New York State Supreme Court Justice Richard Lowe awarded
Of that award, $202.5 million is to come from Munich Re's
According to numerous news outlets, the case facts date to the late 1940s, when United States Fidelity & Guaranty, which Travelers now owns, first wrote a liability insurance policy for Western Asbestos Co.
By the mid-1970s asbestos was linked to cancer and other diseases. People harmed by asbestos began to sue the successor company, Western MacArthur, which in 1993 sued USF&G (which was later acquired in 1998 by St. Paul Cos., then merged with Travelers) and two other insurers seeking indemnification.
In 2002, USF&G reached a $987.4 million settlement, which resulted in Western MacArthur going into bankruptcy. USF&G then sought indemnification for some of that amount from reinsurers, including American Re-Insurance Co, as Munich Re America was then known.
According to news outlets, Munich Re America and ECRA plan to appeal the decision.