Source: https://www.constructionrisk.com/, January 2020 Does an Additional Insured under a contractor’s commercial general liability (CGL) policy have coverage for claims against the additional insured that aren’t based on allegations of negligent acts or omissions of the named insured contractor? In this decision the court concludes that although the CGL policy doesn’t expressly state that “negligence” […]

Source: https://www.constructionrisk.com/, January 2020 Design-Builder of a bridge sued its engineer subconsultant for costs allegedly attributed to errors in preliminary designs and cost/quantity estimates provided under the terms of a Teaming Agreement. Following a bench trial, the court rejected most of the design-builder’s claims, finding that the contractor was essentially attempting to argue that the […]

Source: The Lowell Ledger (MI), January 29, 2020 Posted on: https://www.advisen.com/ After last week’s announced legal action by the state of Michigan, 3M, DuPont and other manufacturers of PFAS chemicals and their predecessors are facing suits from across the globe. For example, 3M is presently being sued by the government of Guam, among others. Read […]

Source: https://www.greatamericaninsurancegroup.com/, Environmental Insider, Winter 2020 Be ready when life happens. These industry-trend situations illustrate the variety of environmental exposures that could affect your customers!  Legionella: An apartment complex had multiple confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease. As a result, state and city health departments required an investigation. Unfortunately, the legionella bacteria was confirmed and remediation […]

Source: https://www.greatamericaninsurancegroup.com/, Environmental Insider, Winter 2020 As stated in a previous Environmental Insider article, the environmental insurance industry has experienced an increase in both frequency and severity of claims as coverage has likewise expanded from its genesis in the early 1980s. Underwriters, claims adjusters and insureds face many pollution-related challenges today that had not yet surfaced […]

Source: https://www.greatamericaninsurancegroup.com/, Environmental Insider, Winter 2020 Over the years, there have been several emerging trends that have gained the attention of the environmental liability insurance industry, including an increased awareness and focus on environmental regulations as well as the continued discovery of newly emerging contaminants, both regulated and unregulated. As a result, environmental insurance has […]

Source: https://www.cleveland.com/, January 28, 2020 By: Emily Bamforth Lakewood’s surprise discovery of tetrachloroethylene underneath stone slabs at the former Lakewood Hospital redevelopment site will cost about $1.72 million to clean up, officials say. The former Lakewood Hospital site at the corner of Detroit and Belle Avenues is set to become One Lakewood Place, a mixed-use […]

Source: The Washington Post, January 24, 2020 Posted on: https://www.advisen.com/ A Northern California river has glistening red streaks of cabernet sauvignon coursing through its waters after the door of a 97,000-gallon winery tank in Healdsburg popped open Wednesday afternoon, authorities say. The wine spilled into a nearby creek and made its way into the Russian […]

A Bay Area environmental group sued some of the world’s biggest food, beverage and product manufacturers Wednesday, accusing them of polluting the world’s oceans and waterways, including San Francisco and Monterey bays, with millions of tons of plastic. The lawsuit, filed in San Mateo Superior Court by the Berkeley-based Earth Island Institute, accuses 10 of […]

Source: https://www.gpbnews.org/, January 24, 2020 By: Ellen Eldridge As claims come in from people affected by a deadly outbreak of Legionella bacteria last July, the Sheraton Atlanta hotel on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court. In the suit, the company behind Sheraton Atlanta asks a judge to obligate insurance companies to pay […]

Source: https://www.nj.com/, January 23, 2020 By: Michael Sol Warren A shuttered Trenton dry cleaning business has been fined more than $200,000 for failing to clean up a decades-old toxic mess. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced on Thursday that it had won a case against Schofield Cleaners by default, after the business failed to […]

Source: https://www.wzzm13.com/, January 24, 2020 Kalamazoo County officials said Friday that per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) contaminants found at a former landfill may be seeping into groundwater outside of the zone. South Westnedge Park at 9010 South Westnedge Ave. in Portage was previously used as a municipal landfill. The city has conducted groundwater cleanups at the […]