U.S. Env't, L.P. v. Am. Int'l Specialty Lines Ins. Co.

388 F. Supp. 3d 807
District Court, S.D. Texas·Decided July 7, 2017·No. CASE NO. 4:16-cv-2216·Published

Opinion

NANCY F. ATLAS, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction...811

II. Factual Background...811

A. The Underlying Lawsuit...811

B. Procedural Posture...815

III. Legal Standards...815

A. Summary Judgment...815

B. Legal Principles for Interpretation of Insurance Contracts and Assessment of the Duty to Defend...816

IV. Analysis...818

A. The 2011 Policy...819

*8111. Paragraph 6 of the Pollution Exclusion...819
2. Progressive, Indivisible Property Damage ... Caused By Related or Continuous Exposure to Substantially the Same General Harmful Conditions or Substances...820

B. Exclusions Under the 2011 Policy...822

1. Impact of the Sites Endorsement on the Waste Disposal Site and Pollution Exclusions...822
a. Is the USOR Site a "Waste Disposal Site"?...823
2. Exclusion g (Auto Exclusion)...824
a. Does Exclusion g Apply?...825
b. Property Damage Arising Out of the Use of an Auto...827
c. Does Section 2 of the Transportation Coverage Endorsement Preclude Coverage?...828

V. Conclusion and Order...830

VI. Appendix of Pertinent Policy Provisions...830

I. INTRODUCTION

Pending before the Court in this insurance coverage dispute are the parties' cross-motions for partial summary judgment on Defendant insurer AIG Specialty Insurance Company's ("ASIC" or "Defendant") duty to defend its insureds, Plaintiffs USA Environment, L.P. ("USAE") and Bayou City Environmental Services, L.P. ("Bayou" and, together with USAE, "Plaintiffs"), in an underlying lawsuit. Plaintiffs have filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on the Duty to Defend ("USAE Motion") [Doc. # 19]. ASIC has filed a Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Opposition to the USAE Motion ("ASIC Motion") [Doc. # 21]. Plaintiffs have filed a combined reply in support of the USAE Motion and opposition to the ASIC Motion ("USAE Reply") [Doc. # 29], to which ASIC has replied in kind ("ASIC Reply") [Doc. # 30]. Plaintiffs filed a Sur-Reply [Doc. # 36], and ASIC a Sur-Sur Reply [Doc. # 37].1 After carefully considering the Motions, Replies, all related filings, and the relevant law, the Court grants the USAE Motion [Doc. # 19] and denies the ASIC Motion [Doc. # 21].

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The parties dispute, among other things, whether ASIC has a duty to defend Plaintiffs in an environmental damage case currently pending in federal court. Plaintiffs claim coverage under several Commercial General Liability and Professional Liability insurance policies for periods covering, collectively, January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2014 (collectively, the "Policies"). Provisions of the Policies that are relevant to this dispute are excerpted in the appendix to this Memorandum and Order ("Appendix").

A. The Underlying Lawsuit2

USAE and Bayou engage in "environmental activities" on behalf of waste generators.3 Plaintiffs' work includes the brokering and transportation of waste material to *812sites at which the waste will be recycled and/or otherwise disposed of.4 That work is at issue in an underlying lawsuit ("Underlying Lawsuit"), presently pending in the United States for the Southern District of Texas,5 concerning environmental remediation efforts at a site located in Pasadena, Texas (the "USOR Site"). The USOR Site encompasses approximately 18 acres and is comprised of two separate properties, the former U.S. Oil Recovery and MCC Recycling facilities.6 The MCC facility portion of the USOR Site is located on either side of Vince Bayou, and lays southeast across railroad tracks from the U.S. Oil Recovery facility.7 The City of Pasadena, Texas, a defendant in the Underlying Lawsuit, owned and operated the MCC facility from approximately 1944 until January, 2009, when U.S. Oil Recovery acquired that facility from the City.8 Throughout its operating life, the U.S. Oil Recovery facility received and performed wastewater pretreatment of municipal and industrial Class I and II wastewater, "characteristically hazardous waste," used oil and oily sludges, and municipal solid waste.9 Associated operations were conducted at the MCC Recycling facility portion of the USOR Site after U.S. Oil Recovery acquired that facility in 2009.10

The USOR Site was abandoned by its owners and operators in June, 2010.11 The following month, in July, 2010, a state court-appointed receiver was granted legal control and custody over the USOR Site.12 The receiver's role is to assist in performance of authorized response actions at the USOR Site, among other responsibilities.13

On July 1, 2010, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services contacted the National Response Center and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") hotlines to request assistance in stabilizing the USOR Site and managing a large volume of hazardous substances and waste in preparation for the upcoming season.14 The EPA conducted emergency response actions at the USOR Site in July, 2010, November, 2010, and January, 2011, and identified a "historic an[d] ongoing release of hazardous substances" at and around the USOR Site.15 In total, the EPA removed approximately 833,500 gallons of contaminated liquids from the USOR Site during the three emergency response actions.16 The EPA proposed the Site be added to the National Priorities List on September 16, 2011.17 It *813was formally added to the List on September 18, 2012, rendering it a Superfund site.18

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U.S. Env't, L.P. v. Am. Int'l Specialty Lines Ins. Co., 388 F. Supp. 3d 807 (S.D. Tex. 2017).

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