INDIANAPOLIS - Because court-ordered remedies imposed to prevent future harmful emissions from a power plant were not caused by an occurrence, insurers have no duty to defend or indemnify an insured in underlying federal litigation, an Indiana Court of Appeals panel held Oct. 28 (Cinergy Corp., et al. v. St. Paul Surplus Lines Insurance Co., et al., No. 32A04-0810-CV-622, Ind. App.; 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 2251; See 9/20/07, Page 7). Full story on lexis.com

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge in California on Oct. 29 denied an insolvent asbestos building materials manufacturer's motion for summary judgment on its bad faith claim because issues of fact exist as to whether the insurer could have reasonably believed that no coverage was afforded under the policy and whether a claim for coverage was actually submitted to the insurer (The Flintkote Company v. General Accident Assurance Company of Canada, et al., No. 04-cv-01827, N.D. Calif.; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100632; See 6/3/09, Page 10). Full story on lexis.com

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A Kansas federal judge on Oct. 23 entered an amended order of dismissal after an insurer and its insured agreed to settle coverage claims for underlying asbestos bodily injury suits (KCG Inc. v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., No. 09-2181, D. Kan.). Full story on lexis.com

Case name: In re: Thorpe Insulation Co. Case number: 07-19271 Court: C.D. Calif. Bkcy. Judge: Sheri Bluebond Full story on lexis.com

Case name: In re: Quigley Company Inc. Case number: 04-15739 Court: S.D. N.Y. Bkcy. Judge: Stuart M. Bernstein Full story on lexis.com

Case name: In re W.R. Grace & Co., et al. Case number: 01-1139 Court: D. Del. Bkcy. Judge: Judith K. Fitzgerald Full story on lexis.com

Case name: In re W.R. Grace & Co., et al. Case number: 01-1139 Court: D. Del. Bkcy. Judge: Judith K. Fitzgerald Full story on lexis.com

WILMINGTON, Del. - An insured seeking coverage for underlying bodily injury lawsuits arising from salmonella contamination at one of its manufacturing plants must show that it paid more than $5 million in damages for a particular lot or batch before an insurer's duty to defend is triggered, a Delaware state judge said Oct. 30 (ConAgra Foods Inc. v. Lexington Insurance Co., No. 09C-02-170, Del. Super., New Castle Co.). Full story on lexis.com

MINNEAPOLIS - Because an insurer failed to show that it was reasonably foreseeable that towels contaminated with vegetable shortening could spontaneously combust after laundering, its claims for recovery of insurance payments made to its insured cannot stand, a Minnesota federal judge said Oct. 23 (Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. CFC Inc., No. 08-859, D. Minn.; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99143). Full story on lexis.com

PHILADELPHIA - An asset purchase agreement does not obligate Hartford Fire Insurance Co. to step into the shoes of an insolvent insurer and provide coverage to a former G-I Holdings Inc. officer who is a defendant in three fraudulent conveyance lawsuits, the Third Circuit U.S Court of Appeals affirmed Oct. 26 (G-I Holdings Inc., et al. v. Reliance Insurance Co., et al., No. 07-2510, 3rd Cir.; See 3/27/07, Page 14). Full story on lexis.com

NEW YORK - A claimant who was diagnosed with pleural airway disease as a result of working with asbestos is entitled to workers' compensation benefits from the insurer whose policy was effective on the date he was diagnosed with the disease and not from the insurer whose policy was effective on the date of his last exposure to the condition that caused the disease, the Third Department New York Supreme Court Appellate Division said Oct. 22 (In the matter of the claim of Adrzej Mlodozeniec v. Trio Asbestos Removal Corp. et al., No. 505868, N.Y. Sup., App. Div., 3rd Dept.; 2009 N.Y. App. LEXIS 7385). Full story on lexis.com

NEW YORK - An insurer on Oct. 20 sued its reinsurer in a New York federal court over alleged obligations regarding a $35 million settlement of certain asbestos-related claims against an insolvent insulation products distributor and installer and asked the court for a declaration that the reinsurer must follow the fortunes of the insurer (Republic Indemnity Company of America v. Transatlantic Reinsurance Company, No. 09-cv-08871, S.D. N.Y.). Full story on lexis.com

RALEIGH, N.C. - A North Carolina federal judge on Oct. 10 granted a property owner's motion to intervene in a chemical spill coverage suit because the property owner has an interest in the outcome of the coverage suit (Evanston Insurance Co. v. G&T Fabricators Inc., et al., No. 09-22, E.D. N.C.; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98785). Full story on lexis.com

NEW ORLEANS - A Louisiana federal judge on Oct. 7 granted an insured's motion to abstain from exercising federal jurisdiction because the claims at issue in the insurer's federal suit, which seeks a declaration of its coverage obligations for environmental contamination, are the same as those pending in the underlying state court suit (United States Fire Insurance Co. v. The Housing Authority of New Orleans, No. 08-4756, E.D. La.; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98338). Full story on lexis.com

DALLAS - Texas law governs any contractual and statutory claims concerning insurance coverage for an underlying construction defects and mold damages case, a Texas federal judge found Oct. 16 (Trammell Crow Residential Co. v. Virginia Surety Co. Inc. v. American Protection Insurance Co. and Old Republic Insurance Co., No. 08-685, N.D. Texas; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96344). Full story on lexis.com

SAN FRANCISCO - An insured's costs of delay were not a covered peril under an insurance policy's exclusion for rain damage, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed Oct. 26 (ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Co. v. Vegas VP LP, No. 08-16282, 9th Cir.). Full story on lexis.com

NEW YORK - Because an insurer failed to establish that a municipality's negligence in maintaining its sewer system caused insureds to sustain damages after a sewage backup, a trial court did not err in granting the municipality's motion for summary judgment, the Second Department of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division said Oct. 20 (Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. v. County of Nassau, No. 12140/06, N.Y. App., 2nd Dept.). Full story on lexis.com

LINCOLN, Neb. - An insurer had no obligation to post a supersedeas bond on behalf of its insured for a judgment exceeding the remaining policy limits, the Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed Oct. 20 (Hedy Wiegert-Stathes, personal representative of the estate of Erich Wiegert v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co., No. A-08-1041, Neb. App.; 2009 Neb. App. LEXIS 179). Full story on lexis.com

PITTSBURGH - A federal judge on Oct. 16 granted a request from a plaintiff seeking to represent a class of people challenging an insurance company's interpretation of "actual charges" in a supplemental cancer insurance policy to depose the company's in-house counsel even though the practice is disfavored because the attorney was a member of a taskforce created to determine if the company should pay less to its customers (Frances J. Smith, et al. v. Life Investors Insurance Company of America, No. 07-cv-681, W.D. Pa.; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96310). Full story on lexis.com

The Oct. 21 issue's summary of the ruling in Viking Pump Inc. v. Century Indemnity Co., et al. Warren Pumps LLC v. Century Indemnity Co., et al., Viking Pump Inc. v. John Crane Inc., Houdaille Industries Inc. (No 1465-VCS, Del. Chanc.) on Page 4 incorrectly listed the attorneys representing Warren Pumps. Full story on lexis.com

WILMINGTON, Del. - Two pump manufacturers embroiled in asbestos litigation are entitled to coverage from the excess insurance policies that their original parent corporation purchased, a Delaware jurist held Oct. 14 (Viking Pump Inc. v. Century Indemnity Co., et al. Warren Pumps LLC v. Century Indemnity Co., et al., Viking Pump Inc. v. John Crane Inc., Houdaille Industries Inc., No 1465-VCS; Del. Chanc.). Full story on lexis.com

PHILADELPHIA - A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 15 affirmed a lower court's order compelling an arbitration between a reinsurer and its retrocessional reinsurer because the retrocessional reinsurance agreements incorporated the arbitration clauses of certain reinsurance treaties between the reinsurer and its reinsured (Century Indemnity Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, No. 08-2924, 3rd Cir.; 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 22619; See 9/26/06, Page 15). Full story on lexis.com

TRENTON, N.J. - A New Jersey federal judge on Oct. 2 denied various insurers' motions for interlocutory review and for a stay of bankruptcy proceedings in an asbestos bankruptcy coverage dispute (In re: Congoleum Corp., et al., No. 09-1337, D. N.J.; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91924; See 10/14/09, Page 16). Full story on lexis.com

LANSING, Mich. - The majority of the Michigan Supreme Court on Oct. 9 denied an insurer's application for leave to appeal a judgment entered in an insured's favor for mold damages because the jury's award was based on its determination that some of the damages arose from the insurer's breach of contract (Gwiniov J. Riley v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., No. 137968, Mich. Sup.; 2009 Mich. LEXIS 2363). Full story on lexis.com

SALEM, Ore. - A homeowners insurance policy excludes coverage for insureds' damage caused by the continuous leakage of water from a plumbing system, even though coverage exists for damages caused by fungi, wet or dry rot, or bacteria, the Oregon Court of Appeals held Oct. 14 (Kathleen Marsh and Fairborz Habibi v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co., No. A136067, Ore. App.; 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 1537). Full story on lexis.com

HOUSTON - A trial court did not err in striking an insured's cross-claim because the coverage claim regarding mold remediation costs was included in the contractor's complaint filed against the insured and its insurer, the First District Texas Court of Appeals said Oct. 15 (SCTW Health Care Center Inc., et al. v. AAR Inc., et al., No. 01-07-00762, Texas App., 1st Dist.; 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 8071). Full story on lexis.com

TROY, Mich. - An insurer is not liable to reimburse another coverage provider that incurred damages after a construction company was sued by homeowners alleging that they suffered a loss caused by mold and water incursion, a Michigan appeals court affirmed on Oct. 13 (Hometowne Building Company, L.L.C. v. North American Specialty Insurance Company, et al., No. 287336, Mich. App.; 2009 Mich. App. LEXIS 2116). Full story on lexis.com

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A "tangible property" exclusion bars coverage for damage arising out of water infiltration of a building, a Florida federal judge ruled Oct. 14, finding that an insurer has no duty to defend (Eastpointe Condominium I Association Inc. v. Travelers Casualty & Surety Company of America, No. 08-81187, S.D. Fla.; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95720). Full story on lexis.com

DALLAS - A Texas federal judge on Oct. 13 granted preliminary approval for a settlement between a pharmaceutical drug manufacturer and its insurers of up to $110 million in a class action over damages caused by E-Ferol, a high-potency vitamin E supplement injected into premature infants (Victoria Klein, et al. v. O'Neal Inc., et al., No. 03-102, N.D. Texas; See 6/24/09, Page 10). Full story on lexis.com

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