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Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Superior Court applies Boston Gas rule to asbestos case
A little more than a year ago the Supreme Judicial Court adopted in Boston Gas Co. v. Century Indem. Co., 454 Mass. 336 (2009) pro rata time-on-the-risk allocation for long tail losses.
In New England Insulation Co., Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2010 WL 3219436 (Mass Super.), Judge Fabricant of the Superior Court applied that rule to an asbestos case. Although her decision does not discuss the facts, one can infer from reading it that a company that (for reasons not addressed by the court) does not have significant insurance available and was a "relatively minor contributor to the injury" is being hit with a large portion of the damages due to the insolvency of other companies.
