New Jersey companies facing claims over their use of what are commonly known as forever chemicals face an increasingly challenging litigation environment as well as unique opportunities for covering claims and remediation costs.

Experts on a panel organized by Anderson Kill PC's insurance recovery practice on Thursday said that the state has been particularly aggressive in enforcing standards and imposing fines for contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

Still, favorable insurance recovery case law may provide companies with some relief from the state's PFAS actions and its broad mandate to protect its residents and natural resources.

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Cameron Argetsinger of Anderson Kill said that, like asbestos, PFAS represents a class long-tail tort claim, which generally falls into commercial general liability policies.

The first issue is when policies are triggered. A CGL policy provides coverage for bodily injury or property damage caused by an occurrence.

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Policies issued before 1986 could come into play for PFAS cases, given their widespread use throughout that decade and before, according to Robert Horkovich, managing partner at Anderson Kill.

Those policies' pollution exclusions contained an exception for "sudden and accidental pollution," which the New Jersey Supreme Court has interpreted as meaning that the exclusion only applies to the intentional discharge of known pollutants.

"The insurance policies are not worth their weight in gold, even at $4,000 an ounce: They are worth far more than their weight in gold," Horkovich said.

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