News & Analysis as of

Commercial General Liability Policies 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

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

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

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

Perkins Coie

Absolute Pollution Exclusion—Not So Absolute

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Slapping insurers with breach of contract and bad faith, Washington state’s highest court recently found that a general liability policy’s so-called “absolute” pollution exclusion may not be so absolute. In Xia et al. v....more

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Insurance Recovery Law - November 2015

Despite Prior Suits, Policyholder Entitled to Coverage for DOJ Investigation - Why it matters: A policyholder was entitled to coverage for a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation despite already facing possibly...more

Carlton Fields

Construction Case Law Update - July 2015 #2

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CGL Policies; Declaratory Judgments; Appeal of a Partial Final Judgment – A commercial general liability insurer and its insured sought declaratory relief over the question of insurance coverage and the duty to defend...more

Carlton Fields

Construction Case Law Update - July 2015

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Involuntary Dismissal of Counterclaims – In a suit between a developer and general contractor, the trial court erred in dismissing the general contractor’s counterclaims, without a motion by the developer, before the...more

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP

Western District of Washington: Insured That Violated Duties of Notice and Cooperation Could Not Make Out Claim for Bad Faith...

Granite State Ins. Co. v. Integrity Structures, LLC, No. C14-5085BHS, 2015 WL 136006 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 9, 2015). The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held that an insurer did not act in bad faith...more

Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP

Finding Insurance Coverage for Consumer Products Class Action Complaints

Consumer class action claims are a familiar tool for addressing dissatisfaction with a defective product. Given that one of the goals of a consumer class action claim is to recover damages for the claimants, triggering...more

Baker Donelson

Choose Your Words Wisely: The Allegations in a Construction Defect Complaint

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On August 5, 2014, the Supreme Court of Connecticut, in Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Netherlands Ins. Co., 312 Conn. 714 (2014), affirmed a trial court's decision that allegations of years-long, continuing and progressive...more

Nossaman LLP

When Is a Construction Defect a Mere Business Risk and Not Insurable?

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In an unpublished appellate decision from the state of Washington, on May 5, 2014, the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed a summary judgment in favor of a CGL insurer, Western National Assurance, relieving it of any...more

Baker Donelson

Think You Are Covered By An Additional Insured Endorsement? Recent Opinion Serves as a Reminder to Read the Coverage Language

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion this month that should serve as a reminder to prime contractors to review the coverage granted to them as additional insureds on their subcontractors’...more

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