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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Insurance

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, October 31, 2023

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will help prepare insurers, policyholders, and their attorneys for the flood of major liability challenges and complex coverage issues arising out of alleged exposure to and contamination from the group of chemicals commonly referred to as PFAS. This comprehensive presentation will cover the background of PFAS and a major product containing PFAS known as Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), the drastic increase in regulations of PFAS and AFFF, new and increasing liability risks, and emerging PFAS-related claims and lawsuits. The webinar will also focus on various insurance-related issues and coverage defenses specific to PFAS and AFFF.

Faculty

Paul R. Koepff
Partner
Clyde & Co LLP

Mr. Koepff handles insurance coverage and reinsurance disputes, litigating various kinds of insurance and reinsurance-related disputes and claims. He is a contributing author to a multi-volume treatise on New York Insurance Law, and a multi-volume treatise, "Law and Practice of Insurance Coverage Litigation."

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Alexander E. Potente
Partner
Clyde & Co LLP

Potente is an experienced trial lawyer who represents insurers in complex commercial and insurance litigation matters, including coverage disputes pertaining to general liability and professional liability policies, the defense of consumer class actions against insurers, and bad faith coverage litigation. He handles complex coverage issues arising from mass-tort sexual and elder abuse, pollution (pollution liability and long-tail CGL/excess), product defects, public sector liability, business interruption, medical devices, and employment claims. Mr. Potente also represents insurance brokers in defense of professional negligence claims.

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Kevin Haas
Partner
Clyde & Co LLP

Mr. Haas has represented insurers in a broad range of coverage cases for over 25 years across the United States and advised insurers with respect to major claims both in the United States and internationally. His experience includes a wide array of complex insurance coverage matters, principally involving pollution, toxic tort, asbestos, construction defect, errors and omissions, excess liability, property and products liability. Mr. Haas has been advising insurers in the pollution liability market since its inception, working with a variety of insurers on their most complex pollution liability claims and litigation.  He has coordinated national and international insurance coverage programs, including most recently coordinating several insurers’ national and global response to COVID-19 coverage claims and litigation . Mr. Haas is often retained by his clients to assist with complex claims implicating multiple, diverse coverage lines.

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Description

Called "forever chemicals," PFAS have been used for decades and can literally be found everywhere and in everything. Exposure is commonplace in everything from drinking water to the workplace. Once grounded primarily on environmental claims, liability arising out of PFAS now includes mass torts, nuisance, personal injury, and other new kinds of claims, giving rise to billions in liabilities.

PFAS manufacturers and others who used PFAS in making their products (which would include manufacturers of AFFF) face staggering liabilities, even if production stopped decades ago. But liability is also sought to be imposed against sellers or producers of any product that contains PFAS, even inadvertently. Every new federal, state, and local regulation imposes more stringent requirements about the permissible amounts of PFAS to which people may be exposed. Compliance and safe harbors may become illusory.

Potential coverage issues include whether and when exposure to PFAS and/or AFFF results in any bodily injury; did the insured know, in light of then-available research, that exposure to PFAS might result in any alleged bodily injury or property damage; how many occurrences exist where claims are based on multiple and different exposures over time, in different locations, and the manner of exposure is different; and the applicability of any exclusions, especially different forms of the pollution exclusion.

Listen as this premier panel of coverage attorneys with substantial experience and expertise on PFAS-related liability and coverage issues offers guidance about the major liability challenges and complex coverage issues arising from PFAS exposure.

Outline

  1. PFAS overview
    1. What are PFAS?
    2. How and where were PFAS and AFFF used?
    3. Health concerns/bodily injury--exposure to PFAS and AFFF
    4. Environmental concerns/contamination of soil and groundwater
  2. Regulations and laws
    1. Federal and state regulations
    2. Liability implications arising out of federal and state regulations
  3. PFAS and AFFF liability litigation
    1. The different categories of PFAS and AFFF lawsuits giving rise to different forms of liability
    2. New types of PFAS lawsuits
  4. Insurance coverage considerations
    1. To what extent did the insured know or expect there would be any alleged bodily injury or property damage, including any knowledge before the policy incepted and thus is not covered?
    2. Issue of whether exposure to PFAS/AFFF in fact results in bodily injury. If so, when did such bodily injury in fact occur?
    3. Is there one or more than one occurrence?
    4. Issue of product pollution liability and the applicability of any pollution exclusion
    5. Pending insurance coverage litigations
    6. PFAS and AFFF coverage rulings to date

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What kinds of insurance policies are potentially implicated in PFAS/AFFF coverage?
  • Is coverage available through insurance policies issued to vendors or other contractual counterparties through "additional insured" provisions?
  • Is PFAS a product or a pollutant, and how does that affect coverage?