Housing Authority Risk Retention Group, Inc. v. Chicago Housing Authority

Defending oneself from a large-scale class action lawsuit is a costly task. And so it comes as no surprise that these two parties are before us to determine who should foot the bill for the defense of a 1999 lawsuit filed by approximately 10,000 current or former Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) residents who claimed they have been exposed to and harmed by environmental contaminants while living on CHAs public housing property. The Housing Authority Risk Retention Group, Inc. (HARRG), a risk retention group made up of various housing authority members, asserts that it has neither the duty to defend nor indemnify CHA in the underlying environmental litigation.