May One Insurer Demand Contribution from Others Who Did Not Receive Notice, Consent to Settlement?

Pennsylvania General Insurance Company v. Park-Ohio Industries, Inc., et al., Case no. 2009-0104

8th District Court of Appeals (Cuyahoga County)

ISSUE: Under this Court's 2002 decision in Goodyear Tire & Rubber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.,when an insured party has coverage for the same risk under policies issued by more than one insurance company, the insured may elect to seek full recovery of its losses under only one policy, subject to the selected insurer's policy limits, and the selected insurer may seek to recover equitable shares of its outlays on behalf of the insured via contributions from the other, non-selected insurers to the extent such recovery is possible. In this case, the Court is asked whether Goodyear allows a "selected" insurer to recover proportional shares of its outlays from non-selected insurance companies despite the policyholder's failure to comply with provisions of the other companies' policies requiring immediate notice of any pending claims and requiring the insurer's prior consent to any settlement of a claim?