Roman Mosaic & Tile Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.

37 Pa. D. & C.4th 428, 1997 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 56
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County
DecidedMay 15, 1997
Docketno. 93-16690
StatusPublished

This text of 37 Pa. D. & C.4th 428 (Roman Mosaic & Tile Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roman Mosaic & Tile Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 37 Pa. D. & C.4th 428, 1997 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 56 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1997).

Opinion

HAZEL, J,

Plaintiffs Roman Mosaic and Tile Company and Northern Insurance Company of New York filed the present action based upon defendants Aetna Casualty and Surety Company’s and Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Company’s failure to provide coverage for Roman Mosaic in a sexual harassment suit filed by Constance Jesiolowska against Roman Mosaic in federal court. Northern did provide coverage for the lawsuit.

[430]*430At the conclusion of discovery, plaintiffs and both defendants filed respective motions for summary judgment. Oral argument was held on these motions and by order dated July 31,1996, this court denied plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and granted defendants’ motions for summary judgment. It is from this order that plaintiffs appeal, thus necessitating this opinion.

A review of plaintiffs’ concise statement of matters complained of on appeal reveals that some of the alleged errors committed by this court are a direct consequence of this court’s denial of plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. See paragraphs 3, 4, 5, and 6. The remaining allegations of error directly relate to the basis upon which the court denied plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and granted defendants’ motion. As will be demonstrated in the balance of this opinion, because summary judgment was properly granted to the defendants, this court will not address the errors alleged in paragraphs 3, 4, 5, and 6 of plaintiffs’ statement.

It should be noted that the denial of plaintiffs’ motion should be not be viewed in a vacuum due to the defendants’ motions for summary judgment that were filed. Procedurally, it would appear that the underlying facts of the case are undisputed and therefore, this was not a case where either party was arguing that the present case should proceed to trial but simply that the policy should be read to either include or exclude the underlying suit filed by Ms. Jesiolowska.

To that end, plaintiffs argue that this court erred in denying plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment in that: (1) the allegations of the underlying complaint were within the personal injury liability coverage pro[431]*431visions of the defendants’ policies in that the underlying complaint alleged “personal injury” that “arfóse] out of” one of the enumerated offenses and none of the exclusions apply; (2) the court failed to declare that the claims asserted by Ms. Jesiolowska were covered claims under the defendants’ polices, and the defendants breached their policies by refusing to defend Roman Mosaic; (3) the defendants had a duty to defend in the underlying action because the cause of action alleged may have fallen within the coverage of defendants’ policies; (4) there is no public policy in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that a duty to defend did not extend to claims involving a hostile work environment where the allegations may fall within the coverage of the policy and (5) the defendants’ policies specifically provide coverage for “personal injury liability,” and “personal injury” was defined in both policies to mean injury “arising out of’ certain specified offenses which were alleged by Ms. Jesiolowska in her complaint.

The issue with respect to summary judgment is actually quite simple. Does the complaint filed by Ms. Jesiolowska fall under the personal injury provisions of the policies?1

It was agreed by counsel for all parties that the policies of all the insurance companies were identical for purposes of determining this motion. (N.T. 5/13/96 pp. 5-6.) It was generally accepted that there is no Pennsylvania law directly on point with respect to this issue. (N.T. 5/13/96 p. 6.)

[432]*432The allegations by Ms. Jesiolowska against Roman Mosaic were as follows:

“Count I — Violation of federal statutes (title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), Count II — Violation of state statute (The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act), Count III — Breach of employment contract, Count IV— Constructive discharge and wrongful termination, Count V — Intentional infliction of emotional distress, Count VI — Outrageous conduct.” Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, exhibit B.

The complaint is structured so that the factual allegations are set forth in the beginning of the complaint, the actual counts alleged next, and finally, the prayer for relief and damages.

“The relief requested is:

“(1) permanently enjoining and restraining the defendant from the discriminatory practices on the basis of sex and from taking retaliatory action against individuals seeking to exercise their rights under the laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; (2) restoring the plaintiff to the status quo ante regarding reinstatement, including back pay, lost earnings capacity and loss of future earnings, etc.; (3) directing the defendant to make the plaintiff whole through compensatory damages in excess of $75,000; (4) directing defendant to make plaintiff whole through an award of punitive damages; (5) directing the defendant to pay statutory liquidated damages; (6) attorney’s fees, and costs of suit; and (7) other such relief as the court may deem equitable and proper.” Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, exhibit B.

[433]*433As stated above, the underlying factual allegations do not appear to be in dispute, however, the characterization of them does appear to be in strong contention.

The factual allegations, as set forth in the complaint, are that during her employment, the plaintiff in the underlying action was subjected to sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of her gender in violation of title 7. Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, exhibit B, “Factual allegations,” paragraph (3). The employer permitted employees to urinate in her work shoes and to make derogatory remarks against the plaintiff’s gender (i.e., “slut,” “fat pig” and “whore”). Roman Mosaic permitted employees to “physically harass” her by throwing a wheelbarrow at her, placing her in a wire cage and dragging it around the job site, and placing her in a metal drum and rolling it around the job site. Id.

Ms. Jesiolowska was the only female mechanic in its employ and the conduct resulted in wrongful termination of plaintiff’s position. Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, exhibit B, “Factual allegations,” paragraphs (5), (6). The conduct also constituted a breach of plaintiff’s employment contract particularly as it concerned her medical benefits and pension rights as well as opportunities for future employment. Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, exhibit B, “Factual allegations,” paragraph (6).

Ms. Jesiolowska sustained “severe and permanent psychological injury by reason of defendants’ conduct, and permanent loss of earning capacity, as plaintiff, a skilled tile mechanic, cannot return to work in a male-oriented environment, and defendant has encouraged [434]*434and permitted the maintenance of a hostile work environment so as to prevent plaintiff from earning a living in the skilled trade for which she has trained.” Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, exhibit B, “Factual allegations,” paragraph (7).

The personal injury definition as set forth in Aetna’s policy reads as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
37 Pa. D. & C.4th 428, 1997 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 56, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roman-mosaic-tile-co-v-aetna-casualty-surety-co-pactcompldelawa-1997.