A federal judge in Illinois has limited an insurance carrier's exposure in a $10 million environmental damage action that provides one of the few cases interpreting the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, according to the defense attorney.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly for the Northern District of Illinois, in Chicago, ruled that a claim by the Egan Marine Corporation and Service Welding and Shipbuilding LLC involved two vessels rather than one.

His decision came in granting a summary judgment motion for dismissal by the Great American Insurance Company of New York.

The case concerned an accident and fire in January of 2005 involving a tug and a so-called "dumb barge," both owned by Egan.

The U.S. Coast Guard cited the barge as the cause of environmental damage under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The plaintiff sought to have the insurer pay environmental coverage claims on both vessels.

With its summary judgment, Great American has limited the liability to one vessel and cut its exposure in half to $5 million.

Great American attorney Jim Carbin said the ruling provides one of the few cases defining the Oil Pollution Act. "It explains that the OPA 1990 focuses on the vessel and not the incident," he said. "This was of great concern to tug operators across the country."

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U.S. Court Oil Pollution Ruling Limits Coverage

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