J.H. France Refractories Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
626 A.2d 502 (1993)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
For many years, Charles Temple was exposed to asbestos products manufactured by J.H. France Refractories Company (J.H. France) (plaintiff). During those years, J.H. France was successively insured by Allstate Insurance Company and five other companies (collectively, insurers) (defendants). Each policy obligated the insurer to defend and indemnify J.H. France for all sums in connection with claims arising from occurrences resulting in bodily injury. Each policy defined such occurrences as including continuous exposure to injurious conditions. When Temple died from asbestos-related lung disease, his estate sued J.H. France for damages. J.H. France sought a declaratory judgment allocating the insurers’ liabilities on the estate’s claim. The trial court heard evidence that asbestos-related disease progresses in a nonlinear manner through several phases, any one of which can be regarded as resulting in bodily injury that triggers an insurer’s liability. The trial court found all six insurers liable. On appeal, an intermediate court affirmed but modified the trial court’s formula for allocating liability. The insurers appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Flaherty, J.)
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