NGE OnDemand: The Importance of Timely Reporting Occurrences, Claims and Suits to Insurers with Paul Walker-Bright
In our January insurance update, we include three state cases addressing some less common situations. It’s not often that a pollution exclusion is interpreted in the context of an auto policy. But the South Dakota Supreme...more
Here’s what we discuss in our October Insurance Update. Illinois: Environmental Suits Alleging Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations Did Not Assert an “Occurrence”- Massachusetts (federal): Insurer May Consider Sums...more
Preferred Contractors Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, LLC v. Baker and Son Construction, Inc., 2022 Wash. LEXIS 426 ( Aug. 11, 2022) - Traditionally, general liability insurance contracts were “occurrence-based”...more
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
Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer of New Jersey’s 36th District introduced a proposed bill, A.B. 1075, that would require all commercial liability insurance policies issued in New Jersey to include “faulty workmanship” within the...more
Construction defect cases often involve damage claims beyond simply the cost to repair the allegedly defective unit or component. These consequential damages may include damages for loss of use, expenses for mitigation and...more
Thomas Guastello v. AIG Specialty Insurance Company, — Cal.Rptr.3d –, 2021 WL 650878 (Cal. Ct. App., Feb. 19, 2021), Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal, Case No. G057714. Various stakeholders in the Pointe Monarch...more
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
New York Court Reaffirms That Contractor’s Defective Work Is Not A Covered “Occurrence” Anthony and Sandra Tamer hired RD Rice Construction (“Rice”) as a general contractor to gut and rebuild their combined residential...more
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
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
Judge Sanders granted partial summary judgment in favor of Raw Seafoods, Inc. (RSI), a seafood processor, in a coverage dispute with its insurer, Hanover Insurance Group (Hanover). Judge Sanders held that Hanover was bound by...more
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
Ohio N. Univ. v. Charles Constr. Servs., 2018 Ohio LEXIS 2375 (Oct. 9, 2018) - This case arose out of the construction of an inn and conference center at Ohio Northern University (“ONU”). After completion of the project,...more
Although it may seem strange at first, the recent ruling by the California Fourth Appellate District Court in Thee Sombrero, Inc. v. Scottsdale Co., (2018 EL 5292072), holding that an insurer must pay for a claim where there...more
On February 13, 2018, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision, which concluded that, under New York law, the property damage caused by a subcontractor’s faulty workmanship did not qualify as a...more
In an important recent decision, New Jersey joined a growing number of states holding that Insurance Services Office’s (ISO) 1986 comprehensive general liability (CGL) policy extends coverage to a property developer faced...more
In Albert v. Mid-Century Insurance Co. (No. B257792, filed 4/28/15, ord. pub. 5/20/15), a California Court of Appeal held that an insured’s trimming of a neighbor’s trees which allegedly damaged the trees was not an accident...more
In a decision out of the Superior Court in Delaware, Judge Rocanelli bought a favorite insurance industry argument so extreme, several state legislatures (including Colorado and South Carolina) have passed laws overruling...more
California Court Adopts Broad Interpretation of “Occurrence,” Finds Coverage - Why it matters: In a victory for policyholders—and a continuation of the trend of courts adopting a broad reading of the term “occurrence”...more
In QBE Ins. Corp. v. Adjo Contracting Corp. (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep’t Oct. 29, 2014), an intermediate appellate court in New York confronted cross-appeals involving 15 different insurers embroiled in multiple lawsuits,...more
Yesterday, in Strauss v. Chubb Indem. Ins. Co., – F.3d – , 2014 WL 6435314, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 21794 (7th Cir., Nov. 18, 2014), the Court of Appeals held that the use of the phrase “continuous or repeated exposure” in a...more
Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court let stand the appellate decision in Indalex, Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., which held that mold related health problems and property damage allegedly...more
Last month, a Pennsylvania federal court rejected the notion that a dispute over whether an admittedly covered occurrence necessitated repair of certain discrete portions of the damaged structure was a coverage dispute,...more
The Supreme Court of Alabama recently held in Owners Ins. Co. v. Jim Carr Homebuilder, LLC that a contractor’s commercial general liability (“CGL”) policy provided coverage for property damage caused by the defective work of...more