Robert Chemers secures victory in federal district court for an insurer client

Robert Chemers, a Senior Equity Partner, won summary judgment in federal district court for an insurer client that the lead poisoning exclusion in a Dwelling Liability policy issued to apartment building owners precluded a duty to defend and indemnify the owners who were sued by the tenant for damages for lead poisoning caused to the tenant’s minor child and the damages incurred by the parent tenant under the Family Expense Act. The policy’s lead poisoning exclusion endorsement applied only to an apartment in a building built before 1968 and to a child who was under the age of 6. The only reported decision in Illinois involving the lead liability exclusion in a building owners’ policy was issued in 2002.