Konell Construction & Demolition Corp. v. Valiant Insurance

MEMORANDUM *

Plaintiff Konell Construction appeals the district court’s order granting Defendant Valiant Insurance’s cross-motion for summary judgment. We reverse and remand.

Because the parties are familiar with the facts, we recount them here only as necessary to explain our disposition. Konell purchased liability insurance from Valiant which, in addition to general liability insurance, included separate “Limited Pollution Liability Coverage.” This Limited Pollution Coverage provided $100,000 aggregate and “per incident” pollution coverage.

The terms of the Limited Pollution Coverage state in part: “This insurance applies to ... ‘environmental contamination’ only if the ... ‘environmental contamination’ is caused solely by a ‘pollution incident’ which must: .... [b]e reported by the insured to [Valiant] within 30 days from the commencement of the ‘pollution incident.’ ” This coverage’s terms define a “pollution incident” as: “the emission, discharge, release, or escape of ‘pollutants’ which happens at or emanates from a ‘work site’ provided that such emission, discharge release or escape results in ‘environmental contamination.’ The entirety of any such emission, discharge,…