Montana Cattle Company Sued by Insurer Over Contamination Claims

A Montana cattle company was hit with a lawsuit from an insurer seeking to limit its exposure to claims arising from beef contaminated with E. coli sold to several restaurants.

There was only one “occurrence” under the commercial general liability policy issued by Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Co., limiting coverage to $1 million for the claims brought against Range Land & Cattle Co., the insurer said in a complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of Montana.

Under Montana’s “cause theory,” there was only one cause—the contaminated beef from a single lot—so it should be considered ...