How do you think the ruling in CA concerning LMt's claim for the environmental cleanup of one of their facilities will affect us. The rejected claim amounted to 400M?
Dec 30, 1999, (A. M. Best via COMTEX) -- A California Court has dismissed Lockheed Martin Corp.'s $400 million insurance claim to pay for pollution cleanup at its former facility in Burbank, Calif., lawyers said.
Lockheed's liability insurers--including Lloyd's, which was reinsured by Equitas; various London market insurance companies; and Continental Insurance Co.--successfully fought the claim, according to a statement by Barry Bunshoft, who represented the London insurers.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Leslie C. Nichols ruled Dec. 17 that Lockheed failed to show the pollution resulted from accidents, which would have been covered under the company's insurance policies.
Lockheed's complaint alleged that cleanup costs at the Burbank site alone would reach nearly $400 million.
Earlier in 1999, Nichols ruled that Lockheed's policies would only cover pollution cleanup costs if the pollution was caused by an accident. After a four-day hearing, Nichols ruled that Lockheed failed to prove the pollution was caused by an accident, Bunshoft said in a statement.
(By Meg Green, associate editor, BestWeek: greenm@ambest.com)
Copyright (C) 1999 by A. M. Best Company, Inc.
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