Asbestos Defendant Not Required to Arbitrate Products/Premises Coverage Dispute

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A dispute over the application of insurance coverage to an asbestos defendants' premise operations claims should not be submitted to arbitration when there is no evidence that the defendant ever signed an agreement requiring it to arbitrate such disputes, a state appeals court has held. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company v. API Inc., No. A04-204 (Minn. Ct. App.).

In a Sept. 28 decision affirming the denial of an insurer's motion to compel arbitration of the policy dispute, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said that given the lack of evidence, it cannot be determined as …