Pederson's Fryer Farms, Inc. v. Transamerica Ins. Co

In Pederson's Fryer Farms, Inc. v. Transamerica Ins. Co., 83 Wn. App. 432, 451-52, 922 P.2d 126 (1996) the court was faced with a substantially similar, albeit less complex, situation. The insured, Pederson's, sought to recover expenses incurred in cleaning up contamination from an underground gas tank. Pederson's Fryer Farms, 83 Wn. App. at 435. Pederson's settled with two insurers for $ 32,000. Id. at 436. Pederson's then prevailed in a suit for cleanup costs from a third insurer, Transamerica. Id. Despite the principle of inappropriate "double recovery" and the policy's "other insurance" clause, the court held setoff was not allowed. The settlement, however, was not mere payment for Pederson's cleanup costs; it was in exchange for a release of liability for all past, present and future environmental claims. Transamerica did not demonstrate what part, if any, of the settlement was attributable to cleanup costs. Thus, no showing of double recovery was made. The trial court acted appropriately by not reducing the award. Id. at 452.