Source: Los Angeles Times, March 12, 2015 Posted on: http://fpn.advisen.com Exide Technologies will immediately begin shutting down its embattled battery recycling plant in Vernon after reaching an agreement, which federal officials announced Thursday, that allows the company to avoid facing criminal prosecution for decades of pollution. Under the deal between federal officials and the company, […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, March 9, 2015 By: Jeffrey D. Stemerick, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Hoosier land owners sleep well at night knowing that they are insured against liability for environmental contamination because Indiana does not enforce the standard pollution exclusion clauses found in many insurance polies. State Automobile Mut. Ins. Co. v. Flexdar, Inc., 964 […]

Source: http://www.natlawreview.com, March 11, 2015 In Advanced Waste Services, Inc. v. United Milwaukee Scrap, LLC, 2014-AP-1169, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that the “total pollution exclusion” bars insurance coverage for occurrences caused by pollutants regardless of what entity dispersed the pollutants. In that case, United Milwaukee Scrap (“UMS”) contracted with Advanced Waste Services (“AWS”) to […]

Source: http://www.jdsupra.com, March 9, 2015 By: Kristin Suga Heres, Zelle Hoffmann Voelbel & Mason LLP Recent media reports alleging that certain laminate flooring manufactured in China and distributed in the U.S. contains unsafe levels of formaldehyde may have a familiar and frightening ring to them, particularly for insurers that weathered years of coverage litigation involving […]

Source: http://insurancenewsnet.com, March 10, 2015 By: Keith Eddings, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, MA Lawsuits over the construction of two city schools built as long as 14 years ago are inching through Superior Court, where the city is seeking about $14 million in damages. One of the jobs — at the Guilmette School, where the city […]

Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA), March 3, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com An oil company has sued to block San Benito County’s voter-approved fracking ban in a move that could affect the growing trend of California cities and counties’ efforts to stop the controversial oil drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing. In the lawsuit, Citadel Exploration, […]

Source: Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com California officials, responding to concerns about groundwater contamination, are closing 12 wells in the Central Valley used to dispose of chemical-laden water from oil and gas production, regulators announced Tuesday. Steve Bohlen, who leads the state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, said the […]

Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV), March 4, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com, March 4, 2015 Attorneys are looking at ways to bring the Freedom Industries bankruptcy case to conclusion, first and foremost by dealing with obligations under a West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection remediation program and selling the Etowah River property. Tuesday’s hearing in federal […]

Source: The Independent (UK), March 3, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com British American Tobacco has dumped its auditors PwC and taken them to court over a potential $1bn (651m pounds) US environmental damages bill. It is the latest in a long line of tests for the Big Four auditing firm, which is still reeling from accusations […]

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 11, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com The lawsuit of 241 Washington County residents against the owner and operator of a fuel pipeline that spilled gasoline onto a Town of Jackson farm field in July 2012 has been settled. Washington County Circuit Judge Todd Martens on Wednesday approved the agreement and dismissed […]

Source: http://constfpn.advisen.com, March 11, 2015 By: John Carver and Todd M. Rowe Recent news investigations have brought to light allegations that flooring manufactured in China may use glue that contains the toxin formaldehyde. The potential for insurance claims increases each day as homeowners begin to remove this toxic flooring from their homes. Unfortunately, we saw […]

Source: Hartford Courant (CT), March 7, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Caulk used in the construction of Clark Elementary School is laden with PCBs and may be a reason why the school’s air is tainted with the hazardous chemical, the district’s consultants said in a report Friday. Samples taken from the public school revealed PCB levels […]