Jury Awards Utica Mutual $10.9 Million in Reinsurance Dispute

ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York federal jury has awarded Utica Mutual Insurance Co. $10.9 million in damages in its reinsurance dispute with Clearwater Insurance Co., finding it is entitled to recover costs it incurred in defending underlying asbestos injury claims filed against Goulds Pumps Inc.

The verdict was handed down on July 8 following a trial presided over by Judge Gary L. Sharpe of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

The jury found Utica had an obligation to defend Goulds under umbrella policies issued between 1978 and 1981; Utica’s settlement with Goulds was …