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GMT Insurance Client Obtains Claim-Bar and Exhaustion Orders
GMT represents Marine Industries Northwest, Inc., a Tacoma drydocking
and ship-repair firm, in an environmental insurance-coverage case
in Pierce County Superior Court. Marine Industries entered into a
settlement with one of its primary-layer liability insurers. The settlement
was contingent on obtaining favorable rulings on two motions for partial
summary judgment.
The first motion sought a ruling that the settlment payment properly
exhausted the primary insurer's policy limits and triggered the defense
obligation of the excess insurer sitting atop the settling primary
insurer. The second motion sought an order barring future contribution
claims that might be asserted against the settling insurer by non-settling
insurers. On June 9, 2005, Judge Felnagle granted both of the policyholder's
motions.
GMT has been at the forefront of the effort among the policyholder
community to establish the principle that an insurer that enters into
a reasonable, good-faith settlement with its policyholder is not subject
to later contribution claims by non-settling insurers, a principle
that promotes cost-effective settlements of coverage disputes.GMT
partner Frank Cordell represented Marine Industries.
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