Clearwater Liable for Asbestos Settlement Billings, N.Y. Federal Judge Rules

ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York federal judge has awarded Utica Mutual Insurance Co. summary judgment in a dispute over reinsurance billings for an underlying asbestos settlement, ruling that Clearwater Insurance Co. is bound by the contracts’ follow-the-settlements language.

On Jan. 20, Senior Judge Gary L. Sharpe of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York found the evidence showed that Utica’s allocation of its settlement with Goulds Pumps Inc. was reasonable and that defense costs were covered under the reinsurance contracts at issue.

The terms of the underlying Goulds settlement were redacted from Judge Sharpe’s …