American Cas. Co. of Reading, Pa. v. Miller

A California appellate court held that an insurance company had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured, a furniture stripping business, in underlying suits against it stemming from the release of chemicals into a public sewer system. The case arose after a private contractor repairing sewer lines for the city sustained serious injury due to methylene chloride being released into the sewer system. The pollution exclusion clause in the business' insurance policy excludes coverage for the worker's injuries. An ordinary insured would reasonably expect that the release of methylene chloride into a public sewer is environmental pollution.