Source: MHN Online, February 8, 2013 By: Kevin Smith, Vice President & Real Estate Practice Group Leader, The Graham Company While most property owners are familiar with coverage for their portfolio of properties, there are some unique provisions and exposures inherent in property under construction, whether new or renovation of existing buildings. A properly structured […]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com, February 20, 2013 By: Kevin Murphy, Reuters A blast and fire that flattened a Kansas City restaurant, killing a young woman and injuring 15 others, apparently erupted an hour after a contractor installing cable nearby severed a natural gas line and caused a leak, officials said on Wednesday. The eatery, JJ’s restaurant, in […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, February 15, 2013 By: David Erickson and Mark Anstoetter, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP A federal court in California has dismissed the City of San Diego’s claims against the owner of a former petroleum depot. California v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., No. 07-cv-1883 (S.D. Cal. 1/25/13). Petroleum from the former depot operation […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, February 19, 2013 By: Brian Margolies, Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP In its recent decision in Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Devon International, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20659 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 15, 2013), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, applying Pennsylvania law, had occasion to consider whether a […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, February 15, 2013 By: David Erickson and Mark Anstoetter, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP A federal court in Missouri has determined that a floor-sealing product used by a construction cleanup company was not a “pollutant” and that the company’s insurer must defend and indemnify claims based on exposure to the sealant’s fumes. United […]

Source: The Sparta Independent, February 20, 2013 By: Daniel Fitzsimmons and Thomas Bias Tennessee Gas uses eminent domain to move forward with jughandle route On Feb. 15, men with chainsaws descended upon the hill behind George Feighner’s house in Montague and began clearing trees and brush to make way for a natural gas pipeline. Feighner, […]

Read here about a $1.6 million settlement that has been reached with multiple companies as a result of toxic pollution.  

Source: Mondaq, February 6, 2013 By: John N. Ellison and Luke E. Debevec Policyholders with pollution-related liabilities in Pennsylvania scored another win in January, in the ongoing litigation battle with insurance companies that argue for the broadest possible interpretation of the “pollution exclusions” in their policies. In an important decision issued January 22, 2012, Chief […]

Source: Vindicator (Youngstown, OH), February 12, 2013 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Ben W. Lupo, owner of D&L Energy and Hardrock Excavating, admitted he ordered employees to dump drilling waste into a city storm drain at least five times before being caught Jan. 31, an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency official said. Each time, starting in September 2012, […]

Source: The Record (Hackensack, NJ), February 12, 2013 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Top federal environmental officials reassured about two dozen Upper Ringwood residents on Monday night that the cleanup of the 500-acre Superfund site in their community is a priority, but some remained skeptical and asked for a government buyout. Mathy Stanislaus, the assistant administrator of […]

Read here about a refinery operator in Kansas that will pay over $2 million in clean up costs for a 2007 oil spill.  

Read here about a West Virginia gas processing plant that will be over $300K in fines for erosion problems.