In June 2013, the Governor of Oregon signed into law Senate Bill 814, which created sweeping reforms on environmental claims handling regulations and available remedies for insureds facing liability for cleanup of contaminated property located in the state. Cozen O’Connor previously provided summaries of the pertinent provisions of the legislation, which can be located here (May 7, 2013 Alert) and here (June 18, 2013 Alert). In sum, the legislation amended the existing Oregon Environmental Cleanup Assistance Act (“OECAA”) under ORS 465.479, et seq. to impose stricter claims handling regulations, create a statutory cause of action for violation of the regulations, and allow punitive damages to be awarded if the court finds the insurer acted unreasonably. The amendments are now codified,…
