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Manifestation of Contamination Triggers Coverage
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1996.tb06579.x
Subject(s) - damages , supreme court , groundwater contamination , law , contamination , political science , groundwater , engineering , aquifer , ecology , biology , geotechnical engineering
Was the Northbrooke Excess & Surplus Insurance Company liable for groundwater contamination caused by a massive 1974 chemical spill at a subsidiary plant of CPC International Inc.? The contamination of wells was not discovered until October 1979 by investigators from the state Department of Health. The date of discovery was within the Northbrooke policy period. CPC sought indemnification from Northbrooke for the cleanup costs and other damages arising from the spill. Northbrooke denied coverage, claiming the spill occurred before the policy went into effect. A trial court agreed. The federal circuit court of appeals asked the Supreme Court of Rhode Island to clarify the definition of “occurrence” under Rhode Island law.