Toxic Torts, Insurance, Civil Remedies

Senate Bill 814 Proposes Sweeping and Retroactive Changes to Environmental Claims Handling in Oregon

by Molly Eckman | Cozen O'Connor on 5/8/2013

On March 13, 2013, the Oregon legislature introduced Senate Bill 814 to create sweeping reforms on environmental claims handling regulations and available remedies for insureds facing liability for cleanup of contaminated...more

Fifth Circuit Reverses District Court in Deepwater Horizon Insurance Coverage Litigation and Grants BP Unlimited Access to...

by John Ellison, Jean Farrell, John Shugrue | Reed Smith on 3/27/2013

On March 1, 2013, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in In re Deepwater Horizon, No. 12-30230, 2013 WL 776354 (5th Cir. March 1, 2013), held that BP PLC ("BP") can access...more

Rhode Island Cleans Up Problematic Superfund Precedent That Undermined Federal Settlements

by Thomas Allen, Sheila Harvey, Liz Lord | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 3/21/2013

The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island has vacated its 2010 summary judgment decision in Ashland Inc. v. GAR Electroforming, 729 F. Supp. 2d 526 (D.R.I. 2010), just days after receiving an amicus memorandum...more

The Intersection of Subrogation and Environmental Law — The Ninth Circuit’s Tyranny of Logic over Common Sense

by Robert S. Sanoff | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 3/20/2013

In a decision that exalts casuistry over common sense, the Ninth Circuit recently held that an insurer who reimbursed $2.4 million in CERCLA response costs to its policyholder had no subrogation rights against the potentially...more

State of California v. Continental Insurance Company, et al.

by Low, Ball & Lynch on 10/12/2012

Insurance Coverage – Stacking of Policy Limits on Progressive & Continuous Loss - California Supreme Court (August 9, 2012) In this decision, the California Supreme Court has ruled for the first time that in a...more

New Jersey Court Denies Reimbursement for Defense Costs

by Cole Schotz on 7/18/2012

In a recent unpublished opinion, a New Jersey Appellate Division court upheld the lower court’s dismissal of an insurance coverage action for environmental contamination. In Spartan Oil Company v. New Jersey...more

Watch your Greenhouse Gases

by Sedgwick LLP on 5/31/2012

In AES Corp. v. Steadfast Ins. Co., Record No. 100764, 2012 WL 1377054 (Va. April 20, 2012), the Supreme Court of Virginia found that a lawsuit alleging damages caused by the insured’s emission of greenhouse gases was not an...more

7th Circuit Addresses the Nature and Purpose of the Pollution Exclusion

by Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP on 3/14/2012

Scottsdale Indem. Co. v. Village of Crestwood, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 5069 (7th Cir. Mar. 12, 2012), the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, applying Illinois law, had occasion to consider the nature and...more

Lack of Control by Insured Over Related Companies Results in Denial of Coverage

by Cole Schotz on 3/5/2012

In Newport Associates, Phase 1 Developers Limited Partnership v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, No. HUD-L-3070-09 ( New Jersey L. Div. January 24, 2012), plaintiff developers brought a declaratory judgment action...more

Fifth Circuit Restricts Cy Pres Doctrine in Class Action Settlements

by Mark Johnson on 11/8/2011

The Fifth Circuit recently issued a significant decision restricting the use of the doctrine of cy pres in class action settlements, as well as affirming the importance of a well-drafted settlement document....more

Defendants Win "Round One" of Climate Change Fight in United States Supreme Court

by Richard Faulk on 7/9/2011

In American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut (“AEP”), the United States Supreme Court held that federal common law public nuisance claims seeking injunctive relief against emitters of greenhouse gases...more

The Pollution Exclusion

by Melito & Adolfsen on 9/30/2009

Having addressed the meaning of “accidental” in the “sudden and accidental” pollution exclusion in 1989 in Technicon, it took eight years before the New York Court of Appeals, in a case handled by Melito & Adolfsen and...more

Allocation Ruling: The Second Department “Time On The Risk” Allocation Ruling In Lead Paint Cases Will Not Be “The Last Word”

by Melito & Adolfsen on 9/30/2009

A New York intermediate appellate court has made a ruling on allocation of the settlement of a lead paint claim between consecutive insurers of the same building. This ruling is significant, not only to lead paint cases, but...more