Admiral Insurance Co. v. Niagara Transformer Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
57 F. 4th 85 (2023)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Niagara Transformer Corp. (Niagara) (defendant) purchased polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the Monsanto Company (Monsanto). Later, various parties brought dozens of state and federal actions against Monsanto over alleged environmental harm caused by Monsanto-made PCBs. Monsanto asked Niagara to defend and indemnify Monsanto in connection with these actions. Niagara, in turn, contacted its historical carrier of liability insurance, Admiral Insurance Co. (Admiral) (plaintiff), asking Admiral to defend and indemnify Niagara in connection with all current and future Monsanto PCB litigation. Admiral then filed an action for a declaratory judgment that Admiral need not defend or indemnify Niagara. The federal district court declined to exercise jurisdiction under the Declaratory Judgment Act on the grounds that (1) Monsanto had not commenced—nor explicitly threatened to commence—legal action against Niagara and (2) Monsanto would be unlikely to prevail in such an action. Admiral appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sullivan, J.)
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