Overview
Law360 covered Steptoe's win for an AIG unit in an article titled "AIG Won't Have to Foot $12M Waste Management Lawsuit Bill." On August 27, a Texas federal court judge held that AIG doesn’t have to foot the bill for $12 million in legal expenses Waste Management Inc. racked up defending criminal charges over environmental contamination from a Hawaii landfill.
Granting summary judgment to AIG Specialty Insurance Co., US District Judge Andrew S. Hanen wrote that Waste Management can't recoup legal expenses from defending and investigating claims related to flooding in Hawaii in 2010 and 2011 that caused medical waste from a Waste Management landfill to flow onto beaches and into the Pacific Ocean.
Judge Hanen ruled in March 2019 that AIG had no duty to defend in the proceeding, but Waste Management was still seeking fees. It had argued there's a distinction between legal expenses "incurred in the defense and investigation of claims" and its legal costs "incurred for the investigation of the contamination."
Steptoe partner John O'Connor argued the case with assistance from Roger Warin and Brett Grindrod.
The full article can be read at Law360 (subscription required).
