Eli Lilly and Co. v. Zurich American Ins. Co.

405 F. Supp. 2d 948, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35816, 2005 WL 3429225
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedDecember 12, 2005
Docket104CV0446SEBVSS
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 405 F. Supp. 2d 948 (Eli Lilly and Co. v. Zurich American Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eli Lilly and Co. v. Zurich American Ins. Co., 405 F. Supp. 2d 948, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35816, 2005 WL 3429225 (S.D. Ind. 2005).

Opinion

ENTRY

BARKER, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on competing motions for summary judgment. For the reasons discussed in this entry, we grant Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on its claim of breach of contract and grant in part Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Plaintiffs claim of bad faith.

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is to be granted “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In determining summary judgment, the court views all evidence and draws reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-51, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The scope of coverage provided by an insurance policy, however, is a question of law particularly appropriate for resolution at the summary judgment stage since factual disputes, if any, are ordinarily limited to the amount of loss for which an insurer may be liable. See Duane Reade, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 411 F.3d 384, 389 (2nd Cir.2005); National Fire and Casualty Co. v. West by and Through Norris, 107 F.3d 531, 534-535 (7th Cir.1997); Hurst- *951 Rosche Engineers, Inc. v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 51 F.3d 1336, 1342 (7th Cir. 1995).

II. Factual Background

A. The Insurance Policy

Eli Lilly and Company (“Lilly”) purchased an insurance policy (“Zurich Policy”) from Zurich American Insurance Company (“Zurich”) for the period January 1, 2001, through January 1, 2002. The material terms of the Policy are not in dispute. The Zurich Policy is a claims made excess liability policy providing comprehensive general liability coverage of up to $7 million for a loss over and above $3 million.

The Zurich Policy obligates the Defendant to indemnify Lilly, subject to the policy limits and underlying threshold amount, for the amount Lilly pays in settlement of claims of liability for damages on account of alleged injury. The policy language which describes the coverage provides as follows:

In the event that a claim or claims are first made, in writing, against the Insured during the period of this Policy arising from a Loss which took place on or after 1st January, 1992 (hereinafter referred to as the Retroactive Date), where allowable, Underwriters will indemnify the Insured, subject to the Limits of Liability set forth in the Declarations and the applicable provisions of this Policy, for that amount of the ULTIMATE NET SUM PAYABLE in excess of the UNDERLYING AMOUNTS OBLIGATIONS OF THE INSURED which the Insured shall be obligated to pay by reason of the liability:-
(a) imposed upon the Insured by law, or
(b) assumed by the Insured under contract or agreement,
for damages on account of:-
(i)Personal Injuries,
(ii) Property Damage,
(iii) Advertising Injury,
resulting from each Loss, but only such Personal Injuries, Property Damage and Advertising Injury, neither expected nor intended by the Insured, as respects the claim or claims that are first made, in writing, against the Insured during the period of this Policy.
It is agreed that a claim or claims first made against the Insured shall be the first written demand made against the Insured for money or services in respect of such injury or damage as is insured by this Policy and the date of a claim or claims first made shall be the date of the first such written demand against the Insured.

The Zurich Policy defines “Ultimate Net Sum Payable” as follows:

The words “ULTIMATE NET SUM PAYABLE”, wherever used in this Policy, mean the total sum the Insured is obligated, either through adjudication or compromise, to pay as damages in respect of any Loss that would, in accordance with the Declarations, Insuring Agreements, Definitions, Exclusions and Conditions of this Policy, be covered by this Policy including investigation, adjustment, experts, appraisal, legal, appeal and any defense costs and expenses (referred to in this Policy as “Costs and Expenses”) paid or incurred by the Insured or paid or incurred by Underwriters on behalf of the Insured.
The following shall not be included within the meaning of ULTIMATE NET SUM PAYABLE:
a) such “Costs and Expenses” which the Insured, or on whose behalf any insurer, has paid or incurred or is obligated to pay as respects the UNDERLYING AMOUNTS:
b) salaries of the Insured’s or any insurers; permanent employees.

*952 The Zurich Policy includes endorsement language which excludes coverage for “products liability” and “completed operations liability” hazards. The language of the exclusionary endorsement states, in relevant part:

This Policy is amended in that notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, it shall not apply to -
i) the Products Liability Hazard;
ii) the Completed Operations Liability Hazard.

Lilly also maintained insurance policies with other providers to fill in some of the gaps in coverage existing in the Zurich policy. These included a similar comprehensive liability policy covering the first million dollars of loss on any claim and an umbrella policy with general liability coverage attaching after the first $10 million and products liability and completed operations liability coverage attaching above the first $25 million.

B. The Underlying Litigation

Lilly manufactures, markets and sells the chemotherapy drug known as Gemzar. Lilly sells Gemzar in a powdered form to wholesalers, who in turn sell the drug to other wholesalers or health care providers.

Beginning in August 2001, Lilly and others were named as defendants in over 200 lawsuits (“Courtney Litigation”) resulting from the actions of Robert R. Courtney (“Courtney”), a pharmacist who operated an oncological pharmacy in Kansas City, Missouri.

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405 F. Supp. 2d 948, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35816, 2005 WL 3429225, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eli-lilly-and-co-v-zurich-american-ins-co-insd-2005.