Cont'l Ref. Co. v. Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Ins. Co.

Robert E. Wier, United States District Judge

Extremes in nature equal ends produce;

In man they join to some mysterious use.

Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man, The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope 79 (H.F. Cary, ed., 1841).

Pope's aphorism sets an apt stage for this case, involving extremes of the natural world-a ~600° hydrocarbon mixture (naphtha) pulsing through a large piping structure at over 14,000 pounds per hour, ultimately producing a violent explosion and fireball-and two companies (an oil refiner and an insurer) fighting about EBC policy language with similar vigor. In the end, there is…