John Crane, Inc. v. Admiral Ins. Co.

910 N.E.2d 1168, 391 Ill. App. 3d 693
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 22, 2009
Docket1-08-1845, 1-08-1918, 1-08-2057 cons.
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 910 N.E.2d 1168 (John Crane, Inc. v. Admiral Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John Crane, Inc. v. Admiral Ins. Co., 910 N.E.2d 1168, 391 Ill. App. 3d 693 (Ill. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

JUSTICE TOOMIN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, John Crane Inc. (Crane), appeals from the grant of a preliminary injunction enjoining it from engaging in any other litigation in any forum related to insurance coverage for asbestos claims against John Crane. Certain defendants also appeal the trial court’s denial of their motion to extend the injunction through all appeals in this proceeding. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, a Delaware corporation having its principal place of business in Illinois, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of engineered sealing products. Since 1979, Crane has been named as a defendant in over 250,000 underlying claims that allege liability for personal injuries sustained by claimants as a result of their exposure to Crane’s asbestos-containing products. Crane and its primary insurers, Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company and American Motorists Insurance Company (Kemper), have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in defense and indemnity of such suits.

Crane commenced this declaratory judgment action in May 2004, against Kemper and its umbrella and excess carriers to determine coverage obligations under their respective policies. In count I of its amended complaint, Crane sought a declaration that primary coverage has been exhausted. In counts II and III, Crane sought declaratory relief regarding the obligations of its umbrella and excess insurers. Defendants Columbia Casualty Company, Continental Casualty Company, and the Continental Insurance Company (the CNA defendants), filed counterclaims to determine the trigger dates in the underlying claims for which Crane has been held liable. Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company (Allianz) also filed a counterclaim seeking a determination of whether all primary policies have been exhausted. AIU Insurance Company, Granite State Insurance Company, Lexington Insurance Company, and National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA (AIG defendants), filed counterclaims seeking a declaration that they have no duty to defend or indemnify John Crane. Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., f/k/a American Re-Insurance Company (Munich), National Surety Corporation (National Surety), Allstate Insurance Company, TIG Insurance Company (TIG), Century Indemnity Company (Century), and International Insurance Company also remain as defendants.

The litigation was bifurcated, with the first phase focused on the issue of the trigger for coverage of the policies, and the second phase concerning allocation and remaining issues. During the pendency of this proceeding, the circuit court considered the coverage issues in various rulings. Pursuant to Zurich Insurance Co. v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 118 Ill. 2d 23, 47, 514 N.E.2d 150, 161 (1987), the court concluded that coverage for asbestos-related claims is governed by a “triple trigger” (i.e., when the claimants were exposed to asbestos, suffered from asbestos-related sickness, or suffered from disease caused by asbestos). Ultimately, the court entered a memorandum opinion and order on multiple motions and partial motions for summary judgment regarding issues of exhaustion, the number of occurrences, trigger, and scope of coverage.

In 2004, Crane entered into an agreement concerning coverage with Kemper, and also agreed to fully release Kemper’s liability under its primary policies in exchange for payment of $10 million. In 2006, Crane also entered into a second settlement agreement with Kemper for $20 million, releasing Kemper from all remaining obligations under both its primary and excess policies.

In its ruling of April 12, 2006, the circuit court determined that all of the underlying claims constituted a single occurrence arising from the manufacture, sale, and distribution of Crane’s asbestos products. The court also determined that the proper allocation among the umbrella insurers was pro rata and that the Raymark triple-trigger would not necessarily trigger all excess policies. The court ruled that a hearing with medical testimony was also necessary to determine whether new medical findings since Raymark necessitated a different trigger ruling. The court further found that claims in which liability was imposed on Crane were ripe for adjudication of the declaratory judgement issues, and that underlying cases that remained pending were not ripe for determination of costs of defense and indemnification. However, the court ruled it could not determine whether there was exhaustion based upon the settlement agreements without the input of additional briefing and an evidentiary hearing.

Mediation was scheduled with trial to commence on the remaining issue of exhaustion of primary coverage. By February 2008, the parties reached a tentative stipulation governing the exhaustion of certain primary policies and the limits on those remaining. However, this tentative agreement was not finalized as Crane rejected a tolling provision whereby the parties would bring any future coverage disputes before the presiding judge. Crane also indicated it intended to bring additional lawsuits against its insurers in other areas of the country.

Adhering to that announcement, Crane then filed five actions in California, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. In the California and Virginia cases against the CNA defendants, Crane sought money damages for breach of contract and bad faith for refusal to pay their pro rata shares of final judgments in three underlying asbestos actions, based on the prior declaratory coverage rulings in the case sub judice. According to Crane, the $9,075 million in primary policies underlying the CNA umbrella policies was exhausted. Additionally, from testimony at the preliminary injunction hearing, Crane claimed to have incurred approximately $45 to $50 million in costs defending the asbestos claims and satisfying adverse judgments. In the Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia actions, Crane sought a declaration of the Raymark trigger dates for coverage.

The CNA defendants moved for a temporary restraining order against Crane on May 15, 2008, which was joined by other defendants. However, the parties entered into an agreed standstill order effective May 19, 2008, through June 4, 2008, while unsuccessfully engaging in court-ordered mediation. On June 4, 2008, the circuit court issued the temporary restraining order (TRO). Crane then sought interlocutory review, which we denied.

Defendants (except Century Indemnity Company and International Insurance Company) next moved for a preliminary injunction. At the hearing, Daniel Caswell, an in-house attorney for CNA, highlighted the potential harm to the CNA defendants if forced to litigate the foreign actions as the identical coverage issues were already before the circuit court. He further testified the untimely litigation was oppressive. Crane presented the testimony of its outside counsel, Edward Mueller, who maintained that the recently commenced litigation was necessary to determine the application of the court’s trigger ruling to the underlying cases in the California and Virginia actions, and that prospective application of the trigger ruling in the Ohio, West Virginia and Texas proceedings would likewise provide the defendant insurers the opportunity to develop the proofs necessary to resolve those issues.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Perkins
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2026
Motykie v. Motykie
2026 IL App (1st) 241997-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2026)
Guadarrama v. Elmhurst Memorial Hospital
2025 IL App (1st) 240781-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2025)
Englewood Construction, Inc. v. J.P. McMahon Properties, LLC
2025 IL App (3d) 240389 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2025)
People v. Brownlee
2024 IL App (4th) 231139-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2024)
Kilpatrick v. Baxter Healthcare Corp.
2023 IL App (2d) 230088 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
Gas Depot, Inc. v. Zahdan
2023 IL App (1st) 220490-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
Brian J. Wanca, J.D., P.C. v. Oppenheim
2023 IL App (1st) 220273 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
Issa v. Egan
2023 IL App (1st) 220291-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
In re Interest of Caleb M.
2023 IL App (1st) 230227-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
Core Mechanical, Inc. v. JR Industries, LLC
2023 IL App (1st) 211661-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
In re Marriage of Stoll
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2022
Anderson v. Gimbel
2022 IL App (1st) 210407-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2022)
Bougie v. Barth-Niggeman
2022 IL App (2d) 210250-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2022)
Shiny Investments, LLC v. Zeoli
2021 IL App (1st) 201353-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
Kane v. Option Care Enterprises, Inc.
2021 IL App (1st) 200666 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
Glasper v. Scrub Inc.
2021 IL App (1st) 200764 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
Muhammed v. ICNA Relief USA
2020 IL App (2d) 190828-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
Ittersagen v. Advocate Health & Hospitals Corp.
2020 IL App (1st) 190778 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
Ittersagen v. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp.
2020 IL App (1st) 190778 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
910 N.E.2d 1168, 391 Ill. App. 3d 693, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-crane-inc-v-admiral-ins-co-illappct-2009.