The Second Circuit ruled Thursday that Lloyd’s of London does not need to cover Olin Corp. for remediation costs stemming from a 2009 settlement of suits over groundwater contamination from a California plant, saying the settlement agreement’s terms as written preclude excess coverage.

In an order affirming a decision from the Southern District of New York, the panel wrote that despite a section of Olin’s policies with Lloyd’s, referred to as “Condition C,” saying that coverage costs would be taken as a sum, thus putting those costs over the threshold for excess coverage, the settlement agreement makes an exception for the costs for remediating property that was damaged by the pollution. Read more.…