Treesdale, Inc. v. TIG INSURANCE COMPANY

681 F. Supp. 2d 611, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5478, 2010 WL 308835
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 25, 2010
Docket2:08cv701
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 681 F. Supp. 2d 611 (Treesdale, Inc. v. TIG INSURANCE COMPANY) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Treesdale, Inc. v. TIG INSURANCE COMPANY, 681 F. Supp. 2d 611, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5478, 2010 WL 308835 (W.D. Pa. 2010).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

DAVID STEWART CERCONE, District Judge.

AND NOW, this 25th day of January, 2010, following the filing of a Complaint [Doc. 1], an Amended Complaint [Doc. 33], the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings [Doc. 35], a Report and Recommendation that the Motion be granted [Doc. 60], the Defendants’ Motion for Reconsideration [Doc. 63], the Plaintiffs’ response thereto [Doc. 65], an Order by the Magistrate Judge vacating the Report and Recommendation [Doc. 69], a second Report and Recommendation that the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings be denied [Doc. 70], the Plaintiffs’ Objections to the second Report and Recommendation [Doc. 71] and the Defendants’ Response to those Objections [Doc. 72], upon independent review of the record, and upon consideration of the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation [Doc. 70], which is adopted as the opinion of this Court,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings filed by the Plaintiffs [Doc. 35] is DENIED.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

AMY REYNOLDS HAY, United States Chief Magistrate Judge.

I. RECOMMENDATION

Treesdale, Inc. and Pittsburgh Metals Purifying Company, (collectively “Trees-dale” or “the Plaintiffs”), have filed a Motion pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c), for Judgment on the Pleadings with respect to the Seventeenth Affirmative Defense asserted by Defendants TIG Insurance Co., formerly known as International Insurance Company (“International”). In that defense, International asserts that Trees-dale’s claims under two identically worded umbrella policies issued by International are barred by asbestos exclusions. In a Report and Recommendation dated October 12, 2009 (Doc. 60), the Court recommended that Treesdale’s Motion (Doc. 35) be granted. The Defendants then filed a Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 63) of that Recommendation pursuant to Rule 54(c). Because that Rule does not provide a means for challenging the legal or factual findings in a Report and Recommendation, the Court construes the Motion for Reconsideration as a filing of Objections pursuant to the Magistrates Act, 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) (B) & (C), and Local Rule 72.-D.2, and views the Plaintiffs’ opposition to that Motion as a response to the Objections. Having reviewed the arguments raised by the parties, the Court is persuaded to vacate its original Report and Recommendation, setting forth its revised *615 Report and Recommendation here. For the reasons explained herein, the Court respectfully recommends that the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 35) be denied.

II. REPORT

A. Background

In this diversity action, Treesdale seeks, in part, a declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201 that two umbrella policies issued by International provide Treesdale with coverage for asbestos-related bodily injury claims. (Doc. 33 at 1). The Plaintiffs, former manufacturers, sellers, and distributors of asbestos-containing products used in molten steel operations, have been named as defendants in thousands of claims based on asbestos-related bodily injury. (Id. at 12). 1 These claims — and similar claims expected to be filed in the future — are based on injuries which occurred or were in process during years prior to the bankruptcy when Treesdale was covered by insurance policies issued by International. The policies at issue here are: (a) International Policy No. 512-496940-3, covering the period from July 1, 1988 to July 1, 1989; and (b) International Policy No. 523-541174-4, covering the period from July 1, 1989 to July 1, 1990 (collectively “the Policies”). (Id. at ¶ 16). Each policy provided excess liability and umbrella coverage above that available in primary policies issued by U.S. Fire Insurance Company (“USFIC”). 2 Resolution of the Plaintiffs’ Motion turns on the terms of these policies.

B. Standard of Review

A Rule 12(c) motion may be granted “where material facts are undisputed and where a judgment on the merits is possible merely by considering the contents of the pleadings.” Sellers v. M.C. Floor Crafters, Inc., 842 F.2d 639, 642 (2d Cir.1988) (citation omitted). Where, as here, a motion for judgment on the pleadings requires assessment of the merits, the Court uses the same standard as it would in considering a motion for summary judgment. See e.g., Alexander v. City of Chicago, 994 F.2d 333, 336 (7th Cir.1993); Broadcom Corp. v. Agere Sys. Inc., Civ. Act. No. 04-2416, 2004 WL 2009320 at * 1 n. 3 (E.D.Pa. Sept. 8, 2004). 3 Thus, the *616 Court cannot grant Treesdale’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings unless it finds that Treesdale has clearly established that: (1) there are no material issues of fact; and (2) it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. DiCarlo v. St Mary Hosp., 530 F.3d 255, 259 (3d Cir.2008). In evaluating the evidence, the Court must consider all facts and their reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the Defendant. See Pennsylvania Coal Ass’n v. Babbitt, 63 F.3d 231, 236 (3d Cir.1995).

C. Discussion

Treesdale contends that the Defendant’s affirmative defense asserting denial of coverage under Coverage B of the relevant policies fails as a matter of law in light of the “language of the relevant policies themselves.” (Doc. 36 at 2). According to Treesdale, the protection provided by Coverage B was intended to be and is broader than that in the underlying policy or in Coverage A, in that it does not incorporate the asbestos exclusion applicable to all other coverage. International responds that Coverage B, “pursuant to its plain terms” does not cover asbestos claims in that it “is derivative of Coverage A.” Id. According to the Defendant, the asbestos exclusion contained in the underlying USFIC policies “is incorporated through Coverage A into the entire International ‘policy,’ not just into Coverage A ... Coverage B does not un incorporate the exclusion.” Id. (emphasis added).

“Ordinarily in insurance coverage disputes an insured bears the initial burden to make a prima facie showing that a claim falls within the policy’s grant of coverage, but if the insured meets that burden, the insurer then bears the burden of demonstrating that a policy exclusion excuses the insurer from providing coverage if the insurer contends that it does.” State Farm Fire and Cas.

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681 F. Supp. 2d 611, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5478, 2010 WL 308835, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/treesdale-inc-v-tig-insurance-company-pawd-2010.