DocketNumber: No. CV96-0475565S
Citation Numbers: 1999 Conn. Super. Ct. 9286
Judges: GRAHAM, JUDGE.
Filed Date: 7/12/1999
Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 4/18/2021
However, the court, sua sponte, then noted the absence of any proof of compliance with Connecticut Practice Book section
In light of such, the stay was lifted and the plaintiff was given permission to seek reconsideration of the Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment. The Motion for Reconsideration has been made and granted. The court now reaches the substantive issues first raised in the initial Motion for Summary Judgment.
On August 26, 1996, Security filed a two count complaint against the defendants, Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company (Lumbermens) and ACMAT. Security sought a court determination regarding Lumbermen's and ACMAT's duty to defend in the pending lawsuit against ACMAT (and other defendants), In re BridgeportAsbestos Litigation, Superior Court, judicial district of Fairfield at Bridgeport, and related actions (Bridgeport Litigation). That lawsuit was commenced by 100 plaintiffs who allegedly suffered bodily injuries as a result of, inter alia, ACMAT's use of asbestos fireproofing spray.
ACMAT is a Connecticut corporation that commenced using fire-proofing spray containing asbestos sometime in 1968. During the years that ACMAT used the asbestos fire-proofing spray, it was insured under various comprehensive liability insurance policies. Specifically, from January 1, 1968 through January 1, 1972, ACMAT was insured under an occurrence based comprehensive general liability insurance policy issued by Aetna Casualty Surety Company. From January 1, 1972 through January 1, 1976, ACMAT was insured under a similar general liability policy by the plaintiff Security. From January 1, 1976 through January 1, 1979, ACMAT was provided with similar insurance coverage by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. From January 1, 1979 through April 15, CT Page 9288 1981, ACMAT was covered under a comprehensive general insurance liability policy issued by the defendant Lumbermens. Thereafter, from April 15, 1981 through April 15, 1985, ACMAT was insured by CIGNA.
All of the respective insurance policies issued to ACMAT from 1968 to 1985 were substantially the same in their coverage, since all of the policies contained standard insurance contract language regarding coverage for bodily injuries. Since April 1, 1985, ACMAT has been insured pursuant to certain claims-made comprehensive general liability insurance policies that specifically exclude coverage for asbestos-related claims.
In addition to the foregoing, however, on July 2, 1991, ACMAT and Lumbermens entered into an agreement whereby ACMAT, in exchange for certain sums and consideration, released Lumbermens from "any and all of its obligations under its insurance policies with ACMAT" for the time period between January 1, 1979 to April 15, 1981. As a consequence, when the Bridgeport Litigation commenced, Security, as one of the insurers obligated to defend ACMAT, filed this declaratory judgment action in order to determine whether Lumbermens or ACMAT was now liable to contribute to the costs of the defense in the Bridgeport Litigation. Those costs are now being shared by all of the aforementioned insurers, excepting Lumbermens.
Thereafter, on May 8, 1998, this court ruled that by virtue of the 1991 release agreement between ACMAT and Lumbermens, Lumbermens was under no duty to defend ACMAT in the Bridgeport Litigation. See Security Ins. Co. v. Lumbermens Mut. Cas., supra, Superior Court, Docket No. 475565. At that same time the court denied Security's motion for summary judgment, without prejudice.
Security again seeks a court determination regarding ACMAT's equitable obligations to contribute to the cost of defense in the Bridgeport Litigation by reason of the time period between January 1, 1979 to April 15, 1981 (First Count), and the time period after April 1, 1985 (Second Count).
ACMAT argues in opposition to the motion for summary judgment that genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether asbestos-related bodily injuries are continuous, or progressively deteriorating injuries. Particularly, ACMAT argues because of the lack any factual information concerning the nature of the asbestos-related injuries in the Bridgeport Litigation, the court cannot determine as a matter of law whether the "continuous trigger" theory of coverage will apply in this action. Therefore, it claims a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether coverage under the Lumbermens' policy for the time period between January 1, 1979 and April 15, 1981, has been triggered.
Alternatively, ACMAT argues that there are questions of fact as to whether Lumbermens itself ever had any obligation to defend ACMAT in the Bridgeport Litigation, much less whether ACMAT has now assumed those defense obligations by virtue of the release agreement. Specifically, ACMAT claims that Security has failed to cite any language in the Lumbermens policy that would establish a duty on the part of Lumbermens to defend ACMAT in the Bridgeport Litigation.
Finally, ACMAT argues in opposition to Security's motion for summary judgment that Security has failed to provide the court with any binding precedent in support of its proposition that an insured that settles with one of its several defending insurers is obligated to assume that settling insurer's equitable share of defense costs. Instead, ACMAT claims that the cases cited by Security in support of the foregoing proposition deal only with indemnification, and therefore are inapplicable to the present action. For all of the above reasons, ACMAT maintains that Security's motion for summary judgment with respect to the first count must be denied.
At the outset, the court addresses whether the Bridgeport Litigation model complaint alleges claims that are possibly covered under the Lumbermens policy which was in effect for the time period between January 1, 1979 to April 15, 1981. "[A]n insurer's duty to defend . . . is determined by reference to the allegations contained in the [injured party's] complaint." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Imperial Casualty andCT Page 9291Indemnity Co. v. State,
The model complaint alleges that the defendants (including ACMAT), were engaged in the business of buying, selling and installing asbestos products and asbestos materials. The model complaint further alleges that the plaintiffs, while working for their employers at various job sites, came into contact with the asbestos materials and products. Specifically, the model complaint alleges that at all relevant times that the plaintiffs were working, they were "forced to come in contact with and breathe, inhale and ingest airborne fibers and particles emitted by said [asbestos] products and materials as they were sawed, cut, mixed, installed, removed or otherwise used" by the plaintiffs. The complaint alleges that as a result of this contact with the asbestos, the plaintiffs suffered permanent injuries, diseases and death. Notably absent from any of the model complaint's allegations is a specific date upon which the plaintiffs' alleged injuries occurred.
The Lumbermens general liability policy issued to ACMAT for the period between January 1, 1979 to April 15, 1981, provides the following. Under Coverage A of the liability policy, Lumbermens agreed, in return for premiums paid, to "pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of A. bodily injury . . . to which this insurance applies, caused by an occurrence, and the company shall have the right and duty to defend any suit against the insured seeking damages on account of such bodily injury. . . ." An "occurrence" is defined as "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to conditions which results in bodily injury or property damages neither expected nor intended from the standpoint of the insured." Additionally, the policy defines the term "bodily injury," as any "bodily injury, sickness or disease sustained by any person which occurs during CT Page 9292 the policy period, including death resulting any time resulting therefrom."
There is no question that the model complaint includes allegations that the plaintiffs suffered "bodily injuries" as that term is defined in the liability policy. Furthermore, in contravention of what ACMAT argues in its memorandum, ACMAT has admitted in its answer to Security's complaint that the Bridgeport Litigation complaint potentially alleges claims for bodily injuries which occurred during the period in which the Lumbermens policy was in effect. Therefore, there is no merit to ACMAT's claims that there are factual issues present regarding whether Lumbermens' duty to defend was triggered.
As indicated previously, it is well-established in Connecticut that the duty to defend is far broader than the duty to indemnify; and even the very possibility that a claim falls within the coverage of a policy obligates the insurer to defend the insured. See Imperial Casualty and Indemnity Co. v. State, supra,
The court must next determine whether ACMAT, having chosen to release Lumbermens from its insurance obligations to ACMAT for the period of 1979-81 in exchange for payment of $300,000, has an equitable duty to contribute to the costs of defense in the Bridgeport Litigation. This court finds that ACMAT is so obligated.2
An enlightening case on this topic is the Second Circuit's decision in Stonewall Ins. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Management,
In reaching its decision, the Second Circuit implicitly adopted the lower court's ruling that an insured, who settles its claims against one insurer where there are other insurers who remain obligated to defend and indemnify the insured, becomes "self-insured" for that period of time in which the settling insurer's coverage was in place. Stonewall Ins. Co. v. AsbestosClaims Management, supra, 73 F.3d 1203.4 The Second Circuit reasoned that "a fair method of allocation appears to be one that is related both to time on the risk and the degree the risk is assumed. When periods of no insurance reflect a decision by anactor to assume or retain a risk, as opposed to periods when coverage for a risk is not available, to expect the risk-bearer to share in the allocation of the risk is reasonable." (Emphasis added.) Stonewall Ins. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Management, supra, 73 F.3d 1203, quoting, Owens Illinois Inc. v. United Ins. Co.,
Here, a similar situation occurred. ACMAT had coverage, through Lumbermens, for asbestos-related injuries for the time period between January 1, 1979 to April 15, 1981. ACMAT also, however, had asbestos-related injury coverage from various other insurers for time periods both before and after the Lumbermens coverage period. Those other insurers are presently obligated to defend ACMAT in the Bridgeport Litigation. Lumbermens, by virtue of the 1991 release agreement, however, is no longer obligated to defend ACMAT. This court finds persuasive the reasoning and decision of Stonewall and concludes that ACMAT, by releasing Lumbermens in 1991, has opted to become "self-insured" for CT Page 9294 purposes of the Bridgeport Litigation for the time period between January 1, 1979 to April 15, 1981.
Furthermore, this court rejects ACMAT's claim that because the present action concerns claims for the costs of defense, and not indemnification, the decision of Stonewall is inapplicable. In fact, other courts have applied the reasoning of Stonewall andOwens Illinois Inc. United Ins. Co. with respect to the proportional allocation of defense costs to self-insureds, and have reached conclusions similar to this court. In those cases, courts have reasoned that entities which opt to self-insure for certain periods of time are self-insuring for all of the risks which may occur during the self-insured time period; including the risk of incurring defense costs. See Insurance Co. of NorthAmerica v. Forty-Eight Insulations, Inc.,
Particularly, in NL Industries v. Commercial Union Ins.,
Finally, the Stonewall doctrine, applied to these facts, is consistent with the general rule in Connecticut that "all insurers providing primary coverage to an insured are duty bound to defend the insured and will be required to contribute their pro rata share of the cost of defense." Sacharko v. CenterEquities LTD. Partnership,
"[T]he aim of equitable contribution is to apportion a loss between two or more insurers who cover the same risk, so that each pays its fair share and one does not profit at the expense of the others." Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. v. Maryland CasualtyCo.,
Accordingly, the court holds that ACMAT is legally obligated to join the participating insurers and assume an equitable share of the costs of defending the Bridgeport Litigation as a result of having released Lumbermens from the latter's obligation to defend.
ACMAT argues that it should not be liable to contribute to the costs of defense for the time period after April 15, 1985, because asbestos-related injury coverage was specifically excluded from the general liability insurance policies issued to it after that date.5
In Stonewall Ins. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Management, supra, the Second Circuit stated: "[W]e do not agree with the district Judge's subsidiary ruling that proration-to-the-insured should be applied to the years after 1985 when asbestos liability insurance was no longer available. Judge Martin applied proration to the insured even after 1985. His rationale was that [the insured] had ``bargained away coverage by accepting asbestos exclusion clauses.' We think that is not a realistic view of the situation. CT Page 9296 There is no reason to believe that any bargaining occurred with respect to the asbestos exclusion clauses." Id., 1203. Thus, the Second Circuit reasoned that because the insured did not choose to be self-insured for asbestos-related injuries, it should not be required to contribute to indemnification costs for claims occurring outside of the period of time when asbestos coverage was available.
Specifically, the court stated: "[W]e note that judges who have endorsed proration to the insured have done so only to oblige a manufacturer to accept a proportionate share of the risk that it elected to assume, either by declining to purchase available insurance or by purchasing what turned out to be an insufficient amount. Thus, [the decision] in Owens Illinois
explicitly contrasts its proration approach to ``periods when coverage for a risk is not available,'. . . . Similarly, [inKeene v. Insurance Company of North America,
The parties have stipulated that after 1985, ACMAT had general liability insurance coverage, but that coverage for asbestos-related injuries was specifically excluded from its insurance policies. Plaintiff has not offered any evidence that such coverage was even available to ACMAT after 1985.
This court again finds the reasoning of the Stonewall Ins.Co. v. Asbestos Claims Management persuasive. The "proration-to-the-insured" approach, which requires contribution from a self-insured entity for those periods in time in which insurance coverage is available, is inapplicable to those periods of time in which coverage for a particular risk cannot be acquired. The element of choice, and in turn, the conscious decision of an insured to assume the risks of being "self-insured" is lost if the insured cannot realistically acquire the particular coverage desired.
It is inequitable to require an insured to assume defense costs for claims which it could not have insured against, when multiple insurers are already obligated to provide the insured with a defense in an action. It is well established in Connecticut that "[t]he fact that the complaint alleges a claim that is excluded by the policy does not excuse [the] insurer from defending [the] insured where other counts of the claim fall CT Page 9297 within the provisions of the policy." Imperial Casualty Indemnity Co. v. State, supra,
Accordingly, Security's motion for summary judgment with respect to the second count of the complaint is denied.
James T. Graham Superior Court Judge
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Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. United Insurance , 138 N.J. 437 ( 1994 )
stonewall-insurance-company-plaintiff-appellant-cross-appellee-v-asbestos , 73 F.3d 1178 ( 1995 )
insurance-co-of-north-america-v-forty-eight-insulations-inc , 633 F.2d 1212 ( 1980 )
Sacharko v. Center Equities Limited Partnership , 2 Conn. App. 439 ( 1984 )
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Gulf Chemical & Metallurgical Corp. v. Associated Metals & ... , 1 F.3d 365 ( 1993 )
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Hogle v. Hogle , 167 Conn. 572 ( 1975 )
United Oil Co. v. Urban Redevelopment Commission , 158 Conn. 364 ( 1969 )