A manufacturer of asbestos-containing products can present evidence of damages against an insurer claiming it did not owe the company excess insurance coverage in underlying asbestos litigation, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge L. Felipe Restrepo of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied Travelers Casualty and Surety Co.'s motion to preclude General Refractories Co. (GRC) from presenting evidence of damages at trial.

According to Restrepo's opinion, Travelers claimed that GRC couldn't prove insured damages because Travelers' policies contain an asbestos exclusion. That exclusion, Travelers claimed, is part of an umbrella policy that the Insurance Co. of the State of Pennsylvania (ICSOP) sold to GRC.