Insurers must contribute to a lead paint liability settlement based on their time on the risk, according to a New York appeals court ruling that applies an apportionment theory previously used in pollution cases to a lead paint case for the first time.
A four-judge panel of the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division unanimously ruled that New York-based Public Service Mutual Insurance Co. must pay two-thirds of a $390,000 lead paint settlement because its liability policies were in force for two of the three years during which the injury occurred.
The ruling overturned a lower court order that Public Service and the now insolvent First Central Insurance Co. split the settlement evenly.
