Opinion ID: 1251964
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Gelman Sciences

Text: Plaintiff Gelman Sciences, Inc., manufactures microporous filters in a plant near Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1964, it began using 1,4-dioxane on an experimental basis in its manufacturing process. From 1966 to 1984, Gelman regularly used 1,4-dioxane as a solvent to dissolve a polymer used in manufacturing filter sheets. Rinse water from the manufacturing process contained trace amounts of 1,4-dioxane. To dispose of this rinse water, Gelman utilized, pursuant to permit, a system of wastewater treatment ponds designed to biodegrade organic wastes. For two years in the late 1960s, treated water from one of the ponds leaked into a marshy area behind plaintiff's facility. Plaintiff consulted the Water Resource Commission and, pursuant to its suggestion, stopped the overflow by dredging out the bottom of the pond to allow the wastewater to seep into the ground. In the 1970s, Gelman, also pursuant to permit, began disposing of wastewater using a spray irrigation system. Gelman was allegedly unaware that these permitted waste systems would not biodegrade 1,4-dioxane. In 1985, the Washtenaw County Health Department discovered that certain drinking water wells located near plaintiff's facility were allegedly contaminated with 1,4-dioxane. The state and numerous private parties sued Gelman for damages relating to the groundwater contamination. Plaintiff Gelman, for itself and on behalf of one of its insurers with whom it had settled, brought this action, seeking to establish that defendants owed a duty to indemnify and defend these lawsuits under various standard comprehensive general liability (CGL) and umbrella excess insurance policies allegedly in effect between the years 1963 and 1969. Although Gelman has not located the actual policies, it has listed the policy numbers of the various CGL and umbrella policies and quotes the language relating to coverage contained in the standard documents. The trial court granted summary disposition for the insurers, finding that even if the policies in fact existed, coverage was not triggered because the groundwater contamination was not discovered until after they expired. The Court of Appeals affirmed on the trigger of coverage issue. 214 Mich.App. 560, 543 N.W.2d 38 (1995). We granted leave to appeal, [1] limited to the issue whether the lower courts erroneously applied the date of manifestation of injury as the appropriate trigger of coverage for determination of insurance carrier responsibility to the insured. B