy’s coverage known as the pollution
    exclusion. 
    Id.
     at 1167–68. American Motorists appealed the
    judgment, though it was not certified as final under Federal
    Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) until over a month later. 
    Id. at 1168
    .
    We declined to exercise jurisdiction over the appeal due
    to the “nonfinal character of the determination of the duty to
    defend.” 
    Id. at 1169
    , 1172–73. Admittedly, the bulk of our
    analysis in American Motorists dealt with the lack of finality
    under Rule 54(b). We reasoned that while the district court’s
    order placed “the initial burden to defend” on American
    Motorists, the order was not final because it “was subject to
    termination when the court made a final determination on the
    applicability of the pollution exclusion.” 
    Id. at 1170
     (“[I]f
    [American Motorists] is successful in advancing the pollution
    exclusion,” the duty to defend order will be “effectively altered
    and revised” and American Motorists’ “obligation will no
    longer exist.”). Then, sua sponte, the Court considered and
    rejected jurisdiction over the appeal pursuant to § 1292(a)(1).
    Id. at 1172 (stating § 1292(a)(1) jurisdiction was “not
    mentioned by the parties”). Guided by Cohen’s functional
    approach and the requirement under the Federal Rules of Civil
    Procedure that injunction orders must be specific, we
    concluded that the district court’s order was not akin to an
    injunction because it “did not direct [American Motorists] to
    do anything.” Id. at 1172–73; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(d).
    The order recited only that Levolor’s motion “with respect to
    the issue of the obligation [of American Motorists] to provide
    a defense is granted.” Am. Motorists, 
    879 F.2d at 1173
    . Though
    the district court “effectively defin[ed]” American Motorists’
    12
    duty, it “did not order [American Motorists] to undertake the
    defense.” 
    Id.
    On the other side, we have Ramara. There, an injured
    employee of a subcontractor filed a tort suit against Ramara, a
    parking garage owner. Ramara, 
    814 F.3d at
    664–65. Ramara
    tendered its defense to its insurer, Westfield, who declined to
    extend coverage. 
    Id. at 665
    . So Ramara filed suit in federal
    court to obtain declarations about Westfield’s duties under the
    policy. 
    Id. at 668
    . Upon the parties’ motions for partial
    summary judgment on the issue, the district court held that
    Westfield had a duty to defend Ramara in the underlying tort
    suit. 
    Id.
     The district court then entered a supplemental order
    that “quantified judgment in favor of Ramara against
    Westfield,” 
    id. at 665
     (citation omitted), and “directed that
    ‘[p]rospectively, Westfield shall provide defense to Ramara in
    the underlying [tort] action,’” 
    id. at 669
    .
    Westfield appealed the supplemental order, and we held
    that we had jurisdiction to review it on appeal. 
    Id.
     Critical to
    our decision was the fact that, in addition to deciding the
    parties’ rights and duties, the district court “direct[ed]
    Westfield to defend Ramara prospectively in the [underlying
    tort] lawsuit.” 
    Id. at 671
    . The supplemental order granted
    “forward-looking relief” that constituted the sort of “equitable
    relief [that is] immediately appealable.” 
    Id. at 672
    ; see also
    Aleynikov v. Goldman Sachs Grp., Inc., 
    765 F.3d 350
    , 356–57
    & n.1 (3d Cir. 2014) (holding district court’s order directing a
    party to pay another party’s legal fees and expenses
    “periodically as they are incurred going forward” constituted
    immediately appealable equitable relief (citation omitted)).
    B.
    With that background in mind, we turn to the three
    orders American Home challenges on appeal and conclude
    they are far closer to the order in American Motorists than the
    13
    one in Ramara. In the declaration-denying order, the District
    Court simply stated, “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, for the
    reasons set forth in the Memorandum Opinion to be filed
    forthwith, that [American Home’s] motion is DENIED.” App.
    51. In the declaration-granting orders, the District Court stated,
    IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, for the reasons set
    forth in the Memorandum Opinion to be filed
    forthwith, that the motion is GRANTED in part
    and DENIED in part as follows: . . . The motion
    is GRANTED with respect to Count VI of the
    Amended Complaint insofar as Zurn seeks a
    declaration that American Home Assurance
    Company must pay defense costs in addition to
    policy limits under [the relevant] American
    Home Policy . . . .
    App. 52; see also App. 49 (ordering same regarding First
    State’s and New England’s joint motion on the issue).
    The declaration-denying order is clearly not an
    injunction. Similar to the order in American Motorists, which
    merely “granted” summary judgment on the issue of American
    Motorists’ “obligation . . . to provide a defense,” 
    879 F.2d at 1173
    , the order here merely “denied” American Home’s
    motion regarding its obligation to defend and pay defense
    costs. Without more, the order simply reflects the District
    Court’s decision to decline relief, as a matter of law, before
    trial. For that same reason, the District Court’s order falls well
    short of imposing forward-looking equitable relief like in
    Ramara. 
    814 F.3d at 672
    .
    Though the declaration-granting orders are a closer call,
    they are more akin to the order in American Motorists than the
    one in Ramara. We accept that the orders “effectively
    defin[ed]” at least some of American Home’s duties under the
    contract. Am. Motorists, 
    879 F.2d at 1173
    . But American
    14
    Motorists tells us that is not enough; the District Court must
    have directed American Home to do something. 
    Id.
     at 1172–
    73. The declaration-granting orders do not. Instead, the orders
    grant relief “insofar” as Zurn and others seek “a declaration
    that American Home Assurance Company must pay defense
    costs in addition to policy limits” under the relevant American
    Home policy. App. 49, 52. Far from directing American Home
    to act now and pay Zurn’s defense costs or take up Zurn’s
    defense, the orders simply clarify the scope of American
    Home’s potential future duty, if and when that duty is
    triggered.
    No part of the declaration-granting orders compels
    American Home “to undertake the defense” of Zurn. See Am.
    Motorists, 
    879 F.2d at 1173
    . Nor are they accompanied by a
    supplemental order, like the one in Ramara, see 
    814 F.3d at 670
    , or any other similar directive towards American Home to
    prospectively defend Zurn. American Home even recognizes
    as much when it concedes that the District Court’s orders “did
    not direct American Home to take over the defense of Zurn in
    the underlying asbestos suits.” Am. Home Br. 28. Without a
    directive, there is no injunction or functional equivalent for us
    to review. And it is the very lack of directive that critically
    distinguishes this case from the collection of published and
    unpublished out-of-circuit cases American Home cites to
    15
    support our jurisdiction.8 In short, we decline to extrapolate
    injunctive-like directives from a district court’s summary
    judgment order that merely interprets parties’ rights and duties
    under a contract in the abstract, nothing more.
    And unlike an injunction, the District Court’s
    declaration-granting orders cannot be enforced by contempt.
    How could they? They are unspecific about what act is required
    or restrained, and they are subject to a host of outstanding
    issues. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(d) (requiring injunctions to be
    stated in specific terms and “act or acts restrained or required”
    to be “describe[d] in reasonable detail”); cf. Am. Motorists, 879
    8
    See W Holding Co. v. AIG Ins. Co.-Puerto Rico, 
    748 F.3d 377
    , 383 (1st Cir. 2014) (exercising jurisdiction over
    district court order “requiring defense-cost advancements”);
    Abercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Fed. Ins. Co., 
    370 F. App’x 563
    ,
    566–68 & n.6 (6th Cir. 2010) (exercising jurisdiction over
    district court order stating “[insurer] is hereby ORDERED to
    advance payment”); Gon v. First State Ins. Co., 
    871 F.2d 863
    ,
    866 (9th Cir. 1989) (exercising jurisdiction over district court
    order “direct[ing] [insurer] to pay defense expenses in [a
    particular] litigation as they were incurred”); Church Mut.
    Ins. Co. v. Ma’Afu, 
    657 F. App’x 747
    , 750 (10th Cir. 2016)
    (exercising jurisdiction over district court order stating insurer
    “must defend . . . and reimburse” insured); Pac. Ins. Co. v.
    Gen. Dev. Corp., 
    28 F.3d 1093
    , 1095–96 (11th Cir. 1994)
    (per curiam) (exercising jurisdiction over order “directing
    [insurer] to ‘pay the Insured Defendants’ defense costs as
    they are incurred’” (citation omitted)); Nat’l Union Fire Ins.
    Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. v. Sahlen, 
    999 F.2d 1532
    , 1535 (11th
    Cir. 1993) (exercising jurisdiction over order that effectively
    dissolved previous order that “required [insurer] to pay the
    Insureds’ defense costs in the underlying suits”).
    16
    F.2d at 1169–71 (reasoning order regarding insurer’s duty to
    defend was not final because related factual issues remained
    unresolved). For example, American Home’s duty may be
    delayed or unrealized depending on the resolution of currently
    pending motions before the District Court on issues regarding
    exhaustion and how to measure limits to liability. We agree
    with Zurn that the District Court’s orders are not transformed
    into the functional equivalent of an injunction simply because
    Zurn acted pursuant to certain rights recognized in them.
    “[W]hat counts is what the court actually did,” not how the
    parties reacted to it. See Ramara, 
    814 F.3d at 669
    . A mere
    declaration of Zurn’s rights does nothing to compel American
    Home to act or refrain from acting pursuant to them.
    Ultimately, we conclude that none of the District
    Court’s orders is the functional equivalent of an injunction;
    therefore, we do not have jurisdiction to review them.
    We also decline to exercise jurisdiction over Zurn’s
    cross-appeal, challenging the District Court’s orders denying
    declaratory relief regarding the scope of defense costs under
    Northbrook’s and Granite State’s excess policies. Notably,
    Zurn does not press an independent basis for jurisdiction over
    its cross-appeal; rather it relies on the doctrine of pendent
    appellate jurisdiction to justify our review. That doctrine
    permits “us discretion to review orders if they either (1) are
    ‘inextricably intertwined’ with appealable ones or (2) must be
    reviewed with them to ‘ensure meaningful review.’” United
    States v. Brace, 
    1 F.4th 137
    , 142 (3d Cir. 2021) (quoting Reinig
    v. RBS Citizens, N.A., 
    912 F.3d 115
    , 130 (3d Cir. 2018)). But
    we do not have jurisdiction over American Home’s appeal.
    17
    And without a proper underlying appeal, pendent appellate
    jurisdiction is of no use.9
    For these reasons, we will dismiss the appeals for lack
    of jurisdiction.
    9
    Because we lack jurisdiction over Zurn’s cross-
    appeal, we are precluded from considering the substance of
    the cross-appeal or implications of the District Court’s orders
    on other insurers impacted by the same.
    18