Superior Court Grants Menz Bonner & Komar LLP's Motion for Summary Judgment Based on Qualified Pollution Exclusion

On September 21, 2010, a New Jersey Superior Court granted a motion for summary judgment filed by Menz Bonner & Komar LLP on behalf of its client, defendant Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, based on a qualified pollution exclusion contained in an insurance policy Hartford issued to the plaintiff. in the Superior Court action, plaintiff claimed that Hartford was obligated to indemnify it for costs incurred in connection with the investigation and remediation of contamination at plaintiff's manufacturing facility located in Massachusetts. The umbrella policy at issue contained an exclusion for "loss or liability arising out of contamination or pollution, except insofar as coverage was available in the underlying insurance policy." The underlying policy contained a qualified pollution exclusion which precluded coverage for property damage arising out of the discharge or release of waste material, pollutants or contaminants unless such discharge was both "sudden and accidental." The Court agreed with Menz Bonner & Komar that because the contamination of soil and groundwater at plaintiff's manufacturing facility was caused gradually over time by virtue of plaintiff's ordinary and routine business practices, rather than as a result of "sudden and accidental" events, under Massachusetts law, Plaintiff's claim was not covered by Hartford's umbrella policy.