Does Declaratory Judgment Denying Tortfeasor Insurance Coverage Apply to a Plaintiff Not Joined in That Action?
The Estate of Jeffrey K. Heintzelman et al. v. Air Experts, Inc., et al., Case no. 2008-2173 Delaware County ISSUE: When an insurance company files a civil action seeking a declaratory judgment that its policy does not provide coverage sought by a policy holder, and the insurer does not join or give notice about that action to a plaintiff with a pending lawsuit against the same policy holder, does the award of a declaratory judgment in favor of the insurer preclude the unjoined plaintiff from later suing the insurance company to recover a civil judgment it has obtained against the policy holder? BACKGROUND: In July 2002, Delaware homeowner Jeffrey Heintzelman went to his attic to deal with water leaking from a central air conditioning unit and was electrocuted because of an exposed electrical outlet to which that unit was connected. The air conditioner and outlet was installed and had been serviced on several occasions by Thomas Martel, who operated a heating and air conditioning busin
