Peabody Essex Museum, Inc. v. United States Fire Insurance

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER RE: MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

GERTNER, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This dispute between an insured, Peabody Essex Museum, Inc. (“the Museum”), and its insurer, United States Fire Insurance Co. (“U.S. Fire”), arose out of the 2003 discovery of oil damage to the land neighboring the Museum’s property. The aggrieved landowner and the state environmental protection agency traced the damage to the Museum, which identified its underground tanks as the likely source. U.S. Fire refused to defend the Museum or cover the expense of cleanup. The Museum then settled its…