Owners of Chicago’s Trump International Hotel & Tower are placing the blame on its insurer for mounting allegations of pollution in the Chicago River.
The Trump Organization recently sued Allianz Global Risks US Insurance, alleging responsibility for pollution clean up, property damage and investigation expenses tied to the 92-story condo and hotel tower, at 401 North Wabash Avenue, Crain’s reported.
The firm’s claim centers on an environmental protection policy that puts Allianz on the hook for pollution cleanup and damages.
The legal battle stems from a dispute that began in 2018, when the state of Illinois sued the Trump Organization, alleging that the building’s water-intake system was emitting pollutants into the river without a permit. The tower, utilizing the river as a cooling system, is permitted under the federal Clean Water Act, provided it has a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit.
Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Friends of the Chicago River, have twice sued the Trump Organization over Clean Water Act violations. Allegations last year included underreporting the rate of water withdrawal from the river.
The Trump Organization’s lawsuit contends that Allianz failed to reimburse the tower’s owners and defend them in previous litigation. They seek reimbursement for any potential liability under state and environmental groups’ lawsuits, along with litigation expenses.
A previous ruling in August 2023, involving a different insurance company, Continental Casualty, determined that insurers were not obligated to defend the property in the state’s lawsuit. The Illinois Attorney General amended the original complaint in September to strengthen its case against Trump.
Allianz has yet to comment on the matter, and neither has the state attorney general’s office, nor the environmental groups named as defendants.
—Quinn Donoghue
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