Why the pollution exclusion precludes liability coverage for generator sites

Abstract

This article analyzes the extent to which the qualified pollution exclusion commonly found in comprehensive general liability policies issued between 1970 and 1985 can be invoked as a bar to coverage for environmental liability claims arising from landfill dumping. The majority of courts that have considered the question have held that the plain language of the pollution exclusion bars coverage for such liabilities. The act of placing toxic substances into unlined ponds or landfill burial pits is an intentional discharge into or upon land and any subsequent spread into the surrounding environment “arises out of”; that intentional discharge. Therefore, the qualified pollution exclusion should preclude coverage for generator site liabilities and provide a powerful and legitimate means by which insurers can deny coverage for many environmental claims.