At what point does a demand from an injured party constitute an insurance claim? In the case of a Georgia-based sperm bank, it’s when the injured party sends the letter – a date that came before the clearly worded policy took effect, a federal judge in Georgia decided last week.
The judgment by U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash means that Allied World Surplus Lines Insurance Co. does not have to defend the sperm company, which has made headlines after being accused of providing semen to Canadian and U.S. couples despite knowing about donors’ genetic conditions or failing to screen for abnormalities.
Several Canadian babies were born and two tested positive for Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, a hereditary disorder that damages nerves and causes foot contractions and difficulty walking. Two others were found to have the genetic mutation for the disease. Georgia Cryoservices, the holding company of Xytex Corp., the sperm bank, was notified of the problems and went about notifying other recipient couples about the issues, according to Allied World’s lawsuit complaint…