General Motors (GM) has filed a lawsuit against Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) alleging the insurer has withheld payment on asbestos claims worth millions, it was reported today.
According to reports, GM alleges that R&SA refused to pay claims for personal injury claims relating to asbestos.
GM also alleges that R&SA would not pay out on property damage associated with environmental contamination.
GM has not said how much it is seeking in damages. But reports said the US company was a significant customer of R&SA between 1954 and 1971, the period in question.
The suit names R&SA's US subsidiaries as well as their UK parent, reports said today. It alleges that the parent company controls the US subsidiaries and that therefore it is liable for the claims.
If GM is successful it could open the floodgates for a series of asbestos insurance litigants, reports said.
