Key Lease Work Letter Issues When the Landlord Is Doing the Work
Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
Contractual Notice Requirements: Do You Really Need Them?
Construction Defects: Lessons Learned
California Court of Appeal Opens Doors for Construction Defect Claims Outside of the Right to Repair Act
In this month’s update, we discuss Russian-seized planes, Starbucks-caused traffic jams, a squabble over the use of a family name, a restaurant’s pandemic-based loss, a poorly built house, and whether insurance covers any of...more
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
In Lithko Contr., LLC v. XL Ins. Am. Inc., No. 31, Sept. Term, 2023, 2024 Md. LEXIS 256, the Supreme Court of Maryland considered whether a tenant who contracted for the construction of a large warehouse facility waived its...more
Construction projects are often complex endeavors involving multiple parties, intricate contracts, and significant investments. Despite meticulous planning, disputes can arise, posing challenges that require legal expertise...more
Should a contractor’s Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy cover the expense of uncovering defective work causing damage to the owner’s property as well as the costs of exposing or accessing damaged building...more
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
The steel contractor named the general contractor an additional insured on its CGL policy. The steel contractor's welds were defective. The general contractor retrofitted the named insured's defective columns before they...more
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
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
Developers and owners often find that obtaining insurance coverage for their construction projects can be confusing and unnecessarily complicated. When dealing with construction projects in excess of $50 million, an Owner...more
In a case of first impression, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (applying Illinois law) rejected a LEG3 exclusion as ambiguous. See S. Capitol Bridgebuilders “SCB” v. Lexington Ins. Co., 2023...more
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
Our December Insurance Update features a few firsts from state high courts. For the first time: •The Supreme Court of Hawaii addresses reimbursement of defense costs. •The Supreme Court of Illinois addresses coverage for...more
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
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
In Twigg v. Admiral Insurance Co.,[1] the Oregon Court of Appeals recently resolved an insurance coverage dispute arising out of a construction project. Two homeowners hired a contractor to build a new home. The homeowners...more
What is subrogation? Why am I being asked to waive it? Should I care? To answer that last question, let’s take a quick run at the first two. What Is Subrogation? “Subrogation” refers to the act of one person or party standing...more
In a February 15, 2023 decision in Twigg v. Admiral Insurance Company, the Oregon Court of Appeals held that an insurance company was not required to indemnify its insured based on a claim for breach of a repair agreement...more
In Ali Heidari v. Golden Bear Insurance, a California appeals court recently affirmed a lower court’s decision to deny relief under a CGL policy, where the policy excluded from coverage work performed by subcontractors under...more
A CGL policy typically defines “your work” as the work performed by or on behalf of the insured and the materials, parts, or equipment furnished in connection with such work. “Product-completed operations” coverage usually...more
As we begin to assess the damage from historic Hurricane Ian, Adams and Reese’s Disaster and Recovery Team is here to assist you. The Firm has extensive experience handling a wide range of disasters, including hurricanes Ida,...more
Most of the Florida homes in the path of Hurricane Ian lack flood insurance, posing a major challenge to rebuilding efforts, new data show. In the counties whose residents were told to evacuate, just 18.5 percent of homes...more
It is a frequent situation. A contractor obtains a liability policy from an insurer. Down the road, a construction defect claim is asserted, and suit is brought against the contractor. By this point the contractor is no...more
In an important ruling for insurers, U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris found that Massachusetts does not follow the position taken in Cypress Point Condo Association v. Adria Towers, LLC, 226 N.J. 403, 418 (2016), i.e.,...more
In the recent decision of Korte & Luitjohan Contractors Inc. v. Erie Insurance Exchange, the Fifth District Appellate Court of Illinois reaffirmed that, under Illinois law: (1) construction defects generally do not trigger...more