NATIONAL INDEMNITY COMPANY, Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
STATE OF MONTANA, Defendant and Appellee,
and TERRY JELLESED, et al., Intervenors.[1]
Supreme Court of Montana
November 23, 2021
SYNOPSIS OF THE CASE
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed a District Court's ruling that the State of Montana is covered by an insurance policy it had with National Indemnity Company (National) for claims made against the State for injury and death resulting from asbestos exposure in Libby, Montana. The Court also upheld the District Court's ruling that National breached its duty to defend the State against the injury claims. Although the Court upheld the District Court's rulings that led to entry of a $97, 833, 193.39 judgment against National, the Court reversed the District Court's rulings regarding qualifying "occurrences" under the policy, and regarding coverage for claimants who were exposed to asbestos prior to the period covered by the policy, but suffered injury during that period. The Court remanded for further consideration of these issues.
This insurance coverage case follows nearly two decades of litigation between the State and claimants who alleged they were harmed by the State's failure to warn them of the hazards of asbestos exposure that became evident from the State's inspections over many years of the vermiculite mining and milling operations in Libby. National insured the State against general liability from 1973-1975. Beginning in 2000, claims alleging injuries and death from asbestos exposure that occurred before, during, and after that period were made against the State. The State and National initiated discussions regarding the duties of National to defend the State against the claims and to provide coverage under the policy, but no agreement on these issues was finalized. During this time, the State defended itself and...
