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The Climate Litigation Database

Steadfast Insurance Co. v. AES Corp.

Geography
🇺🇸 United States / Virginia
Year
2008
Document Type
Litigation
Part of
Steadfast Insurance Co. v. AES Corp.

About this case

Filing year
2008
Status
Order issued granting summary judgment to plaintiff.
Geography
🇺🇸 United States → Virginia
Docket number
2008-858
Court/admin entity
United States → State Courts → Virginia Circuit Court (Va. Cir. Ct.)
Case category
Adaptation (US) → Insurance cases (US)
Principal law
United States → Contract Law
At issue
Action by insurance company seeking declaratory judgment that it was not obligated to defend or indemnify its policyholder in underlying litigation seeking climate change-related damages.

Documents

Filing Date
Document
Type
02/05/2010
Order issued granting summary judgment to plaintiff.
In February 2010, a state court denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment and granted the insurer's cross-motion for summary judgment. The court entered a declaratory judgment that the insurer had no duty to defend AES Corporation in connection with the underlying Kivalina litigation because no "occurrence" as defined in the policies had been alleged in the underlying complaint.
Decision
07/09/2008
Complaint filed.
The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that Steadfast, which issued a series of general liability insurance policies to AES, is not liable for any damages AES is obligated to pay in the Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp. lawsuit filed in federal court. Plaintiffs in Kivalina seek to recover damages from AES and other parties caused by climate change that threatens their village in Alaska. The complaint alleges several bases for non-coverage, including that the policies only apply to claims arising from an "accident" which is not alleged by the Kivalina plaintiffs, that the damages occurred prior to September 2003 when the policies were issued, and because greenhouse gases are considered a pollutant which is subject to the pollution exclusion clauses in the policies.
Other

Summary

Action by insurance company seeking declaratory judgment that it was not obligated to defend or indemnify its policyholder in underlying litigation seeking climate change-related damages.