Opinion ID: 3009691
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: action against aetna

Text: Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (Air Products) instituted this declaratory judgment action against, inter alia, appellant Aetna Casualty & Surety Company (Aetna), which provided it with coverage from May 16, 1951 to June 8, 1953. Air Products sought a determination that Aetna breached a duty that it owed to defend and indemnify it1 in numerous underlying civil actions pending against it, thus requiring Air Products to take up its own defenses. The plaintiffs in these underlying actions alleged injuries as a result of their exposure at their workplaces to fumes and gases emitted from welding rod material sold to their employers by numerous defendants, including Air Products. The parties here filed cross-motions for partial summary judgment. The district court granted Air Products' 1 Air Products' declaratory action sought reimbursement for defense costs and expenses incurred in the underlying suits through September 30, 1989. 4 motion on the ground that Aetna had breached a duty to defend it2 in the underlying actions for injuries incurred during the period of Aetna's coverage. The district court denied Aetna's crossmotion. Aetna appeals. Generally speaking, under Pennsylvania law, the issuer of a general liability insurance policy has a duty to defend its insured when the allegations in the complaint against it could potentially fall within the coverage of the policy. Gedeon v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 188 A.2d 320, 321-22 (Pa. 1963); see Cadwallader v. New Amsterdam Cas. Co., 152 A.2d 484, 488 (Pa. 1959); Wilson v. Maryland Cas. Co., 105 A.2d 304, 307 (Pa. 1954). The district court applied that rule in finding for Air Products. The resolution of this dispute first requires us to examine the pertinent allegations of a typical complaint in one of the underlying actions to determine whether it could potentially fall within the coverage of Aetna's policy. We turn to such allegations: The Defendants, [including Air Products] during all the times herein mentioned and for 2 Aetna's policy provided in pertinent part: