 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. v. Ribi Immunochen Research3/1/2005
Submitted on Briefs: January 11, 2005
We must determine whether a comprehensive general liability (CGL) policy provides coverage for environmental damage caused by the intentional disposal of hazardous wastes into a landfill that results in the unintentional migration of the wastes into the groundwater. The Twenty-First Judicial District Court, Ravalli County, found that the policy's pollution exclusion bars coverage for the environmental contamination due to the intentional nature of the dumping. We affirm the District Court's decision to deny coverage to Ribi Immunochen Research, Inc. (Ribi) under a CGL policy provided by Travelers Casualty and Surety Company (Travelers).
The parties raise numerous arguments on appeal and cross-appeal, but we need address only the following issues to resolve this matter:
1. Whether the District Court erred in determining that the CGL policy's pollution exclusion provision bars coverage for Ribi's hazardous waste disposal in that the disposal was not "sudden or accidental."
2. Whether the District Court erred in determining Travelers had no duty to defend Ribi against claims brought by third-parties for cleanup costs.
3. Whether the District Court erred in determining that Travelers may recoup its defense costs expended on Ribi's behalf for those claims that the District Court ultimately determined were barred by the CGL policy's pollution exclusion.
4. Whether the District Court erred in ordering Travelers to pay attorneys' fees that Ribi incurred in litigating pre-trial discovery motions.
Ribi also appeals the District Court's dismissal of its contract-based claims against Travelers, including breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing and violations of the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act. We need not reach these issues, however, as our decision to affirm the District Court's conclusions denying coverage for Ribi's environmental contamination makes review of these matters unnecessary. See Story v. City of Bozeman (1990), 242 Mont. 436, 791 P.2d 767 (holding that breach of good faith and fair dealing claim requires showing of breach of contract); see also ยง 33-18-242(5), MCA (an insurer may not be held liable under the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act if the insurer had a reasonable basis in law or in fact for contesting the claim). Similarly, we resolve Travelers's narrow cross-appeal question regarding which party bears the burden of proving an "occurrence" within the context of our analysis of the broader burden of proof discussion.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Ribi, a corporation located in Hamilton, Montana, at all times pertinent to these proceedings, develops biopharmaceutical products. From 1981 to 1985, Ribi used toxic solvents to extract and purify its products. Ribi routinely disposed of its hazardous wastes at Bitterroot Valley Sanitary Landfill (BVSL) for most of this period. Ribi employees transported containers of waste to BVSL each month and poured the liquid contaminants into an open, unlined, earthen pit that measured six feet deep, four feet wide, and eight feet long. Ribi recognized the hazardous nature of its chemical solvents, but hoped that much of the waste would evaporate before migrating through the landfill into the shallow groundwater. Subsequent analysis revealed, however, that the hazardous contaminants migrated into the groundwater approximately 13 to 34 minutes after each disposal.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered groundwater and soil contamination in 1987 resulting from Ribi's waste disposal at BVSL. The National Institute of Health (NIH) later excav
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Montana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|