Last week, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's decision that an insurer must pay asbestos claims and associated costs to the state under a comprehensive general liability policy that the insurer issued for the years 1973-1975. The case is National Indemnity Co. v. State of Montana 2021 MT 300.

This decision essentially affirms a ruling from March, 2018, against the insurer, a Berkshire Hathaway unit. The court held that the state knew about hazardous conditions, injuries, and deaths related to a vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana, since 1942.

The mine was owned and operated by W.R. Grace and Co. and its predecessors. The insurance-related dispute concerned underlying litigation against the state based on its regulatory role.