The Delaware high court justices found that Delaware law, not Montana law, should apply to Stillwater Mining Co. even though Stillwater does its core business in Montana. The decision relies on the fact that Stillwater was incorporated in Delaware and was seeking coverage for an appraisal action in Delaware’s Court of Chancery.
Thomas Breen commented,
“There’s no question, if you have a D&O coverage action and you’re incorporated in the state of Delaware, Delaware law is going to apply.”
Although the application of Delaware law in Stillwater resulted in the ruling that the mining company didn’t have coverage for its appraisal suits, Tom maintains that this decision does not make Delaware a worse state for policyholders than carriers,
“Insurers can be very happy with this ruling in the sense that the Delaware Supreme Court specifically found that we are not granting coverage by estoppel…the high court is committed to relying on what the four corners of the contract say. Insurers would [still] look at it as a pro-policyholder jurisdiction.”
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