Harford County v. Harford Mutual Insurance

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

We granted certiorari to address a single question presented by the petitioner, Harford County, Maryland: Whether, in the context of alleged environmental property damage, standard form comprehensive general liability insurance policies are “triggered for the policy periods when the damages take place, as opposed to the policy period when the damages are first discovered or ‘manifested.’ ”

I

At various times between 1954 and 1982, Harford County operated five sanitary landfills, namely, Tollgate, Scarboro, Mullins, Bush Valley, and Abingdon. During part of this period, the…