Opinion ID: 1297320
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: the pollution exclusions

Text: Central National and Maryland Casualty cross-appealed the trial court's denial of their Motion for Summary Judgment that, as a matter of law, the pollution exclusions found in several policies precluded coverage. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court did not err, reasoning that the pollution exclusions are clarifications, or restatements, of the occurrence clauses. We affirm the Court of Appeals' holding that summary judgment was properly denied, but use somewhat different reasoning. At the outset we note that the pollution exclusion clauses in standard form policies have generated many appellate decisions. Published opinions may be found which support virtually all of the arguments made by the insurers and the insured in this case, as well as the many amici who have provided briefing. No attempt is made here to catalog all the decisions, nor are all cases supporting a proposition cited. Anyone attempting to research the law in this area will find ample guidance in the primary and secondary sources. Instead, this opinion attempts to explain those cases and authorities which are persuasive on the various issues in light of Washington law and Washington rules for construing insurance contracts. There are three pollution exclusion clauses at issue. Central National's excess policies contain absolute pollution exclusion clauses but provide in those exclusions that coverage is excluded except insofar as coverage is available to the Insured in the underlying insurances .... Clerk's Papers (Appellants) vol. 2, at 467, 496, 520. Thus, to determine coverage for pollution damage under the Central National policies, it is necessary to examine the relevant coverage and exclusion provisions in the primary policies in place during the same time frame as Central National's policies. Those primary policies contain two of the three pollution exclusion clauses at issue here.