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Jury award might be record Firm wins $52.5 million from insurer in asbestos case BY SHANNON PRATHER Pioneer Press A Ramsey County jury awarded a $52.5 million verdict this week to a Roseville construction firm that sued its insurance company for failing to defend it against hundreds of injury and wrongful death claims tied to asbestos exposure. Court officials said the verdict returned Wednesday in favor of API Inc. could be the largest in Ramsey County history. "The big message is you cannot mistreat your policy-holders who went out and bought that insurance for protection," said attorney John Faricy Jr., who represented API. Attorneys for defendant OneBeacon America Insurance Co., based in Boston, did not comment Friday. The eight-member jury awarded $27.5 million for breach of contract, $10 million for operating in bad faith and $15 million for breach of duty. The dispute between API and OneBeacon centered on the existence and terms of insurance policies from 1958 to 1966. Incorporated in Minnesota in 1948, API installed and distributed building insulation materials including asbestos. Starting in the 1980s, API was hit with more than 700 lawsuits alleging wrongful death and injury due to asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a fibrous mineral commonly used until the mid-1970s in insulation. When inhaled, its tiny fibers can cause cancer and other diseases, but they often take decades to develop. A PI hired investigators to locate any records or evidence of insurance. API's investigators never found policies but did undercover paperwork and accounting records indicating that the construction company was covered by General Accident Insurance Co. API filed claims with the company's successor, OneBeacon, which denied the existence of the insurance policies and then disputed the extent of the coverage. API filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January citing asbestos liabilities. In court documents, API said OneBeacon's wrongful denial of coverage has forced the construction company to pay out $41 million to settle asbestos claims. OneBeacon could file motions with Ramsey County District Judge John Finley to set aside or reduce the verdict, reached during a trial that lasted a week and a half.
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