A $2.5 million insurance dispute is now playing out in federal court, pitting heavyweight insurers and facility managers against each other over who pays when workplace accidents strike.
On July 30, 2025, American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company - acting for itself and as subrogee for Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. and Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. - filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The suit targets Gemini Insurance Company and U.S. Facilities, Inc., and it all comes down to who should have picked up the tab after a worker was injured at a Merck campus in Pennsylvania.
The complaint tells a story that’s all too familiar in the world of commercial insurance. On December 1, 2019, an employee of U.S. Facilities was assigned to monitor and record carbon dioxide usage at Merck’s North Wales site. According to the filing, the worker, Leonard Villanova, was supposed to simply keep an eye on the CO2 tanks and flip a lever if needed. But the complaint alleges that instructions from supervisors were unclear. Villanova ended up moving a heavy CO2 cylinder - something the plaintiffs say he was neither trained nor required to do - and suffered injuries as a result.
Villanova and his wife later sued Merck and Jones Lang LaSalle in Philadelphia County, seeking damages for his injuries. That’s when the insurance questions kicked in. U.S. Facilities had a contract with Jones Lang LaSalle to provide services at Merck, and that contract required U.S. Facilities to carry commercial general liability insurance, naming both Merck and Jones Lang LaSalle as additional insureds. The policy, issued by Gemini, carried a $1 million per occurrence limit and was supposed to provide primary coverage.
The complaint claims that Merck and Jones Lang LaSalle promptly notified Gemini and requested coverage, but Gemini didn’t respond - even after the lawsuit was filed. Three and a half years later, Gemini acknowledged in writing that it had a duty to defend the companies, but, according to the complaint, still didn’t step in to pay for the defense or the settlement.
With Gemini on the sidelines, Merck and Jones Lang LaSalle turned to their excess insurers, ACE American Insurance Company and American Guarantee, to fund the defense and ultimately settle the Villanova lawsuit. The settlement came in at $2,516,500, with Jones Lang LaSalle paying its retention and the excess insurers covering the remainder under a reservation of rights.
The insurance policy at the heart of the dispute is Gemini’s Commercial General Liability Policy No. VNGP001522. The complaint points to a primary and non-contributory clause, which was supposed to ensure Gemini’s coverage applied first, without seeking contribution from other insurers. The policy also extended coverage to additional insureds - like Merck and Jones Lang LaSalle - for bodily injury caused by U.S. Facilities or its employees.
Now, American Guarantee and Jones Lang LaSalle are asking the court to declare that Gemini was obligated to provide primary defense and indemnity coverage for the Villanova lawsuit, and to order Gemini to reimburse the $1 million policy limit, along with all defense costs and related damages. If Gemini’s denial stands, the plaintiffs want U.S. Facilities to pay up for not meeting its insurance obligations.
It’s worth noting that these are all claims in a freshly filed complaint. None of the allegations have been proven, and the court will ultimately decide who is responsible for the settlement and defense costs tied to the Merck workplace injury.
For those in the insurance business, this case is a pointed reminder: when it comes to additional insured coverage and risk transfer, the fine print - and the follow-through - matter more than ever.
