Manhattan Fire & Marine Insurance v. Travelers Insurance

Appellant Travelers Insurance Company (hereafter Travelers) appeals from a judgment granted in favor of respondent Manhattan Fire and Marine. Insurance Company (hereafter Manhattan) which decreed that a Travelers’ policy provided insurance coverage for liability arising out of an accident which took place during the unloading and pumping of concrete. The judgment required Travelers to reimburse Manhattan for its (Travelers’) pro rata share of the settlement negotiated by counsel for Manhattan in connection with the lawsuit arising from the accident.

On September 7, 1965, Manhattan’s insured, Paul Maney, and Travelers’ insured, Berkeley Ready Mix Company (hereafter Ready Mix) were engaged in delivering concrete into a culvert at a construction site. Ready Mix’ cement truck supplied the concrete by unloading it down a chute and into the hopper of Maney’s concrete pumper which pumped the concrete through flexible hoses and into the culvert. Ready Mix’ job was to keep the hopper full with concrete while Maney, the pumper operator, controlled the flow of concrete from his pumper through the hoses. Both Maney and Ready Mix were under the general supervision of the job…