‘Viking Pump’: Changing the Allocation Landscape

In In re Viking Pump, the New York Court of Appeals applied an all sums allocation to a long-term asbestos bodily injury case, catching New York insurance practitioners by surprise and uprooting the long-held understanding that New York is a pro rata jurisdiction. Courts have long wrestled with the appropriate approach to allocating loss in insurance coverage cases concerning continuous bodily injury or property damage that takes place over many years. In this article, partner Howard Epstein, special counsel Theodore Keyes and former Schulte lawyer Sami Groff discuss New York’s evolving allocation landscape.