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Emerson Electric Co. v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co.8/30/2004
o dispose of the wastes properly and did not expect or intend the wastes to be discharged from a disposal facility or to damage the environment.
Plaintiffs offered evidence that, unbeknownst to Therm-O-Disc and contrary to its expectations and intentions, SCRDI stored and handled Therm-O-Disc's wastes improperly at the waste disposal site. Between 1978 and 1980, SCRDI stored more than 1,100 drums containing various types of wastes at the site; many of the drums deteriorated and leaked as a result of SCRDI's allegedly improper handling practices. The EPA confirmed groundwater contamination at the site between 1980 and 1982, leading to the site's placement on the National Priorities List in December of 1982. The EPA and state environmental officials investigated the site from 1984 to 1986 and ultimately concluded that contamination was migrating through the groundwater underneath the site.
In December of 1988, the EPA sent Therm-O-Disc an information request concerning the site. By a letter dated February 14, 1989, the EPA demanded that Therm-O-Disc reimburse it for its costs associated with investigation and remediation of the site. The EPA alleged that Therm-O-Disc sent drums to the site and that releases from those drums caused or contributed to the contamination of the site. Subsequently, in April of 1992, pursuant to CERCLA, the EPA sued Therm-O-Disc and two other companies that allegedly shipped material to the site. In January of 1995, Therm-O-Disc settled with the EPA and agreed, as part of the settlement, to reimburse the government for past costs to a certain date and to take over operation and maintenance of the site's groundwater remediation system.
Trial Court's Judgments with Respect to the Third-Party Waste Disposal Sites
In opposition to plaintiffs' motions for summary judgment and in support of its own motions for summary judgment, Republic argued, in part, that plaintiffs failed to prove a covered "occurrence" because they were aware of the property damage at the two third-party sites prior to the inception of the 1983-84 policy. Plaintiffs responded to Republic's cross-motion with evidence that disputed the accuracy and relevance of Republic's evidence and the inferences which Republic drew from that evidence.
On August 29, 2002, the trial court denied plaintiffs' motions for partial summary judgment and granted Republic's cross-motions. The trial court found that plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate a covered "occurrence" at either site because they "expected and intended," prior to the inception of the policy, the property damage that took place at the two sites.
The Owned Sites' "Intentional Pollution" Judgments
Republic moved for summary judgment on the issue of coverage for owned sites located in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New York, based on the inapplicability of the "sudden and accidental" exception to the pollution exclusion contained in the 1984-85 policy. Republic similarly moved for summary judgment on the issue of coverage with respect to those four sites and cross-moved for summary judgment in conjunction with its opposition to plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment as to the Hatfield, Pennsylvania, site, based on the inapplicability of the customized "accidental" exception to the pollution exclusion contained in the 1983-84 policy. Republic, in essence, argued that the discharges of pollutants were neither "sudden" nor "accidental," thereby precluding coverage. The essential facts concerning each owned site are as follows.
1. The Alabama Owned Site
Emerson's Wiegand Appliance Division (Wiegand) built the Vernon, Alabama, facility on undeveloped land
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