The interpretation of insurance policies indemnifying General Electric against liability for hundreds of millions of dollars in claims from polluted sites around the country, including the Hudson River, should be decided under New York law, a state judge has ruled.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Bernard J. Fried held in Appalachian Insurance Co. v. General Electric Co., 122807-1996, that even though General Electric Co.’s operations and pollution risks were spread nationwide, its New York domicile should be regarded as “a proxy for the principal location of the insured risk,” and thus, serve as “the source of applicable law.”
