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Insurance Litigation Construction Defects Construction Industry

Cozen O'Connor

Court Differentiates Faulty and Defective Workmanship from Vandalism or Malicious Mischief

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In Carr v. Spinnaker Insurance Company, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s finding that property damage resulting from objectionable and imperfect work performed by an...more

Conn Kavanaugh

First Circuit Rules on Important Coverage Issue for Contractors.

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First Circuit Court of Appeals Rules That Standard Commercial General Liability Policy Excludes Coverage for Downstream Property Damage When General Contractor’s Scope of Work Covers Entire Building - It is well-accepted...more

Robinson+Cole Construction Law Zone

Massachusetts Appellate Court Confirms Construction Defects are Not Covered Under Commercial General Liability Policies

In a case of first impression in Massachusetts, Lessard v. R.C. Havens & Sons, Inc., 104 Mass. App. Ct. 572 (2024), the Appellate Court confirmed that construction defects, without more, do not constitute property damage...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

December 2024 Insurance Update

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There’s been plenty of litigation over whether construction defect claims qualify for coverage under a CGL policy. This month, we discuss two federal circuit court rulings (First and Seventh Circuits) that reach opposite...more

Robinson+Cole Construction Law Zone

Water Alone is Not Property Damage Under a CGL Policy in Connecticut

The Connecticut Appellate Court recently provided guidance on what does not constitute property damage under a typical contractor’s Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy in Westchester Modular Homes of Fairfield...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

A Potential Big Win for Real Estate Developers in Illinois: CGL Coverage for Property Damage from Defective Work

Illinois may have just opened a new door for developers and owners for insurance coverage when it comes to defective construction work and commercial general liability (“CGL”) coverage. Based on the recent Illinois Supreme...more

Payne & Fears

Liability Coverage For Construction Claims May Turn On Narrow Factual Distinctions

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In a recent trial court decision, a Montana federal court reminds us how fragile insurance coverage can be for construction-related insurance claims. Specifically, this case illustrates how seemingly small factual nuances can...more

Perkins Coie

Illinois Supreme Court Issues Landmark Construction Insurance Coverage Ruling

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In Acuity v. M/I Homes of Chicago, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned years of lower court precedent and established that “property damage” in the context of construction defect or faulty workmanship claims exists...more

Carlton Fields

Alabama Federal Court Finds No Duty to Defend Lawsuit Alleging Concealment of Defects in Sale of Home

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In Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Carmichael, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, applying Alabama law, entered summary judgment ruling that Nationwide Fire Insurance Co. had no duty to...more

Marshall Dennehey

Doubling Down: Two Third Circuit Decisions Reaffirm that Faulty Workmanship Does Not Constitute an “Occurrence” in Pennsylvania

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In two separate decisions handed down last month, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals re-affirmed that, under Pennsylvania law, claims against contractors for faulty workmanship do not constitute an “occurrence” and are...more

Payne & Fears

Virginia Federal Court Reaffirms Construction Defect Claims Not Covered by CGL Policies

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Third-party claims seeking damages for faulty workmanship that results in property damage are covered under general liability policies in most jurisdictions. Virginia is not one of them. A federal district court recently...more

Payne & Fears

Texas Federal Court Delivers Another Big Win for Policyholders on CGL Coverage for Construction-Defect Claims and “Rip-and-Tear”...

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Insurers regularly argue that commercial general liability (“CGL”) policies are not performance bonds and therefore there is no coverage for claims seeking damages for defective or faulty workmanship. Insurers also argue...more

Payne & Fears

Pennsylvania Federal Court Confirms: Construction Defect Claims Not Covered by CGL Policies

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The construction industry operates under the constant spectre of claims seeking damages for defective or faulty workmanship. Fortunately, the law in most states treats these claims as covered under commercial general...more

Payne & Fears

Nevada Insureds Can Rely on Extrinsic Facts to Show that An Insurer Owes a Duty to Defend

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On Oct. 28, 2021, the Nevada Supreme Court in Zurich American Insurance Company v.. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Company, 137 Nev. Adv. Op. 66, held that an insured can rely on extrinsic facts to show that an insurer has a...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

[Webinar] Webinar Series: Insurance Insights – What Insurers Need to Know in 2021 - Construction Claims: A Practical Reservation...

Join us for Hinshaw's Webinar Series: Insurance Insights – What Insurers Need to Know in 2021. This series will feature insurance thought leaders from Hinshaw and RPC, presenting on the most pressing insurance claims topics...more

Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP

Triable Issue of Fact Exists as to Insurer’s Obligation to Provide Coverage Under Occurrence Policy

In Guastello v. AIG Specialty Ins. Co. (No. G057714. filed 2/19/21 ord. pub. 2/23/21), a California appeals court held that triable issues of material fact exist which precluded summary judgment for an insurer seeking to...more

Carlton Fields

South Carolina Federal Court Finds No Coverage for Faulty Workmanship Damages Discovered Years After Occurrence-Based Policy...

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Potential Six-Year Delay in Notice of Flood and Mold Damage “Substantially Prejudiced” Insurer - In Atain Specialty Insurance Company v. Carolina Professional Builders, LLC et al., 2:18-cv-2352-BHH (D.S.C. Oct. 2, 2020),...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Court Finds That “Care, Custody Or Control” Exclusion Did Not Negate Coverage For General Contractor Who Shared Jobsite...

McMillin Homes Constr., Inc. v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 35 Cal.App.5th 1042 (2019); Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal, Division One, Case No. D074219 (June 5, 2019). McMillin Homes Construction, Inc....more

White and Williams LLP

PA Superior Court Provides Clarification on Definition of CGL “Occurrence” When Property Damage Is Caused by Faulty Building...

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The standard for an “occurrence” under a commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy has been addressed on several occasions by Pennsylvania courts when an insured has allegedly performed faulty workmanship on a...more

White and Williams LLP

Wisconsin Supreme Court Holds that Subrogation Waiver Does Not Violate Statute Prohibiting Limitation on Tort Liability in...

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In Rural Mut. Ins. Co. v. Lester Bldgs., LLC 2019 WI 70, 2019 Wisc. LEXIS 272, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin considered whether a subrogation waiver clause in a construction contract between the defendant and the plaintiff’s...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Got coverage? What to consider in the wake of the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling on Ohio Northern University v. Charles Construction...

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On October 9, 2018, in Ohio N. University v. Charles Constr. Servs., Inc., Slip Opinion 2018-Ohio-4057, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that property damage caused by a subcontractor’s allegedly defective work was not covered...more

Carlton Fields

California Federal Court Holds Scope of Duty to Defend Is Determined by the Language of the Contract

Carlton Fields on

In Harper Construction Co. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, the Southern District of California rejected an insured’s attempt to expand a CGL policy’s definition of “suit” to encompass mere demands without...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Illinois Appellate Court Rejects Federal Insurance Coverage Analysis, Finds Duty to Defend Against Construction Defect Allegations

On March 29, 2019, the Illinois Appellate Court issued an opinion clarifying when a duty to defend against construction defect allegations exists under a subcontractor’s commercial general liability (CGL) policy. The decision...more

White and Williams LLP

California Court of Appeals Holds Subrogating Carrier Cannot Assert Claims of Its Suspended Insured

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In Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am. v. Engel Insulation, Inc., 29 Cal. App. 5th 830 (2018), the Third District Court of Appeals of California addressed whether a subrogating carrier can assert the rights of its corporate...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Reasonable Expectations Cannot Overcome Unambiguous Policy Language - Construction and Procurement Law News, Q4 2018

In a recent decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (a federal appellate court supervising the federal trial courts in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Virgin Islands) enforced the plain meaning of an...more

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