Prior Settlement Shields Liberty Mutual from Insured's Silica Exposure Claims

BOSTON - A Massachusetts appellate court has concluded that an insurer does not owe a defense or indemnity to its insured silica supplier for third-party injury claims because those claims were incorporated in an earlier coverage settlement arising from environmental damage claims. Warner Co. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., No. 10-P-2002 (Mass. App. Ct.).

The Massachusetts Appeals Court panel said in its unpublished Aug. 18 opinion that the terms of the earlier settlement were not ambiguous and included claims for silica exposure.

Warner Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management Inc., filed this declaratory judgment action in Massachusetts Superior …