Wash. Federal Judge Denies Insurers Summary Judgment in Pollution Coverage Action

SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge has denied cross-motions for summary judgment in a dispute over whether American Economy Insurance Co. is obligated to defend a property owner in a groundwater contamination action filed by state regulators, ruling they were prematurely filed.

On Nov. 7, Judge Thomas Zilly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that it cannot be determined at this time whether a pollution exclusion in the American Economy policy bars coverage.

In April 2019, the Washington Department of Ecology notified Tahn Associates that a cleanup of a nearby Chevron site revealed that …