Although there’s been more than a bit of turmoil over the last few months, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has been busy over the past month issuing significant precedential decisions (see, e.g. the Tincher decision). The run continues with Pennsylvania Nat. Mut. Cas. Ins. Co. v. St. John in which the Supreme Court ruled on whether the “continuous or multiple trigger” is exclusive to asbestos cases or also applies to other types of cases. Under the “multiple trigger” theory of liability, insurance coverage is triggered under any policy in effect from the moment of initial exposure to the dangerous condition until the date of manifestation of the actual injury.

In Pennsylvania Nat. Mut. Cas. Ins. Co. v. St. John, the appellants owned a dairy farm and hired a plumber to install a new plumbing system. The work was completed in July 2003. The plumbing system, however, was defectively installed. Consequently, the appellant’s cows were exposed to contaminated drinking water, and, as a result, suffered from, among other things, reduced milk production, salmonella poisoning, and birth defects. Although the appellants sought help from veterinarians and nutritionists, the appellants did not learn that the cow’s health problems were caused by a defect in the plumbing system until March 2006.

The appellants subsequently sued the plumber for negligent installation of the plumbing system in 2007 and were awarded $3.5 million in damages. The plumber had four relevant commercial general liability (“CGL”) policies with effective dates beginning on July 1, 2003 and continuing until July 1, 2006. The plumber’s insurer, however, only agreed to pay $1.2 million of the verdict, which was the liability limit under the plumber’s 2003/2004 CGL policy. More specifically, the insurer only agreed to pay under the policy during which the appellant’s injuries first manifested. The plumber, however, argued that because the diseases in the cows were “gradual and progressive” from 2004 to 2006, there were multiple occurrences, triggering all four of the plumber’s CGL policies.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, however, was unsympathetic to the appellants, and declined to extend the “multiple trigger” theory of liability beyond asbestos to cases involving property damage, and instead, adhered to the rule of “first manifestation.” Under the “first manifestation” rule, coverage is triggered when the property damage becomes “reasonably apparent.” The court explicitly held that the “first manifestation” rule was the “appropriate test for determining when an occurrence happens pursuant to a policy of commercial general liability insurance.”

Obviously, and especially since the plaintiffs’ bar has been attempting to expand the scope of the “continuous trigger” theory (particularly in the construction defect context), this is a particularly significant decision. Asbestos claims remain “special” but all other types of claims are subject to the first manifestation rule. The number of potentially triggered policies decreases accordingly.

Special thanks to Erin Connolly for her contributions to this post. For more information, please contact Bob Cosgrove at