Calfee Insurance Coverage Attorney Tae Andrews Quoted in Law360 Insurance Authority Article "Attys Weigh Breadth of 10th Circ. Pollution Row Interpretation"

Mentioned and Quoted

Calfee Insurance Coverage Senior Counsel Tae Andrews was quoted in the May 15, 2025, Law360 Insurance Authority article, "Attys Weigh Breadth of 10th Circ. Pollution Row Interpretation," which reviewed a recent decision that surprised some policyholder attorneys due to the appellate court's broad reading of policy exclusions in an alleged pollution contamination case.

In a unanimous ruling, the court found that a New Mexico property owner was "unambiguously barred from coverage for underling litigation alleging contamination under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, or CERCLA, based on language in policies issued by Cincinnati Insurance Co. and Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriter Inc." The underlying litigation involved an alleged release of the chemical carcinogen tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene (PCE), from a dry cleaning business on the property.

In an interview with reporter Jennifer Mandato, Tae noted that when "making the duty to defend determination, courts are supposed to construe any ambiguities in the allegations of the underlying complaint in favor of policyholders, but the Tenth Circuit declined to do that here."

He added that the "duty to defend standard is supposed to be interpreted broadly, but the appellate court failed to 'pull out all the stops' when making its decision." Tae continued, "the panel could have certified questions to the state supreme court in an effort to resolve any issues of 'great public importance' regarding New Mexico state law issues."

Quoting the article, "Policyholders must gain an understanding as to how their policies work, while taking the time at policy renewal to track developments in the law and underlying liabilities they may face, and to ask the hard questions of the brokers and insurers, especially as carriers change policy forms and language, Andrews advised."

Read the full Law360 Insurance Authority article.

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Calfee’s Policyholder Insurance Coverage practice group has helped its clients manage and protect nearly $2 billion in insurance assets in recent years. The team serves corporate insurance policyholder clients in Ohio and nationwide, helping to manage and minimize the risks, losses, and liabilities that pose threats to clients. Calfee’s Insurance Coverage attorneys provide advisory and claims services, assisting clients with the placement and enhancement of their insurance policies, reviews of their existing policies, shaping and pursuing claims to get losses paid by their insurance companies, negotiating resolutions to disputed insurance claims, litigating coverage lawsuits against their insurers, and finding solutions for insurance coverage issues in corporate M&A deals. The team has experience with a wide array of policy types, from newer products such as cyber and M&A representations and warranties insurance, to more traditional policy forms such as commercial general liability (CGL), umbrella, excess, property, D&O, professional liability, and EPL policies, to more specialized policies such as builder’s risk, liquor, and aviation. Calfee's Insurance practice is ranked by Chambers USA 2024 in Band 1 in Insurance: Policyholder law in Ohio.

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