DETROIT - An insurer has a duty to defend an insured against claims that a sanitizing agent caused injuries to the occupants of a home where the chemical was used because there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the sanitizing agent is a pollutant pursuant to the policy's definition of the term, the First District Michigan Court of Appeals said Nov. 24 (Hastings Mutual Insurance Co. v. Safety King Inc., et al., No. 286392, Mich. App., 1st Dist.; 2009 Mich. App. LEXIS 2448). From Mealey's Litigation Report: Insurance

PHOENIX - A direct action against a gasoline retailer's insurer cannot be maintained by the personal representative of an employee who died as a result of inhaling toxic fumes while inspecting underground gasoline storage tanks because the claimant must first pursue a claim in workers' compensation court and the policy's employee exclusion precludes coverage, an Arizona federal judge said Nov. 24 in dismissing the suit (Tracy O. Dumas v. American International Specialty Lines Insurance Co., No. 09-1240, D. Ariz.). From Mealey's Litigation Report: Insurance