RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

October 2008

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Eleventh Circuit Reverses/Remands District Court Order—Finds Insurance Company Not Responsible for Providing Defense to Engineering Firm Due to Pollution Exclusion Clause
James River Ins. Co. v. Ground Down Engineering, Inc., ___F.3d___

The Eleventh Circuit reversed a District Court decision to dismiss an insurance company’s complaint for declaratory relief that the policy’s “pollution exclusion” clause precluded claims relating to professional negligence. The Court of Appeals remanded the case with instructions, holding that the insurance company was not responsible for providing an environmental engineering firm with a legal defense in a suit brought by a property owner against the environmental engineering firm (as well as the prior business owner) due to the “pollution exclusion” provision contained in the insurance policy.