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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Insurer Not Liable for Worker’s Rag Damage

ST. LOUIS (CN) - An insurance company does not have to indemnify a company whose employee caused millions of dollars in damages by leaving a cloth rag in a machine, the 8th Circuit ruled.

Tonicstar Limited obtained a declaratory judgment in district court that it was not required to cover Lovegreen Turbine Systems for the mistake that occurred in their service of a compressor at a Minnesota oil refinery.

Judge Bye ruled that the insurance policy excludes property damage due to work that was performed improperly.

"Leaving a cloth rag inside the compressor falls within the policy's definition of work," Bye ruled. "Lovegreen's work was incorrectly performed, and the compressor required repair as a result."

The compressor was out of service for five days, costing Flint Hills Resources $6.5 million in business damages.

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