Absolute Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Eighth Circuit Rules

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, applying Nebraska law, has ruled that an absolute pollution exclusion barred coverage for indoor air exposure to carbon monoxide.

The Case

John Green, the pastor of Clay Center Christian Church, resided at the church’s parsonage with his wife, Cheryl. After the parsonage’s heating system allegedly malfunctioned and released carbon monoxide throughout the residence, he died and Ms. Green was injured.

The church notified its insurance carrier, which filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a determination that the pollution exclusions in the policies it had issued to the church precluded any duty on its part to defend or indemnify the church with respect to the claims by Ms. Green and the pastor’s estate.

The district court concluded that the pollution exclusions were unambiguous, that carbon monoxide was a “pollutant” as defined by the policies, and that the claims were not covered under the plain terms of the policies.

The dispute reached the Eighth Circuit.

The Circuit Court’s Decision

The Eighth Circuit affirmed.

In its decision, it explained that the policies defined “pollutants” as “any solid, liquid, gaseous or thermal irritant or contaminant,” and it ruled that the pollution exclusions, including the terms “irritant” and “contaminant,” were unambiguous. It noted that a “contaminant” was “something that contaminates,” and that “contaminate” meant to “render unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.”

Because carbon monoxide was a gas that could render air “unfit for use” if introduced at high levels, it constituted a “pollutant” as defined by the policies, the Eighth Circuit decided.

The case is Church Mutual Ins. Co. v. Clay Center Christian Church, No. 13-1613 (8th Cir. March 25, 2014).