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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTDISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT
LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY CIVIL ACTION NO.
a/sb EQUIPOWER RESOURCES CORP. 75 Berkeley Street Boston MA
WESTPORT INSURANCE COMPANY a/sb EQUIPOWER RESOURCES CORP.
75 King Street Armonk, New York
NAVIGATORS INSURANCE COMPANY a/sb EQUIPOWER RESOURCES CORP. SXndicate 1221 at Lloyd’s
Floor No. 2 Minster Court London England
ALLIANZ INSURANCE COMPANY a/sb EQUIPOWER RESOURCES CORP.
Chase Manhattan Plaza 37th Floor New York, NY 10005
AC E AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY a/sb EQUIPOWER RESOURCES CORP. 500 Colonial Center Parkway Roswell, GA
AEGIS INSURANCE SERVICES Meadowlands Plaza
East Rutherford NJ 07073
Plaintiffs,
V.
ALCOA HOWMET HAMPTON SEPTEMBER 24 , 2015 Howmet DriveHampton VA
Defendant.
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COMPLAINT
JURISDICTIONAL ALLEGATIONS:
1. Plaintiff, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company is an insurance company
organized under the laws of the State of Massachusetts with i ts principal place of
business at 175 Berkeley Street Boston MA, and brings this action as subrogee of
Equipower Resources Corp
2. Plaintiff, Westport Insurance Company is an insurance company
organized under the laws of the State o f N ew York , w ith its principal place of business
at 17 5 King Street Armonk, NY, and brings this action as subrogee of Equipower
Resources Corp
3. Plaintiff, Navigators Insurance Company is an insurance company
organized in London England with its principal place of business at4th Floor Minster
Court in London England and brings this action as subrogee of Equipower Resources
Corp.
4. Plaintiff, Allianz Insurance Company is an insurance company organized
under the laws of the State of New York, with it s principal place of business at Chase
Manhattan Plaza 37th Floor, New York, NY, and brings this action as subrogee of
Equipower Resources Corp
5. Plaintiff, ACE American Insurance Company is an insurance company
organized under the laws of the State of Georgia with i ts principal place of business at
500 Colonial Center Parkway in Roswell GA, and brings this action as subrogee of
Equipower Resources Corp.
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6. Plaintiff, AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc. is an insurance company
organized under the laws of the State of New Jersey, with its principal place of business
at
Meadowlands Plaza, East Rutherford, NJ, and brings this action as subrogee of
Equipower Resources Corp.
7. Equipower Resources Corp. is a corporation with a principal place of
business at 100 Constitution Place, Hartford, Connecticut.
8. Milford Power Company, LLC, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equipower
Resources Corp., and legal owner and operator of the Milford Power Plant, located at
55 Shelland Street, Milford, CT .
9. Plaintiff insurance companies, hereinafter referred to as “The Market’
issued a policy of insurance to the insured, Equipower Resources Corp., which included
property damage and other coverage for the Milford Power Plant located at Shelland
Street, Milford, CT .
10 . Defendant, Alcoa Howmet Hampton (hereinafter “Alcoa” , is a Virginia
corporation with a principal place of business at Howmet Drive, in Hampton, VA.
11 . This Court has diversity jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1332(a) because Plaintiff insurance companies and Defendant Alcoa are citizens of
different states and the amount in controversy exceeds 75,000 exclusive of interest
and costs.
12. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2) because
a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to this claim occurred in this
District.
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CLAIM FOR RELIEF:
13. At all times mentioned herein, the Defendant Alcoa Howmet Hampton
hereinafter “Alcoa”), was engaged in the business of, among other things, casting,
manufacturing and selling Row 4 low pressure turbine blades.
14. At all times mentioned herein, defendant acted by and through its
employees, agents, and subcontractors.
15. O n M arch 29 , 2012 there was a catastrophic failure of an Alstom GT24
Combustion Turbine located at the Milford Power Plant. The catastrophic loss occurred
because a blade cast by defendant Alcoa Howmet Hampton hereafter “Alcoa”) failed.
16. The subject combustion turbine is identified as Unit 21 with in the Milford
Power Plant.
17. The combustion turbine utilizes the turbine blades to convert thermal
energy and pressure produced by burning of fossil fuels into mechanical energy that is
utilized for the generation of electricity. The electricity produced is the “product” of
Equipower Resources.
18. O n M arch 29 , 2012 Ro w 4 low pressure turbine blade 80, manufactured
by Alcoa and identified by the Serial No. UMK6879L, “cracked, fractured and liberated”
from its position and caused a catastrophic failure of the entire low pressure turbine
resulting in substantial property damage and a significant power outage at the plant.
19. The failure was caused by the liberation of a Ro w 4 low pressure turbine
blade that liberated due to a crack in the blade caused by casting porosity defects which
were internal to the blade and existed at the time it was casted and sold by defendant
Alcoa4
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20. The liberated blade caused damage to downstream blades, vanes, heat
shields and exhaust housing within combustion turbine 21.
21 . The fractured liberated blade isidentified as
blade 80.
22 . Investigation by ALSTOM and an independent third party after the failure
has revealed that a network of intergranular porosity was present in blade 80.
23 . The intergranular porosity caused cracking at the trailing end of blade 80,
which ultimately caused the liberation of blade 80.
24 . A large oxidized crack formed and propagated at the lower trailing edge of
the blade air foil eventually leading to a fracture of the remainder of the blade.
25 . The cracks which caused the liberation of the blade propagated from the
porosity and led to the catastrophic failure
26 . The defects in the blade described above were not seen by Alcoa in its
quality control inspections before the blade left the possession of Alcoa.
27 . Alcoa negligently failed to discover the existence of the aforementioned
casting porosity defects before it placed the blade in the stream of commerce.
28 . Casting porosity defects of the type in blade 80 can be identified by non
destructive examinations such as x ray and ultrasonic inspections and should have
been discovered by Alcoa.
29 . Blade 80 was one of a set of blades manufactured by Defendant.
30. At all times mentioned herein, the set of blades was used by Equipower
for the purpose for which it had been designed, produced, manufactured, tested and
sold; and was used in a manner intended and foreseeable to the defendant.
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31 . Defendant is legally responsible to Equipower and The arket for the
property damage sustained as a result of the defective manufacture of blade 80,
pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes§
52-572m et seq. in ways including, but not
limited to:
a) manufacturing a blade that was defective and unreasonably
d a ngero us ;
b manufacturing a blade that contained a casting defect of extensive
porosity internal to the blade;
c failing to properly inspect the blade before was sold;
d failing to take appropriate steps to discover the defects before the
blade was shipped;
e) failing to conduct appropriate x-ray and/or ultrasonic examinations
of the blade to discover the porosity referred to above;
f failing to warn the plaintiff of the defective condition of the blade.
32 . The defects described above existed within the subject blade when was
put into the stream of commerce by Defendant.
33. As a result of the Defendant’s breach of the Connecticut Products Liability
Statute as herein above, alleged, Equipower’s property sustained extensive damage.
34. Pursuant to the terms of their insurance contracts with Equipower, The
arket has made payments to Equipower for the damages caused by the failure which
occurred on arch 29 , 2012.
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35. To the extent of any payments made by The Market to Equipower, and
pursuant to the policies of insurance and by matter of law, The Market is subrogated to
the rights of Equipower Resources Corp.
WHEREFORE, the plaintiffs, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company a/sb Equipower
Resources Corp., Westport Insurance Company a/sb Equipower Resources Corp
Navigators Insurance Company a/sb Equipower Resources Corp Allianz Insurance
Company a/sb Equipower Resources Corp., Ace American Insurance Company a/sb
Equipower Resources Corp. and Aegis Insurance Services a/sb Equipower Resources
Corp., pray for the following relief:
1. Compensatory damages;
2. Costs; and
3. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.
Dated at Hartford, Connecticut this 4th
day of September 2015.
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PLAINTIFFS,LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCECOMPANY A/S/O EQUIPOWERRESOURCES CORP., WESTPORTINSURANCE COMPANY A S OEQUIPOWER RESOURCES CORP.,NAVIGATORS INSURANCECOMPANY A/S/O EQUIPOWERRESOURCES CORP., ALLIANZINSURANCE COMPANY A S OEQUIPOWER RESOURCES CORP.,AC E AMERICAN INSURANCECOMPANY A/S/O EQUIPOWERRESOURCES CORP. AND AEGISINSURANCE SERVICES NS/OEQUIPOWER RESOOURCES CORP.
Daniel P. Scapellati ofHALLORAN SAGE LLP225 Asylum StreetHartford, CT 06703Fed. Bar ct 03855Phone: 860 297-4622Fax: 860-548-0006S Ca pe llati@ hallo ra nsage co mIts Afforneys
Of Counsel:
Samuel J. Pace, Jr., Esq.Stephen M. Winning, Esq.Dugan Brinkmann Maginnis Pace7880 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 1400Philadelphia, PA 19103s i a c e c d bmplaw cornswinninq 1dbmpIaw.comPhone: 215-563-3500Fax: 215-563-5610
8
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)Rix fNiO 548-0006
Hartfrd, OCOO1 AG E iL i Jtiri No. 26 05
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