Cleanup 'Claim' Requiring Notice To Insurers Need Not Be Filed in Court

摘要

A "claim" by a water district against Northrop Grumman Corp. for cleanup of environmental contamination doesn't need to be filed in court to trigger the company's duty to notify its insurers of such a claim, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled (Travelers Indem. Co. v. Northrop Grumman Corp., 2014 BL 69770, S.D.N.Y., No. 12-CV-3040, 3/13/14). As a result, policyholder Northrop Grumman wasn't entitled to insurance coverage after waiting a decade to inform its insurers that three water districts would be seeking payment for trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination emanating from its facility, the court said in the March 13 decision.