Lang Fur Farms, Inc. v. Bird Island-Hawk Creek Mutual Insurance Co.

Lang Fur Farms (Lang) (plaintiff), which raised minks for fur harvesting, purchased an insurance policy from Bird Island-Hawk Creek Mutual Insurance Co. (Bird Island) (defendant). This policy provided coverage for damage caused by vandalism. However, the policy excluded coverage for damage caused by the “dispersal or application of pathogenic or poisonous biological or chemical materials.” In addition, the policy contained a concurrent-causation exclusion that excluded coverage if damage had more than one cause and at least one of those causes was excluded. In other words, if damage was caused by both a covered and an excluded source, the insurance company was not obligated to pay for it. A vandal released herbicide into two water systems for Lang’s minks. Numerous minks were harmed, and Lang had to replace both water systems. Lang made an insurance claim for these damages, but Bird Island denied coverage. Bird Island contended that the damage was excluded because it was caused by the dispersal of a poisonous chemical material. Under the policy’s concurrent-causation exclusion, application of the chemical exclusion barred coverage for all the damage, even though vandalism, a covered cause, also contributed to it. Lang sued Bird Island in Minnesota state court, seeking insurance coverage for the vandalism damage. Both parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court entered judgment for Bird Island, finding that (1) the policy unambiguously excluded coverage for any damages caused by a chemical-dispersal event and (2) the herbicide vandalism was a chemical-dispersal event. Lang appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.