Insurer Must Pay Montana $97.8M for Asbestos Claims From the 1970's

Last week, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s decision that an insurer must pay asbestos claims and associated costs to the state under a comprehensive general liability policy that the insurer issued for the years 1973-1975. The case is National Indemnity Co. v. State of Montana 2021 MT 300.

This decision essentially affirms a ruling from March, 2018, against the insurer, a Berkshire Hathaway unit. The court held that the state knew about hazardous conditions, injuries, and deaths related to a vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana, since 1942.