DDT Maker Loses Appeal Over Insurance Policy Pollution Language

A California appeals court declined to order a trial judge to consider outside evidence in deciding whether “sudden” could mean “gradual” in the context of insurance policy pollution exclusions at issue in a long-running dispute over DDT cleanup costs.

Courts in general can weigh all credible extrinsic evidence to aid in interpreting a contract, but the lower court correctly excluded the extrinsic evidence because appellate courts have rejected the specific interpretation advanced by Montrose Chemical Corp. in the case at hand, the California Court of Appeal, Second District said in a Tuesday opinion.

The dispute between Montrose and its insurers, ...