In finding that the clause unambiguously excluded coverage for
environmental claims, the Court of Appeal set aside a lower
court's ruling and held that the insurers did not have a duty
to defend in the circumstances.
Environmental remediation can be very expensive. As a result, it
is not uncommon for commercial general liability policies to
exclude coverage for environmental liabilities. These exclusion
clauses are typically broadly drafted in an attempt to capture a
wide range of environmental risks. The British Columbia Court of
Appeal was recently asked to enforce a broadly-worded,
pollution-exclusion clause. In finding that the clause
unambiguously excluded coverage for environmental claims, the Court
of Appeal set aside a lower court's ruling and held that the
insurers did not have a duty to defend in the circumstances.
