News & Analysis as of

Construction Defects Duty to Defend

Cozen O'Connor

Claims Notes: September 2024

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Litigation arose over whether a suit for misrepresentation and breach of contract arising out of an easement triggered a Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurer's duty to defend. Internal confidential communications...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

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

Scheduling, Compliance, and Liaison Tasks under the Professional Services Exclusion

Although a construction manager’s scheduling and liaison responsibilities do not require specialized training, such tasks may be sufficiently related to the actor’s other roles to be excluded from coverage under a liability...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson - Insights for Insurers

[White Paper] United States Insurance Trends and Decisions 2023

As 2024 rapidly approaches, we look back at some of the key decisions, trends, and developments impacting the U.S. insurance industry in 2023 and look ahead at some trends and cases to watch in 2024. Insurers continue to...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Oregon Court of Appeals Addresses an Insurer's Duty to Defend and Affirms "Complete Defense" Rule

On September 13, 2023, the Oregon Court of Appeals ("Court") addressed several arguments made by an insurer, Arrowood Indemnity Company ("Arrowood"), as to why it did not have a duty to defend, or why it should only defend...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

Cozen O'Connor

Intentional Act Without Intent to Harm May Not Be an Occurrence

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An intentional act may not be an “occurrence” even when there is no intent to cause harm, according to a California appellate court’s recent ruling in Ghukasian v. Aegis Security Insurance Co.1 Ghukasian involved an insured...more

Payne & Fears

Fifth Circuit Confirms: Insurer Must Defend Despite Your Work/Your Product Exclusion

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently confirmed that liability insurers have a duty to defend their insureds in construction defect cases when the underlying complaint alleges damage to property...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

Cozen O'Connor

Pennsylvania District Court Finds No Coverage for Foreseeable Damages to Third-Party Property Caused By Faulty Workmanship

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In Berkley Specialty Ins. Co. v. Masterforce Constr. Corp., No. 4:19-CV-01162, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14006 (M.D. Pa. Jan. 26, 2021) (Brann, J.), the Court recently concluded that, under Pennsylvania law, all reasonably...more

White and Williams LLP

Alabama Federal Magistrate Recommends Dismissal of Construction Defect Declaratory Judgment Action Due to Expanded Duty to Defend...

While the starting point for assessing an insurer’s duty to defend requires comparing the allegations contained within a complaint to the language contained within the insured’s policy, the majority of states require an...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Insurer that Breached Duty to Defend Bears Burden on Allocation of Defense Costs

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Applying Arizona law, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona held that an insurer that breached its duty to defend bears the burden of demonstrating that an allocation of defense costs between covered...more

White and Williams LLP

Illinois Appellate Court Clarifies What Is and Is Not an “Occurrence” in the Construction Defect Context

On December 31, 2019, the First District Illinois Appellate Court issued its decision in Owners Insurance Company v. Precision Painting & Decorating Corporation, clarifying what does and does not constitute “property damage”...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

Troutman Pepper

Federal Court in North Carolina Enforces Insurers’ Duty to Defend a General Contractor as an Additional Named Insured Under the...

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Westfield Ins. Co. v. Weaver Cooke Constr., LLC, 2019 BL 129431 (E.D.N.C. Apr. 11, 2019) - This case arises out of the alleged defective construction of a condominium complex in North Carolina. In 2009, the developer on...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

A Case to Watch: Brayman v. Westfield Insurance

Pennsylvania law suggests construction defects generally are not considered an "occurrence" under most CGL insurance policies because defects are not true accidents, e.g., a fortuitous event. However, an exception generally...more

Carlton Fields

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

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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

Troutman Pepper

Boring Through The Details: U.S. District Court Declares Boring Company Dispute Not Covered by Insurance Policies

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Maxum Indemnity Co. v. Robbins Co., P.C., No. 1:17-CV-01968, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57729 (N.D. Ohio Mar. 28, 2018) - On March 21, 2018, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted a motion...more

Troutman Pepper

Applying Florida’s “Eight Corners Rule,” Eleventh Circuit Finds that Insurer Has a Duty to Defend Claim That Insured’s Faulty...

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Addison Ins. Co. v. 4000 Island Blvd. Condo. Ass’n, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 26870 (11th Cir. Dec. 28, 2017) - The owner of a high-rise condominium building in Florida hired a contractor to replace the building’s concrete...more

Rumberger | Kirk

Chapter 558 Pre-Suit Notice May Trigger an Insurer's Duty to Defend and Indemnify

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The Supreme Court of Florida recently issued an opinion in Altman Contractors, Inc. v. Crum & Forster Specialty Ins. Co., No. SC16-1420, 2017 WL 6379535 (Fla. Dec. 14, 2017), which impacts an insurer’s duty to defend and...more

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

Client Alert: Florida Supreme Court Weighs in on CGL Carriers’ Duty to Defend Chapter 558 Claims

Since its enactment in 2003, Chapter 558, Florida Statutes (commonly referred to as Florida’s notice and opportunity to cure provision) has governed the pre-suit notice and opportunity to repair process between owners,...more

Saul Ewing LLP

An Insurer’s Duty to Defend is Now Triggered by Pre-Suit Notices Under Florida’s Construction Defect Statute, But Only With an...

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In a case of first impression that will undoubtedly have significant effects on Florida’s construction and insurance industries, the Florida Supreme Court recently decided that an insurer’s duty to defend under a standard...more

Nossaman LLP

AIG Must Defend Additional Insureds

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That it took an appellate court to order AIG’s Lexington Insurance to honor its additional insured obligations is a measure of how frequently insurers attempt to dodge this important contractual obligation. The case of...more

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