Businesses emitting greenhouse gases that cause global warming face imminent liability problems, and they should secure insurance coverage to protect themselves, a legal expert is warning.

Insurance recovery attorney John G. Nevius gave that advice in a statement issued by his firm, which noted that three recent federal court decisions during a seven-day period last month have split two-to-one over the viability of suits seeking damages arising out of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming impacts.

"The proliferation of such suits will lead to further disputes over the duty to defend them," said Mr. Nevius, a shareholder in the New York office of Anderson Kill & Olick. "The different federal outcomes and the continuing uncertainty over the viability of GHG-related suits lend support to the argument that existing pollution exclusions cannot be said to definitively preclude all insurance coverage."