Is My Drywall Chinese? - HB Litigation Conferences

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Other Issues Additional coverage part: – Personal injury coverage: To the extent a claim is based on “wrongful wrongful entry,” entry, “invasion invasion of private occupancy” occupancy or other “personal personal injury,” injury, the exclusion may have no application; the exclusion may be strictly limited to “bodily bodily injury” injury and “personal personal injury” injury claims. Different exclusions. HB Litigation Conferences Chinese Drywall Litigation Chinese Drywall-Insurance Coverage Nightmare June 18, 2009 New Orleans Lorelie S. Masters Jenner & Block LLP 202-639-6076 Lmasters@jenner.com 15
Absolutely Not Total: Rejecting Insurance Company Arguments to Disclaim Coverage for Chinese Drywall Claims Based on Absolute” and “Total” Pollution Exclusions by Lorelie S. Masters 1 INTRODUCTION As shown by decisions by the high courts in California, New York and the District of Columbia, state appellate courts – the arbiters of state law – often limit “absolute” and “total” pollution exclusions to true “environmental pollution.” This trend accords with the historical representations that the insurance industry made in seeking the required regulatory approval of the exclusions from the state insurance commissions in the 50 states. At the time of first approval in the 1980s, the insurance industry represented that the “absolute pollution exclusion” (“APE”), though “overdrafted,” precluded coverage only for industrial or environmental pollution. Notwithstanding these representations to insurance regulators in the 1980s, insurance companies have used APEs and “total pollution exclusions” (“TPEs”) to reject coverage for products liability and other claims unrelated to environmental pollution. Although courts in the late 1980s and early 1990s often accepted the insurance industry’s rhetorical excess in naming these exclusions (“absolute” must mean “absolute”!), the insurance industry’s chronic abuse of these exclusions has increasingly led courts, particularly state courts which determine the law applicable to this issue, to limit the scope of these exclusions to true “environmental pollution.” As shown below, use of the APE, first promulgated in 1986 (the “1986 exclusion”), to preclude coverage for ordinary claims like products liability and premises-operations claims, 1 Ms. Masters is a partner at Jenner & Block LLP, in Washington, D.C., where she advises and represents policyholders in insurance coverage matters. She is co-author of a treatise entitled Insurance Coverage Litigation and served for three years, from 2000-2003, as the Policyholder Chair of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee of the ABA’s Section of Litigation.
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HB Litigation Conferences Presents
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FACULTY Jeremy Alters is the foundi
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works include FasTrain: Florida Civ
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a Superfund case that resulted in a
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clerk in the United States District
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The “Writing On The Wall”: Impo
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STATES WHERE IMPORTED DRYWALL HAS B
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Florida Reports of Drywall “Cases
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STATE RESPOND ● Florida ● Louis
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Glenn Cambre, Esq. Director Directo
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PHONE SURVEY INFORMATION: Identifie
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LOUISIANA DRYWALL IMPACT MAPS 6/17/
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FLORIDA VS LOUISIANA DRYWALL • Fl
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Remediation Standard? ● Presently
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Chairman Pryor, Ranking Member Wick
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the German manufacturer, Knauf, onl
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companies, the homeowners, and the
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Chinese drywall spins off 'silent h
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The EPA said these results are not
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Get out of house with Chinese drywa
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The Consumer Product Safety Commiss
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“We’re trying to get the federa
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claims, but it's still a significan
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Imported Drywall and Health - A Gui
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Who is at risk? • insomnia • he
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"The Writing Is on the Wall": Defec
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significant indemnification or cont
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The Walls Are Closing In: Chinese D
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An Introduction to Our Firm Duane M
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• Utilizing the Construction Grou
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Occupational Safety and Health Act
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The Walls Are Closing In: Chinese D
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"The Writing Is on the Wall": Defec
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significant indemnification or cont
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Sheila Raftery Wiggins, Partner Dua
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Real Estate Litigation • Represen
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Selected Publications • "The Wall
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TRIGGER OF COVERAGE cont. 2. “Rel
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TRIGGER OF COVERAGE cont. 6. Triple
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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS • Deductible
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*Overused and Overwrought Metaphor?
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Page 170 and 171: Analysis Methods— Electrochemical
Page 172 and 173: Conc. (ppmv) 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.
Page 174 and 175: Key Reactions* • H2S + H2O + M =
Page 176 and 177: Chemistry of Emissions from Drywall
Page 178 and 179: What is Damaged? Problems we’re s
Page 180 and 181: Copper Wires Blacken Paul G. Philli
Page 182 and 183: Pitted Bath Tub Stoppers Paul G. Ph
Page 184 and 185: What MAY BE Damaged Problems we’r
Page 186 and 187: What’s Reportedly Damaged Other p
Page 188 and 189: Black Copper Sulfide TYPICAL BLACKE
Page 190 and 191: Reaction Progresses Paul G. Phillip
Page 192 and 193: COATED COIL IS ALL BLACK Open Quest
Page 194 and 195: PUSH-IN WIRING CONNECTION Open Ques
Page 196 and 197: Open Questions • How and where ar
Page 198 and 199: Outline Chinese Drywall A Practical
Page 200 and 201: Is My Drywall Chinese? b) Visual Ap
Page 202 and 203: Is My Drywall Chinese? Is My Drywal
Page 204 and 205: Is My Drywall Chinese? • To Test
Page 206 and 207: Costs Risk Management 101 • Lesso
Page 208: Can This Get Any Worse? • Emergin
Page 212 and 213: The Expected Primary Defense: “Po
Page 214 and 215: Revisions to the “APE APE” Demo
Page 216 and 217: Cases Interpreting the Pollution Ex
Page 220 and 221: contradicts the plain language and
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Page 224 and 225: With respect to the new, absolute p
Page 226 and 227: Even when courts find that an APE s
Page 228 and 229: Setting aside expectations of cover
Page 230 and 231: The LDI’s Advisory Letter warned
Page 232 and 233: Decisions by the High Courts in Cal
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Page 238 and 239: The court in Koloms criticized the
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Page 244 and 245: Survey of Appellate Court Decisions
Page 246 and 247: State Limiting Exclusion to “Indu
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Page 252 and 253: OCCURRENCE “Property Damage”
Page 254 and 255: OCCURRENCE Majority View: Liabili
Page 256 and 257: CHOICE OF LAW Starting point for c
Page 258 and 259: CHOICE OF LAW “Significant Conta
Page 260 and 261: Which Contractors Will Be Covered b
Page 262 and 263: Which Contractors Will Be Covered b
Page 264 and 265: that has not been physically injure
Page 266 and 267: In sum, in most states the damage c
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the several Chinese drywall claims
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V. The “Absolute Pollution Exclus
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to test for, monitor, clean up, rem
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spraying of pesticide in apartment
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exclusion are not met because the
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VI. Choice of Law As discussed abov
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homes containing Chinese drywall ar
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“legally obligated to pay as dama
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By: Veronica M. Bates TRIGGER OF CO
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TRIGGER OF COVERAGE cont. 4. “Inj
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ALLOCATION 1. Pro Rata • Time on
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Chinese Drywall Litigation NELSON
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NELSON • LEVINE • de LUCA & HOR
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Additional Insured Issues • The m
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Additional Insured Issues • 2004
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Subrogation Opportunities Targets a
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Subrogation Opportunities • Contr
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Subrogation Opportunities • Hurdl
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Liability Issues Hugh J. Turner Jr.
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Manufacturers • Knauf Gips, KG (e
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Suppliers 84 Lumber Co. All Flori
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Drywall Lawsuit Models • Type 1:
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Express Warranty • Elements - Exp
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Medical Monitoring • Elements: -
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Vicarious Liability A corporation
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What Are The Defenses? Economic Lo
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DEFENSES Florida - Strict Liabilit
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DEFENSES Lack of Privity of Contra
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What Are The Current Issues In The
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Current Issues • Case Assignments
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Current Issues Insurance Coverage
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Issues In Florida • Chapter 558 R
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Chinese Drywall Conference Sander L
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Are Chinese Drywall Issues Similar
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Search for New Defendants • Contr
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How does Chinese drywall impact hom
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How does Chinese drywall impact hom
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Home H Value Over 10 Yeaars How doe
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Home H Value Over 10 Yeaars Home H
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Use of Mass Appraisal Models Event
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Use of Mass Appraisal Models Cross-
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SUITE 650, FOURTH AVENUE SEATTLE, W
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concern at the moment remain 2004
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able, in which case rather than a
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subject properties and the data use
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CHINESE DRYWALL LITIGATION UPDATE A
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5 6
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WHERE WAS THE CHINESE DRYWALL USED
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WHAT KIND OF EXPERTS YOU’LL NEED
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Hydrogen Sulfide Exposure • Belie
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BACKGROUND PROCEDURE MULTIDISTRICT
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that there is a much smaller chance
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applicable standard of liability. D
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RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE JUDICIAL
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- 3 - transferred under Section 140
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- 5 - (c) Copies of motions for tra
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- 7 - (c) Once a corporate disclosu
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- 9 - designating such a pleading a
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RULE 7.6: TERMINATION AND REMAND In
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- 13 - (b) Each party filing a moti
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- 15 - (C) the circuit court of app
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UNITED STATES JUDICIAL PANEL ON MUL
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Drywall Common building material ty
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Chinese Drywall Analysis ( incomple
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Coal combustion residues Derived f
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Coal Mine Waste Coal may be sold a
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Coal Fly Ash Resident complaints E
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Skin Acne Skin rashes Hives Per
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Sensitive populations Infants Chi
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Carbon Disulfide Gas—evaporates
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Sulfur Dioxide Sulfur Dioxide An E
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SO 2 Symptoms of Chronic Exposure t
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Exposure to lower concentrations of
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GI Symptoms of H 2S Nausea Vomiti
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Particulate Matter Particulate Matt
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Airways of Lungs Lungs
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Clearance from the lungs is not cle
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Particles containing Heavy metals a
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Natural Decay Series: Uranium-238 U
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PAHs Benzo[a]pyrene Group 1 Human c
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Is My Drywall Chinese? - HB Litigation Conferences

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