The court found the was a single occurrence when 124 separate cases of food poisoning were allegedly caused by one restaurant over a four-day period. Travelers Cas. Ins. Co. of Am. v. Mediterranean Grill & Kabob Inc., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210212 (W.D. Texas Nov. 4, 2020).
Nearly 200 cases of food poisoning from salmonella bacteria were reported to city officials after all patrons ate at Pasha Mediterranean Grill. Pasha was sued in seven different lawsuits. Pasha was insured by Travelers under a policy with a $1 million "per occurrence" limit and a $2 million "aggregate" limit. Some of the underlying claims settled with Travelers paying approximately $450,000 of its $1 million "per occurrence" limit. Travelers offered the remainder of the $1 million limit to settle the remaining 124 claims, but the offer was rejected.
Travelers filed for a declaratory judgment against Pasha and the remaining 124 claimants. Travelers moved for summary judgment.
The court agreed that several events "caused" a pause or interruption in the injuries in the underlying lawsuits, including when Pasha closed each night, as well as each time a new batch of food was prepared. However, only one cause gave rise to Pasha's liability and that was the allegedly contaminated food. Under Texas' "cause" analysis, there was a single, continuous event that both allegedly caused the injuries in the underlying suits and gave rise to Pasha's liability. Therefore, the food poisonings were a single "occurrence" under the policy.
Summary judgment was granted to Travelers.
