Opinion ID: 2828947
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The asbestos lawsuits

Text: The original Fluor Corporation operated at sites where asbestos allegedly was used. Beginning in the mid-1980s and continuing until the present, various Fluor entities were named as defendants in numerous lawsuits alleging liability for personal injury caused over many preceding years by exposure to asbestos. Currently, Fluor entities are facing approximately 2,500 such suits in California and elsewhere. Fluor Corporation tendered these early suits to Hartford and its other liability insurers, all of which subsequently accepted the defense of the claims. Hartford led the defense and settlement of those actions — ultimately expending and paying, over the course of more than 25 years, millions of dollars in the defense and indemnity of those actions. 2 Under each policy, Hartford contracted to provide insurance to every entity in Fluor‟s corporate family of EPC companies. The “named insured” under the Hartford policies is identified as “FLUOR CORPORATION and any subsidiary or affiliated companies, corporations, organizations or other entities as may exist or may be formed or acquired hereafter,” with the exception of a small number of subsidiaries that were expressly excluded from certain provisions under each policy. 4