Maryland Casualty Company v. Green, Civ. A. 23945.
| Decision Date | 03 September 1958 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. 23945. |
| Parties | MARYLAND CASUALTY COMPANY v. Fred GREEN, Administrator of the Estate of Nina Voroponov, Deceased, Indemnity Insurance Company of North America, Friends Neighborhood Guild, Inc., William E. Bottoms, Robert Bottoms, Mamie Bunch, Allen K. Cooper. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
William J. McKinley, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa. (Swartz, Campbell & Henry), Philadelphia, Pa., for plaintiff.
Joseph J. Murphy (Beechwood, Lovitt & Murphy), Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant Indemnity Ins. Co. of North America.
Gordon W. Gerber, Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant Fred Green.
Swartz, Campbell & Henry, Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant Friends Neighborhood Guild, Inc.
Nina Voroponov, after the completion of her day's work at the Friends Neighborhood Guild, was riding home with Allen K. Cooper, another employee of the Guild, in the Guild's station wagon. He ran into another car operated by William E. Bottoms at the intersection of Franklin and Vine Streets in Philadelphia. Nina Voroponov died as a result of the injuries she received in the accident. Fred Green was appointed administrator of her estate. He sued Bottoms, Cooper and the Guild in this court, Green v. Bottoms, 167 F.Supp. 230) for the fatal injuries. Alexandra and Vasily Grigoriev alleged dependents of the deceased filed a Fatal Claim Petition with the Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Board on the ground their daughter was killed while in the course of her employment. William E. Bottoms, Robert Bottoms and Mamie Bunch have sued the Guild in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas No. 7. None of the actions have been adjudicated.
Maryland Casualty Company, the automobile insurance carrier for the Guild, seeks declaratory judgment, here, against Green, the Administrator, Indemnity Insurance Company of North America, the compensation carrier for the Guild, both Bottoms, Bunch and Cooper. And, in this action Green, as Administrator, takes the position as Maryland (Guild's liability insurance carrier) seeks to find out whether it or Indemnity (the Guild's workmen's compensation carrier) should pay the amount of the Guild's liability to the estate of Nina Voroponov, deceased; and Green as Administrator seeks summary judgment, where the two insurance companies each seeking to deny liability to him on the grounds that the other is responsible, that, as a matter of law, Nina Voroponov was not acting in the course of her employment at the time of the accident in which she was fatally injured within the intent of the Pennsylvania Workmen's Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. § 1 et seq.
1. Declaratory judgment is sought by Maryland Casualty because there is one suit in this court for damages as the result of the death of Nina Voroponov and another action in the state court under the Fatal Claim Petition. There are inconsistent pleadings in two separate forums. The question is whether this forms a basis for declaratory judgment relief as sought. The Act confers jurisdiction on a Court at its discretion. No litigant has an absolute right to relief under any circumstances. Cha-Toine Hotel Apartments Building Corp. v. Shogren, 7 Cir., 204 F.2d 256. Relief is not granted merely to determine issues involved in pending cases. 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 2201, 2202; Maryland Casualty Company v. Consumers Finance Service of Pennsylvania, 3 Cir., 101 F.2d 514 (Judge Maris). In C.A. 21091 Maryland Casualty has already appeared and filed an answer on behalf of the Guild and has set up the defense the decedent was killed while in the course of her employment and is restricted to the rights given...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Allstate Insurance Company v. Philip Leasing Company
...S.Ct. 1173, 86 L.Ed. 1620; Cha-Toine Hotel Apartments Building Corp. v. Shogren, 7 Cir., 204 F. 2d 256 (1953); Maryland Casualty Company v. Green, D.C.Pa., 167 F.Supp. 226 (1958); Aetna Insurance Co. v. Busby, D.C.Ala., 87 F.Supp. 505 (1950), and Annotations 12 A.L.R. 66, 19 A.L.R. 1127, 50......
-
United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co. v. Ditoro
...resolved by another pending state or federal action. Maryland Casualty Co. v. Consumers Finance Service, supra; Maryland Casualty Co. v. Green, E.D.Pa.1958, 167 F.Supp. 226, 227, affirmed, 3 Cir., 1959, 266 F.2d 31. This discretion must not be exercised arbitrarily, but rather in accordance......
-
General Acc. Fire & Life Assur. Corp. v. Cohen
...and it should not be penalized for failure to respond by having summary judgment entered against it. See Maryland Casualty Company v. Green (D.C.E.D. Pa., 1958), 167 F.Supp. 226, 228, aff'd (3 Cir., 1959), 266 F.2d Even if the provisions of the statute had been properly invoked and the fact......
-
Edwards v. Madigan
...D.C.W.D.Mich. 1956, 140 F.Supp. 206, affirmed 6 Cir., 1958, 252 F.2d 780. In the same vein, the court in Maryland Casualty Co. v. Green, D.C.E.D.Pa.1958, 167 F.Supp. 226, 227, affirmed 3 Cir., 1959, 266 F.2d 31, stated that the Declaratory Judgment Act "confers jurisdiction on a Court at it......