As the Coronavirus losses mount, a burning question for many businesses concerns the insurance coverage available to ease these losses. Insurance companies can be expected to push back, disclaim coverage and point to exclusions. But coverage exists for various forms of loss from this pandemic. A review of typical insurance policies held by businesses shows […]

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”) has been a prodigious generator of litigation for decades. First, the government sought to compel potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) to clean up contaminated sites. Then, those PRPs who were found liable or who settled with the government sought contribution from other PRPs. Now, even after these […]

A Sutton, Mass.-based contractor has agreed to pay $120,000 to reimburse the state for the cost of responding to a 2017 explosion and fire of a backyard shed at a Shrewsbury residential property, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced. The explosion and fire released hazardous chemicals and fumes, causing workers and a neighbor to develop […]

The Port of Astoria is nearing the settlement of a multidecade argument on how to clean up historical petroleum contamination along the central waterfront. The Port Commission will likely vote at its next meeting to accept a $2.9 million settlement with McCall Oil & Chemical Corp. and ExxonMobil. The other option is to take the […]

We are all currently experiencing turbulent economic conditions and uncertainties that may last for the foreseeable future. In light of this uncertainty, we remind property owners, lenders, and managers, as well as landlords and tenants, to identify both potential environmental risks and valuable environmental assets associated with a property or tenant.  Identifying these potential liabilities […]

Increased billings by architecture and engineering firms generated bigger professional liability premiums in 2019 but also led to the first upswing in claims activity in several years, Ames & Gough said in a report. The brokerage, based in McLean, Va., said its annual survey of professional liability insurance carriers found that 40 percent reported a […]

A recent report from the Pentagon says it may take decades to remove toxic “forever chemicals” from the water supply near military bases following a surge in the number of sites with suspected contamination. The Defense Department now has 651 sites it suspects could be contaminated with PFAS, a class of chemicals used in a […]

Recent testing shows the groundwater at Miami Dade College’s North Campus is contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). That water is treated and circulated throughout parts of Miami-Dade County. Despite the test results, the county says its tap water is safe to drink, reported the Miami New Times.…

Business insurance policies contain exclusions precluding coverage under specified circumstances. Two exclusions potentially relevant to COVID-19 claims are the virus, bacteria or communicable disease and pollution exclusions. In this blog post, we examine these exclusions in the context of coverage issues for COVID-19.  Read more.…

Federal environmental regulators have fined the mining company Asarco for failing to do enough to control hazardous dust at its copper smelter in southeastern Arizona. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that Asarco paid $33,000 in penalties. The agency said the company hadn’t complied with a plan to control windblown dust containing lead and other […]

The military now has at least 651 sites that have been contaminated with cancer-linked “forever chemicals,” a more than 50 percent jump from its last tally. The information was released Friday in a report from the Department of Defense (DOD), part of a task force designed to help the military remove a class of chemicals known […]

The Montana Supreme Court ruled largely in favor of roughly 1,200 plaintiffs Wednesday that say BNSF railway should be held liable for its part in contaminating Libby with asbestos. But, the court didn’t outline exactly what activities the railway could be held liable for, and to what extent. The Supreme Court found that federal regulations […]