## Facts

- The Helen Kramer Landfill in West Deptford, New Jersey, operated from about 1963 to 1981.
- In April 1978, the Borough of Bellmawr approved the landfill as an acceptable disposal site for municipal trash.
- The Borough dumped municipal waste at the landfill from May 1978 through January 1981 without separating harmful pollutants from other trash.
- The Environmental Protection Agency later found hazardous chemicals in landfill soil and surrounding waters and asserted federal environmental claims.
- The Borough settled with the EPA for $449,036.39 in response and remedial costs.
- Century Indemnity insured the Borough under a CGL policy from June 18, 1977 to June 18, 1978; Quincy Mutual insured the Borough under CGL policies from June 18, 1978 to June 18, 1981.
- At trial, an expert testified that leachate would begin leaving the landfill only after waste reached “field capacity,” estimated at roughly 185–200 days after the Borough began dumping, implying groundwater contamination began after June 18, 1978.
- The trial court and Appellate Division treated the “occurrence” as the first infiltration of contaminants into groundwater, held Century’s policy not triggered, and imposed defense and indemnity responsibility solely on Quincy.

## Issues

1. Under a continuous-trigger theory for long-tail environmental claims, is a CGL policy in effect during the insured’s dumping activity triggered even if contaminants reach groundwater after the policy expires?
2. If multiple policies are triggered, should allocation be calculated by policy years on the risk or by days on the risk?

## Decision

- The Supreme Court held that Century’s policy was triggered under the continuous-trigger theory because dumping during Century’s policy period was part of the continuous process of environmental injury.
- The Court rejected limiting the trigger solely to the point when leachate first reached groundwater.
- The Court held that allocation among triggered policies must be proportional to the number of days each insurer was on the risk during the continuous-trigger period.
- The Court reversed the ruling that Quincy alone was responsible and remanded for allocation consistent with the days-on-the-risk method.

## Legal Principles

- For progressive environmental contamination, New Jersey’s continuous-trigger approach can implicate multiple policy periods across the continuum of injury, including periods of exposure-causing conduct (such as depositing waste) and later migration/manifestation.
- A carrier is not excluded from coverage merely because measurable contamination (such as groundwater infiltration) began after its policy expired, if the insured’s covered-period conduct formed part of the injurious process.
- When multiple CGL policies are triggered by continuous environmental damage, liability should be allocated pro rata based on the number of days each policy was in effect during the continuous-trigger period, rather than by counting policy years.

## Conclusion

The court applied continuous-trigger coverage to municipal landfill pollution, holding that dumping during an earlier policy period can trigger that policy even if groundwater contamination occurs later, and required pro rata allocation among triggered insurers based on days on the risk.


Quincy Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Borough of Bellmawr, 172 N.J. 409, 799 A.2d 499 (2002)