Article ID: 2c2722b71f1e7c759a025675434b390500b10dac9a795aaf7bda83e328b952a4
Source ID: secondary:businessinsurance.com
Published At: -
Extraction Method: trafilatura
URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/illinois-high-court-rules-for-insurer-in-pollution-case/
Body Text
Commercial general liability policy pollution exclusions bar coverage for pollution even when the emissions at issue are allowed under a state permit, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Friday. In Griffith Foods International Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, the state high court was asked to certify a question from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering an appeal from a lower court ruling in favor of the policyholder. In the underlying case, Griffiths Foods and its successor, Sterigenics U.S., argued that National Union, a unit of American International Group, had a duty to defend a mass tort case brought by residents of Willowbrook, Illinois. The residents allege that ethylene oxide emitted from the company’s medical-equipment sterilization facility for more than 35 years caused cancer and other serious illnesses. A lower court ruled that because Griffiths Foods held a permit for the emissions issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the pollution exclusion did not apply. National Union argued that the exclusion does not include an exception for government-authorized toxic emissions. The high court agreed, writing that “a permit or regulation authorizing emissions (generally or at any particular levels) has no relevance in assessing the application of a pollution exclusion within a standard form commercial general liability policy.”
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