Ruling releases Flexsteel insurance companies [Telegraph-Herald (Dubuque, IA)]

None of Flexsteel Industries' insurance companies must provide coverage on claims that the company polluted air and drinking water near Elkhart, Ind., according to a Dubuque District Court judge.

In a ruling filed Thursday, Judge Michael Shubatt granted summary judgment in favor of 13 insurance companies that claim no responsibility in a class-action lawsuit against Flexsteel.

Shubatt gave much the same reasoning as he did for a similar ruling last year that favored two of the insurance companies: Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America and St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. A different federal court claim, with practically the same facts, forced this separate lawsuit. Both motions were consolidated, bringing in all of the cross claims from other applicable insurance companies. All parties appear to agree that this case will eventually be determined by the Iowa Supreme Court.

In March 2011, a group of Indiana plaintiffs sued Flexsteel in Indiana, claiming that the company had polluted the air and drinking water near the plants in Elkhart. Iowa law favors the insurance companies because Iowa courts recognize pollution exclusions, while Indiana law does not.