The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled an exclusion in Travelers insurance company's policy with a company hit with asbestos claims shields the insurer from paying $36 million to cover multiple settlements.

The appeals court overturned then U.S. District Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo's holding that the language of the asbestos claim exclusion was ambiguous, leaving Travelers on the hook to cover the settlements. Restrepo is currently a Third Circuit judge.

The main dispute in the case was whether the policy exclusion dating back to 1978, which said coverage would not be extended for “claims arising out of asbestos,” was ambiguous and did not exclude coverage for “asbestos-containing products,” as plaintiff General Refractories Co. argued.