Stonewall Insurance Co. v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.
Delaware Supreme Court
996 A.2d 1254 (2010)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Sixteen companies insured E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) (plaintiff) against liability in excess of DuPont’s $50 million-per-occurrence self-insurance retention. Each policy defined an occurrence as including continuous exposure to an injurious condition existing in or emanating from a single location. When a product DuPont manufactured at a factory in West Virginia proved to be defective, DuPont was deluged with 469,000 claims totaling $239 million. DuPont tendered these claims to its insurers. All the companies except Stonewall Insurance Company (Stonewall) (defendant) agreed to settle the claims. Stonewall argued that each claim represented a separate occurrence, to be satisfied within the bounds of DuPont’s self-insurance before DuPont could draw on Stonewall’s $5 million excess-liability coverage. DuPont sued Stonewall for indemnification. The trial court entered judgment for DuPont, and Stonewall appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Steele, C.J.)
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