AIU Insurance Company v. McKesson Corporation
- Jacquelyn Corley
- 3:20-cv-07469
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In AIU Insurance v. McKesson, Judge Corley granted the stipulation, entered partial judgment under Rule 54(b), and stayed the remaining claims.
AIU Insurance Company, McKesson Corporation, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA, ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company, and the remaining claims in Case Nos. 20-cv-07469-JSC and 20-cv-09356-JSC.
What happened
In AIU Insurance Company v. McKesson Corporation, the parties asked the court to enter judgment on an earlier partial summary judgment order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). That rule allows final judgment on some, but not all, claims when the court finds there is no reason to delay it.
The earlier order granted partial summary judgment for National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA and ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company, and denied McKesson’s request for partial summary judgment. It ruled that National Union had no duty to defend McKesson under one policy and that ACE had no duty to defend McKesson under another policy in three opioid-related lawsuits.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted the stipulation, entered judgment under Rule 54(b) on the earlier order, and stayed the remaining claims in two related cases while any appeal of that judgment is resolved. The court denied McKesson’s motion for entry of judgment and an earlier stipulation as moot.
The detailed version
- AIU Insurance Company v. McKesson Corporation · No. 3:20-cv-07469
- Jacquelyn Corley
- July 6, 2022
Background
The parties stipulated to entry of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) based on the court’s April 5, 2022 partial summary judgment order. Rule 54(b) permits a court to enter final judgment on fewer than all claims or parties when the resolved issues are sufficiently separate from the remaining claims and there is no just reason to delay judgment.
The court found that the partial summary judgment order was sufficiently separate from the other claims, that an appeal could resolve threshold policy-coverage questions and streamline further litigation, and that the parties’ agreement supported finding no reason to delay judgment. The court also found that staying the remaining claims while any appeal was resolved was appropriate.
Earlier Partial Summary Judgment Order
The April 5 order granted partial summary judgment in favor of National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA (NU) and ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company (ACE), and denied partial summary judgment for McKesson. It ruled that NU had no duty to defend McKesson under Policy No. 5443284, covering July 1, 2008 through July 1, 2009, and that ACE had no duty to defend McKesson under Policy No. XOO G27610390 001, covering July 1, 2015 through July 1, 2016. Those rulings applied to three lawsuits: County of Cuyahoga v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., No. 17-OP-45004 (N.D. Ohio); County of Summit v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., No. 18-OP-45090 (N.D. Ohio); and Oklahoma v. McKesson Corp., No. CJ-2020-84 (Bryan County, Oklahoma).
Ruling
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted the stipulation. The court entered judgment under Rule 54(b) on the April 5 partial summary judgment order and stayed all remaining claims in Case Nos. 20-cv-07469-JSC and 20-cv-09356-JSC pending resolution of any appeal of that judgment. The court denied McKesson’s motion for entry of judgment and the earlier stipulation as moot.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.