The Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co. v. American Capital, Ltd.
United States District Court for the District of Maryland
2011 WL 856374 (2011)
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
American Capital, Ltd. (defendant), incorporated in Delaware and with a Maryland principal place of business, was a fund that invested in other companies, including Scientific Protein Laboratories, LLC (SPL) (defendant), a Delaware company with a Wisconsin principal place of business. SPL was defending several lawsuits throughout the country alleging that SPL sold contaminated heparin. American Capital held insurance policies from the Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company (Charter Oak) and Travelers Property Casualty Company of America (Travelers) (collectively, the insurance companies) (plaintiffs), both incorporated in and with principal places of business in Connecticut. The policies were delivered to McKee Risk Management Inc. (McKee) in Pennsylvania, the insurance producer, who forwarded them to American Capital’s Maryland location. Premiums were likely paid from Maryland or Pennsylvania to McKee in Pennsylvania and then forwarded to Connecticut. The insurance companies denied coverage, claiming that American Capital made material false misrepresentations. The insurance companies filed suit in Maryland federal court, seeking declaratory judgment that they were not required to defend or indemnify American Capital or SPL. American Capital and SPL filed a partial motion to dismiss, and the court had to determine whether to apply Maryland’s or Pennsylvania’s parol-evidence rule.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Chasanow, J.)
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