The question of whether carbon monoxide constitutes a pollutant for purposes of a standard policy pollution exclusion has been mixed among the courts. Whether carbon monoxide constitutes pollution is jurisdiction-specific and depends on whether the jurisdiction adopts a traditional or …
In a recent decision, South Carolina Ins. Reserve Fund v. East Richland County Public Service Dist., 2016 WL 1125810 (S.C. App., filed 3/23/16), the Court found that the release of offensive odors constituted a pollutant because the odors involved gas …
The Supreme Court of Vermont recently demonstrated in Whitney v. Vermont Mutual Ins. Co., 2015 VT 140, 2015 WL 8540432 (filed Dec. 11, 2015) a practical approach to the application of an absolute pollution exclusion. The case facts involved a …
The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently held that a persistent odor could constitute a “physical loss” under a homeowner’s insurance policy as long as the smell distinctly and demonstrably changed the condition of the property. The decision represents an important …
“Pollution” is typically defined in the standard general liability policy as “any solid, liquid, gaseous, or thermal irritant or contaminate including smoke, vapor, soot, fumes, acids, alkaloids, chemicals and waste.” The question of whether a particular material is a “pollutant,” …