In the case of Brooklyn Union v. Century Indemnity, in the New York Supreme Court for New York County, the court entered a verdict in favor of a former operator of three manufactured gas facilities in a coverage dispute over toxic discharges into the Gowanus Canal. The question for the jury was whether and to what extent Century, as an excess insurer to Brooklyn Union was liable for coverage.
In April of this year, a jury gave the policyholder a big win after a long-fought trial regarding a dispute over coverage for the costs of cleaning up contaminants in the Gowanus Canal.
The jury said that Century Indemnity must cover the immense costs that Brooklyn Union has been incurring, and is likely to continue to incur by way of its contributions to the environmental remediation of the sites of several former manufactured-gas plants in New York City and of the Gowanus Canal located in Brooklyn.
The jury found that most of the wastewater discharges by Brooklyn Union Gas, over a period of almost 30 years, were accidental and should have been covered by Century Indemnity Insurance.