In re Silicone Implant Insurance Coverage Ligation
Supreme Court of Minnesota
667 N.W.2d 405 (2003)
3M's (defendant) occurrence-based excess insurance policies with several insurers (plaintiffs) ran from 1977 to 1985; women implanted with 3M's silicone breast implants during that period later developed autoimmune disorders from continuous cellular exposure to leaking silicone, but their lawsuits were filed after the policies had already expired. The district court held the policies were triggered at the time of implantation and, because the resulting injuries were continuous from implantation onward, ordered 3M's losses allocated pro rata across all its insurers; the court of appeals affirmed, and the insurers brought this declaratory-judgment action.
Whether, when a continuous injury can be traced to a discrete and identifiable triggering event, the insurance policy in effect during that event should apply to all resulting claims, or whether losses should instead be allocated pro rata across all policies in effect during the continuing injury.