In the June 2013 edition of The Policy, a publication of the Illinois State Bar Association, Jack Barber discussed a recent and significant ruling by the Court of Appeals of Missouri, in which a policyholder prevailed in an multi-million dollar insurance coverage dispute. Barber explained that the appellate court applied the “all sums” approach and found that insurance policies issued in the 1950s and 1960s provided coverage for environmental remediation costs arising from contamination that occurred from 1894 to 2011 at several mining sites. In addition, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the insurer had vexatiously refused to respond to and pay the policyholder’s claims. The insurer ultimately was required to pay its policyholder more than $62 million, plus a ten percent penalty and attorney fees. This recent case provides policyholders an important roadmap for similar disputes with insurers and offers a cautionary lesson for insurance companies in handling claims.
