PBM Nutritionals, L.L.C. v. Lexington Ins.

82 Va. Cir. 94, 2011 Va. Cir. LEXIS 16
CourtRichmond County Circuit Court
DecidedJanuary 7, 2011
DocketCase No. CL09-5289
StatusPublished

This text of 82 Va. Cir. 94 (PBM Nutritionals, L.L.C. v. Lexington Ins.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Richmond County Circuit Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
PBM Nutritionals, L.L.C. v. Lexington Ins., 82 Va. Cir. 94, 2011 Va. Cir. LEXIS 16 (Va. Super. Ct. 2011).

Opinion

By Judge Walter W. Stout, III

On October 28, 29, and 30, 2010, the Court heard the evidence and arguments of each party. For the reasons set forth below, the Court finds no insurance coverage for the Plaintiff’s losses sustained from the contamination of its infant formula.

I. Facts and Procedural History

PBM Nutritionals, L.L.C. (“PBM”) manufactures and produces infant formula at a facility located in Burlington, Vermont. At issue in this suit is the loss of approximately $6 million worth of infant formula that was rendered unsalable due to the presence of melamine and disintegrated filter components in the formula.

To manufacture its infant formula, PBM uses filtered water heated at 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit in order to bind nutrients, vitamins, amino acids, and other FDA-approved ingredients to a milk, soy, or other base. To heat this water to the requisite temperature, PBM uses a heat exchanger, which is a tank containing two tubes: a steam tube and a water tube. The water tube contains the water that eventually mixes with the dry ingredients to form the infant formula. The steam tube is controlled in part by a “butterfly valve,” which can be opened or closed to allow steam to enter the steam tube as necessary. When steam is released into the steam tube, the steam [95]*95tube becomes heated, which heats the air in the heat exchanger surrounding both tubes. As the air becomes hot, the water tube is heated, which in turn heats the water inside the water tube. Before the water is released from the heat exchanger into the liquefying tank where it mixes the dry ingredients, the water passes through FDA-approved water filters to ensure that it is clean. Industrial dryers then dry the created mixture into the finished infant formula.

On December 14, 2008, during a routine cleaning, PBM personnel discovered that the butterfly valve allowed steam to leak into the steam tube when the valve was in the closed position. PBM had been using this butterfly valve for the past five years. PBM ordered a replacement valve, but it did not arrive until late January 2009. Despite the leaky butterfly valve, PBM continued to manufacture infant formula and conduct routine cleanings until January 20,2009. PBM’s testing detected no increase in the melamine levels in the infant formula produced during this period.

Starting on January 20 through January 22, 2009, PBM conducted an extensive cleaning of the system in preparation for the manufacture of its Profylac brand infant formula. A routine cleaning usually takes about four to six hours, but a “Profylac cleaning” takes between forty-two to forty-six hours. During the “Profylac cleaning,” water was sealed inside the heat exchanger water tube and in the filter housing. Because the butterfly valve was leaking, steam seeped into the heat exchanger and heated the water in the water tube and the filter housing. This superheated the water to exceed the ambient boiling point of water. Experts estimate that the temperature of the water exceeded 220 degrees and remained that high for many hours. Unable to withstand the superheated water, the water filters disintegrated into their constituent components of cellulose, melamine, and other filter materials.

After completing the two-day “Profylac cleaning,” PBM began to manufacture Profylac formula, unaware that it was using the superheated water that contained melamine and other filter materials. When PBM tested the batches of Profylac, it discovered that four of the twenty five batches contained levels of melamine that were above the FDA limit of one part per million (“ppm”). The other twenty-one batches had melamine levels that were within the FDA limit but were thought by PBM to contain filter components. Nevertheless, after proper notice to the insurance companies, PBM ultimately elected to destroy all batches manufactured after the “Profylac cleaning.”

At the time of the loss, PBM had four insurance policies, all of which PBM argues provides coverage for its loss. Specifically, PBM had property damage and business interruption insurance policies with Lexington Insurance Co. (“Lexington”), ACE American Insurance Co. (“ACE”), and Arch Insurance Co. (“Arch”). ACE afforded coverage for 50% of any covered loss, while Arch and Lexington each afforded coverage [96]*96for 25%. PBM also had a contamination insurance policy with Dornoch, Ltd. (“Dornoch”). PBM settled its claim with Dornoch for $2 million, and Dornoch was dismissed from this suit. PBM proceeded against the other three insurance companies, alleging that the policies provided coverage for PBM’s loss and that the remaining insurance companies acted in bad faith when they denied PBM’s claim.

In the interests of justice and judicial economy, the Court agreed to bifurcate PBM’s claims into two separate trials: the first to determine whether coverage exists and the second to determine the issue of bad faith, if necessary. Accordingly, the two and one-half day trial before the Court on October 28-30,2010, dealt only with the issue of coverage.

II. Coverage Under the Pollution/Contamination Exclusions

A. Relevant Provisions

The Defendants concede that the insurance policies they entered into with PBM largely mirror each other. All three policies contain a manuscript policy with numbered endorsements attached. Each manuscript policy contains Paragraph 8 “Perils Insured Against,” which describes the coverage as an “all risk” policy stating, “This policy insures against all risks of physical loss of or damage to property described herein, including general average, salvage, and all other charges on shipments covered hereunder, except as hereinafter excluded.” Immediately following is Paragraph 9 “Perils Excluded,” which includes Paragraph 9(H) “Pollution.” This provision states, in pertinent part:

9. This policy does not insure....
H. Pollution. The Insurers will not cover loss or damage solely and directly caused by or resulting from the presence, release, discharge, or dispersal of “pollutants” unless the presence, release, discharge, or dispersal is itself caused by a peril insured against.
Definition: Wherever in this policy the word pollutant(s) occurs, it shall be held to mean any solid, liquid, gaseous, or thermal irritant or contaminant, including smoke, vapor, soot, fumes, acids, alkalis, chemicals, and waste.

PBM contends that under these “all risk” policies, which cover physical losses to covered personal property, its water filters comprise insured personal property that underwent physical damage. Consequently, the contamination resulting from the loss of the filters qualifies as an exception to the Paragraph 9(H) exclusion because the damaged filters are [97]*97a “peril insured against.” Therefore, PBM seeks insurance coverage of its losses sustained from the contamination under these provisions.

The Defendants, however, assert that certain endorsements, attached to the manuscript policies, control so as to exclude such coverage.

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Bluebook (online)
82 Va. Cir. 94, 2011 Va. Cir. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pbm-nutritionals-llc-v-lexington-ins-vaccrichmondcty-2011.