Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
Simon Wrecking Company Inc., et al. vs. AIU Insurance Company, et al.
Year: 2007
Court: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Case Number: 03-CV3231
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Pennsylvania

Interpretation of pollution exclusion clause. UP urged the Court to interpret the “sudden and accidental” exclusion in favor of coverage and should estop CNA (the defendant) from applying the exclusion in anyway that is inconsistent with its representation to the State Insurance regulators in 1970…
State of California vs. Superior Court
Year: 2005
Court: Fourth Appellate District, California
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • California

Application of the “pollution Exclusion” in liability insurance policies, regarding allocation of burden of proof as between covered and non-covered issues; regulatory estoppel; (regulatory admissions)
Sunbeam Corporation vs. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Year: 1999
Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Case Number: 1122 PG97
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Pennsylvania

Pollution exclusion; estoppel; insured’s reasonable expectations of coverage
Town of Harrison and Village of Harrison v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. Pittsburgh, PA
Year: 1995
Court: New York State Court of Appeals
Case Number: 13167/92
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • New York

Absolute “pollution exclusion”; fiduciary duty; duty of good faith and fair dealing
Travelers Casualty and Surety Co vs. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds of London
Year: 2000
Court: New York State Court of Appeals
Case Number: 2000-2299, 2000-2300
Issue:
  • No "hindsight" underwriting
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • New York

Reinsurance companies should not be free from oversight and regulation. Lloyds should not be allowed to engage in “hindsight” underwriting to change “loss” to “occurrence” and to insert a “proximate cause” requirement. UP’s co-amici are Fresh Air Fund, Center for Children and Families and Police…
Western Alliance Insurance Company vs. Gill, Jarnail Singh
Year: 1996
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Case Number: SJC-07506
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Massachusetts
Hussey Copper, Ltd. v. Arrowood Indemnity Company, f/k/a Royal Insurance Company of America
Year: 2009
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
Case Number: 09-4037
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Pennsylvania

UP’s letter addressed the meaning of the absolute pollution exclusion and how it affects policyholders throughout the nation. Insurance policies are often the only viable source of defense and indemnification. The absolute pollution exclusion undercuts coverage that policyholders had bought and relied upon. If misapplied,…
State of California v. Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, Allstate
Year: 2006
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: Supreme Court Case No. S149988, CA Court of Appeal case no. E037627
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • California
Villa Los Almos HOA v. State Farm General Ins. Co.
Year: 2010
Court: California Court of Appeal, 1st District, Division 4
Case Number: A128443
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • California

This is a “total pollution exclusion” case akin to–though with significantly different facts than–the Cold Creek Compost case. In this matter, a homeowners association hired a contractor to scrape acoustic ceilings, resulting in a one-time, accidental and localized release of asbestos in and around the…
PMB Nutritionals v. Lexington Ins. Co., et al.
Year: 2010
Court: Virginia Supreme Court
Case Number: 110669
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Virginia

Claim denied on the grounds that the occurrence was excluded as pollution. UP argued that the exclusion applies to industrial pollution of the environment, as obviated by representations made to regulators.
Mountain States Mutual Casualty Co. v. Roinestad
Year: 2010
Court: Colorado Supreme Court
Case Number: 2010SC853
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Colorado

An insurer denied coverage under the pollution exclusion following the physical injuries sustained by exposure to naturally occurring sewer gas subsequent to a plumbing mishap. The insurance company alleged that the Absolute Pollution Exclusion (APE) applied; UP addressed the history and scope of the APE…
Georgia Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Bobby Chupp and Amy Smith
Year: 2015
Court: Georgia Supreme Court
Case Number: S15G1177
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Georgia

Claims for personal injury resulting from lead-based paint ingestion are not excluded from coverage pursuant to pollution exclusions typically included in commercial general liability (“CGL”) insurance policies. Often referred to as the “absolute” or “total” pollution exclusion, this provision – as evidenced by, inter alia,…
Colony Ins. Co. v. Victory Construction LLC
Year: 2017
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 17-35357
Issue:
  • Duty to Defend
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Oregon

The duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify. It is the most fundamental duty of a liability insurer. The absolute pollution exclusion (“APE”), which exists in nearly every CGL (Commerical General Liability) policy, relieves the insurer of the duty to defend when…