St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., a Lumber Liquidators insurer suing to avoid covering the flooring retailer’s $36 million settlement over product defect claims, was told by a federal judge in Virginia it would have to pursue its suit in Wisconsin instead, according to Law360.
Shortly after its Chinese-made laminate flooring was reported to have excessive formaldehyde emissions in 2015, Lumber Liquidators filed suit in Wisconsin to force a number of its primary and excess insurers, including St. Paul, to cover the ensuing formaldehyde claims against the company. This Wisconsin action was paused that same year pending the outcome of another primary insurers’ suit with Lumber Liquidators in Virginia, which was settled for a confidential sum, according to Law360.
St. Paul’s suit against Lumber Liquidators was filed in August 2018 in Virginia and argued that it has no responsibility to cover the company’s $36 million settlement regarding the formaldehyde claims. Lumber Liquidators filed a motion to dismiss, noting that St. Paul was included in its suit against its insurers that it had filed in 2015 in Wisconsin. In his dismissal of its suit filed in Virginia, the Virginia judge advised St. Paul that its coverage dispute could be better resolved in its pending Wisconsin state court action with Lumber Liquidators.
The Wisconsin court granted Lumber Liquidators’ motion to reactivate its case against its insurers in June 2018.
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