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Thomson Inc. v. Ins. Co. of N. Am.

Thomson Inc. v. Ins. Co. of N. Am.

Court of Appeals of Indiana

June 19, 2014, Decided; June 19, 2014, Filed

No. 49A05-1109-PL-470

Opinion

 [*986]  OPINION — FOR PUBLICATION

CRONE, Judge

Case Summary

In 2004, a group of former factory workers and their heirs filed a class-action lawsuit in Taiwan ("the Taiwan Class Action") against Thomson Consumer Electronics Television Taiwan Ltd. [**2]  ("TCETVT"), a Taiwanese company which owned and operated an electronics manufacturing plant in Taiwan from the late 1980s to 1992. The  [*987]  workers sought damages for bodily injury allegedly resulting from exposure to organic solvents while working in the plant and living in dormitories near the plant. Over 99% of TCETVT's stock is owned by Thomson Consumer Electronics (Bermuda) Ltd. ("TCEB"), and less than .01% is owned by Thomson Inc. n/k/a Technicolor USA, Inc. ("Thomson"), a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Indiana. Both TCEB and Thomson are wholly owned subsidiaries of French electronics company Thomson SA.

The Taiwan Class Action was dismissed in 2005 and reinstated in 2006. In 2007, the plaintiffs attempted to name Thomson SA, TCEB, and Thomson as additional defendants based on corporate-veil-piercing and joint-liability theories. Those entities have not yet been served or entered an appearance in the Taiwan Class Action. In 2008, Thomson filed a declaratory judgment action against its primary and umbrella liability insurers, seeking defense and indemnification costs for the Taiwan Class Action. The primary insurers included XL Insurance America, Inc. f/k/a Winterthur [**3]  International America Insurance Company ("XL") and Century Indemnity Company ("Century").1 The umbrella insurers included XL and Travelers Casualty and Surety Company f/k/a The Aetna Casualty and Surety Company and Travelers Property Casualty Company of America f/k/a The Travelers Indemnity Company of Illinois (collectively, "Travelers").

In November 2009, Thomson filed a motion for summary judgment as to the primary insurers' duty to defend, which the trial court granted by interlocutory order in July 2010 ("the Duty to Defend Order"). In the Duty to Defend Order, the trial court ruled that XL and Century have a duty to defend Thomson in the Taiwan Class Action and reimburse Thomson for reasonable and necessary defense costs, [**4]  which would be determined later. The insurers asked the trial court to certify the Duty to Defend Order for discretionary interlocutory appeal, and Thomson asked the trial court to certify it as a final judgment. The trial court denied both requests.

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11 N.E.3d 982 *; 2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 273 **; 2014 WL 2772834

THOMSON INC. n/k/a TECHNICOLOR USA, INC., Appellant-Plaintiff/Cross-Appellee, vs. INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA n/k/a CENTURY INDEMNITY COMPANY, et al., Appellees-Defendants/Cross-Appellants, and XL INSURANCE AMERICA, INC. f/k/a WINTERTHUR INTERNATIONAL AMERICA INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee-Defendant/Cross-Appellant, and TRAVELERS PROPERTY CASUALTY CO., et al., Appellee-Defendant/Cross-Appellant.

Subsequent History: Rehearing denied by Thomson Inc. v. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 401 (Ind. Ct. App., Aug. 15, 2014)

Related proceeding at, Remanded by Thomson, Inc. v. XL Ins. Am., Inc., 2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 610, 22 N.E.3d 809 (Ind. Ct. App., 2014)

Transfer denied by Thomson Inc. v. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 2015 Ind. LEXIS 397 (Ind., May 15, 2015)

Prior History:  [**1] APPEAL FROM THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT. The Honorable Michael D. Keele, Judge. Cause No. 49D07-0807-PL-30747.

CORE TERMS

coverage, insured, occurrence, bodily injury, policies, trial court, damages, property damage, policy period, duty to defend, class action, defense costs, triggered, deductible, exposure, primary policy, manifestation, plant, costs, disease, endorsement, personal injury, conditions, cases, take place, entities, becomes, contends, courts, Travelers

Civil Procedure, Appeals, General Overview, Appellate Briefs, Reviewability of Lower Court Decisions, Summary Judgment, Motions for Summary Judgment, Cross Motions, Summary Judgment Review, Standards of Review, Entitlement as Matter of Law, Burdens of Proof, Judgments, Evidentiary Considerations, Appropriateness, Insurance Law, Claim, Contract & Practice Issues, Policy Interpretation, Ambiguous Terms, Construction Against Insurers, Evidence, Inferences & Presumptions, Presumptions, Allocation, Liability & Performance Standards, Notice to Insurers, Known Loss Doctrine, Preservation for Review, Governments, Courts, Judicial Precedent, Deductibles, Types of Insurance, Excess Insurance, Umbrella Policies, Good Faith & Fair Dealing, Duty to Defend, Alternative Risk Transfers, Self Insurance, Commercial General Liability Insurance, Coverage, Environmental Claims, Real Property, Environmental Damage, Triggers, Exposure Triggers, Business Insurance, Costs & Attorney Fees, Attorney Fees & Expenses, Reasonable Fees, Legal Ethics, Client Relations, Attorney Fees, Remedies, Computation, Coinsurance, Contribution, Indemnification, Contracts Law, Types of Damages, Compensatory Damages, Judgment Interest, Prejudgment Interest, Standards of Review, Abuse of Discretion