The Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency brought certain enforcement actions against Hartford Iron & Metal, Inc. to remediate alleged environmental damage at a scrapyard run by Hartford Iron. It sought coverage from Valley Forge Insurance Company, and the parties eventually entered into two settlement agreements obligating Valley Forge to pay for the remediation of the site and the defense of the regulatory actions. Valley Forge hired Resolute Management Inc. to act as a third-party claims administrator, and Resolute became heavily involved in managing the remediation of the site. Disputes arose from the remediation project and litigation followed. Hartford Iron brought a third-party complaint against Resolute asserting various claims, which it moved to dismiss. The court granted Resolute’s motion, finding that it could not be liable to Hartford Iron for breach of contract because there was no privity or contractual arrangement between those parties, irrespective of whether Resolute was the alleged reinsurer of Valley Forge policies. The Court likewise dismissed the various tort claims brought by Hartford Iron against Resolute, holding that these claims were premised solely upon unsupported legal conclusions. Valley Forge Insurance Co. v. Hartford Iron & Metal, Inc., No. 1:14-cv-00006 (USDC N.D. Ind. June 15, 2016).
