A lawyer for Appleton Papers, Inc. says a court has ruled that two insurance companies will have to contribute $10 million toward the cleanup of the Fox River. Madison attorney Ron Ragatz says Tuesday's ruling by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals means Munich Re AG and Westport Insurance Corp. are each now liable for $5 million.
He says other insurers that Appleton had policies with between 1978 and 1986 have reached confidential settlements for their portion of the cleanup, which is expected to cost $600 million or more.
Appleton's corporate predecessor dumped chemical pollutants known as PCBs into the river for years as a byproduct of carbonless paper production.