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Mealey's Construction Defects Insurance

  • November 21, 2025

    W.Va. Court Reverses Summary Judgment Rulings For Subcontractors’ Insurers

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Finding that a trial court misconstrued Soaring Eagle Development Co., LLC v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America to preclude a general contractor’s breach of contract, bad faith and unfair trade practices claims against subcontractors’ insurers, the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals in consolidated appeals reversed the trial court’s rulings granting summary judgment to the general contractor.

  • November 21, 2025

    West Virginia Appellate Court Finds Builder’s Coverage Not Yet Triggered

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed a lower court’s determination that a builder’s coverage under an excess commercial general liability policy had not been triggered because the builder had not met the terms of the policy’s endorsements and primary coverage had not yet been exhausted.

  • November 21, 2025

    Judge Finds Policy Provisions Preventing Continuous Damage Coverage Unenforceable

    ESSEX COUNTY, N.J. — A New Jersey judge granted partial summary judgment to a developer and its sole member in their case against several insurers seeking declaratory relief regarding policy provisions that purport to limit coverage for continuous damage that arose out of alleged construction defects in the building of a condominium, finding the policy limitations to be unenforceable.

  • November 20, 2025

    9th Circuit Won’t Rehear Case Over Coverage For Retaining Wall Damage

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied a property owner and construction company’s petition for panel rehearing of the split panel’s holding that the construction company’s insurer does not owe coverage for an underlying suit over damage caused by improperly constructed retaining walls because the policy’s impaired property exclusion bars coverage and the “sudden and accidental injury” exception to the exclusion does not apply.

  • November 19, 2025

    4th Circuit Affirms Finding Of No ‘Occurrence’ In Contractor’s Coverage Claim

    RICHMOND, Va. — A Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 18 agreed with a Virginia federal judge’s finding that a contractor is not owed reimbursement from excess insurers for expenses it sustained while repairing damage to walls at a school it was building for the U.S. Marine Corps caused by a subcontractor; the panel found no reversable error in the judge’s dismissal or subsequent ruling.

  • November 19, 2025

    Orders Issued Regarding Dismissal, Default Judgment Over Faulty HVAC Install

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California issued two orders in a declaratory judgment action an insurer brought against its insured HVAC provider, the construction company that hired it and the owner of the subject property, finding in one order that the insurer may have a duty to defend the construction company in an underlying suit regarding defects in the installation of the HVAC system; in the other order, the judge found that because she already found that the insurer may owe a duty to defend, the judge could not grant default judgment as to the property owner.

  • November 18, 2025

    Insurer Appeals Decision Finding Rescission Of Contractor’s Policy Time-Barred

    LOS ANGELES — An insurance company has appealed a California federal judge’s order denying its motion for judgment on the pleadings and granting summary judgment sua sponte in favor of a general contractor; the judge found that the insurer’s claim for rescission of the general contractor’s policies because the general contractor provided false information on its insurance applications was time-barred.

  • November 18, 2025

    Insurer, General Contractor Dismiss Damages Coverage Suit

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A general contractor and a commercial liability insurer filed a joint stipulation for dismissal in a Florida federal court of the insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration regarding coverage for construction-related damages at a condominium development.

  • November 18, 2025

    4th Circuit Grants Homeowners Dismissal Of Dispute Over Water Damage Coverage

    RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted North Carolina homeowners’ motion to voluntarily dismiss their appeal of a lower court’s order dismissing their case against a waterproofing company’s insurer; the lower court found that the homeowners had no standing to bring a suit against the insurer after the company’s work allegedly caused damage to their property.

  • November 17, 2025

    Subcontractor, Insurer Dismiss Suit Seeking Duty To Defend Property Damage Action

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A subcontractor and a general liability insurer filed a stipulation of dismissal in federal court in California, dismissing the subcontractor’s action against the insurer seeking defense of a cross-claim in an underlying dispute over property damage during a construction project.

  • November 17, 2025

    Calif. Federal Case Closed After CGL Insurer, Construction Company Seek Dismissal

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The same day a commercial general liability insurer and a construction company insured filed a stipulation to dismiss all claims, counterclaims and a cross-claim in a coverage dispute arising from alleged construction defects in a concrete slab the insured poured for a new building, a federal court in California terminated the entire action.

  • November 14, 2025

    Insured, Property Owner Seek Rehearing Over Retaining Wall Damage Coverage

    SAN FRANCISCO — A property owner and a construction company filed a petition for panel rehearing in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of a panel’s holding that the construction company’s insurer does not owe coverage for an underlying suit over damage caused by improperly constructed retaining walls, arguing that the panel’s decision is inconsistent with circuit court precedent and that the panel improperly weighed the evidence submitted by the parties.

  • November 14, 2025

    Indiana Court Grants Rehearing Petition, Reissues Opinion On Fire Damage Coverage

    INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Court of Appeals granted a petition for rehearing and reissued its opinion finding that the insurers of a subcontractor and a sub-subcontractor did not owe coverage for the cleanup of damage after a fire broke out while the sub-subcontractor was welding because the damage was covered under the project owner’s all-risk insurance policy and the project owner’s master agreement with the contractor required the project owner and contractor to waive their subrogation rights, omitting a footnote from the original opinion.

  • November 13, 2025

    Insurer Urges 9th Circuit To Vacate Amended Judgment In Damages Coverage Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — In its opening appellant brief, a general contractor’s insurer argues that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should vacate a lower court’s amended judgment in favor of a subcontractor’s commercial general liability insurer, stating that the subcontractor’s insurer had a duty to defend the subcontractor in the insurer’s equitable contribution and equitable indemnification suit arising from construction defect-related damages to a hotel that the general contractor and subcontractor were constructing.

  • November 12, 2025

    Railway Company, Insurer Dismiss Case Over Coverage Of Underlying Flood Claim

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A railway company and an insurer filed a stipulation to dismiss the insurer’s claim for declaratory relief that it did not have a duty to indemnify the railway company in an underlying complaint against it for negligence after the construction of the railway caused property to flood.

  • November 12, 2025

    Subcontractor, Insurer Settle Dispute Over Defense Of Action Over Microtunneling

    SEATTLE — A subcontractor and its insurer filed a notice of settlement in a case brought by the subcontractor alleging that the insurer failed to defend it against a counterclaim in an underlying suit arising out of the subcontractor’s microtunneling work for a water project in Seattle.

  • November 11, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Coverage Case After Insurance Company, Roofing Company Settle

    SCRANTON, Pa. — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Nov. 10 issued an order of dismissal after an insurance company and a roofing company filed a notice that they had settled a case brought by the insurer against the roofing company seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend the roofing company in an underlying complaint brought by a waterpark and hotel developer for alleged roofing deficiencies.

  • November 10, 2025

    Putative Damages Dismissed Against Subcontractor’s Insurer; Other Claims Proceed

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California found a construction company did not sufficiently plead punitive damages in its third amended complaint (TAC) against its subcontractor’s insurer for damages the company alleges were caused by using the subcontractor’s drawings for the project, but allowed the construction company’s other claims against the insurer to proceed.

  • November 06, 2025

    Judge Finds Contractor Is An Additional Insured, Must Be Defended In Suit

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida found that an insurer owes a general contractor and its affiliates a duty to defend in two suits brought by homeowners’ associations alleging a subcontractor’s faulty stucco work caused water intrusion and property damage, agreeing with the general contractor that its affiliates are also insureds under the policy that must be provided a defense.

  • November 06, 2025

    Insurer Owes No Defense To Subcontractor In Faulty Power Pole Installation Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California held that an insurer does not owe a duty to defend or indemnify a subcontractor in an underlying suit brought by a contractor to recover costs and expenses incurred in the inspection and remediation of nonconforming installations of power pole anchors and guy wires by the subcontractor on power poles, finding that the subcontractor’s defective work doesn’t constitute property damage under the terms of the policy.

  • November 05, 2025

    Subcontractor Argues Court Should Reconsider Dismissal, Allow For Discovery

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A subcontractor argues in its motion for reconsideration of a Kentucky federal judge’s grant of summary judgment on an insurer’s behalf that the court had insufficient grounds for dismissal without additional discovery on its affirmative defenses; the subcontractor seeks reconsideration of the judge’s finding that it was required to release its counterclaim as part of a global settlement regarding the construction of off-campus student housing and the judge’s grant of summary judgment.

  • November 04, 2025

    Ongoing Damage Exclusions Not Enforceable In Water Damage Defects Suit, Judge Says

    NEWARK, N.J. — Exclusions for preexisting injury or damage and continuing or ongoing damage are unenforceable under New Jersey law and public policy in construction defect coverage cases involving continuous or progressive damage because progressive damage, such as damage caused by water infiltration stemming from construction defects, can progress undetected over time and warrants coverage across all policy years, a New Jersey state court judge said in granting the insureds’ motion for partial summary judgment on the applicability of the exclusions.

  • October 31, 2025

    Insurer, Construction Manager, Homeowners To File For Dismissal After Settlement

    ST. LOUIS — A federal judge in Missouri ordered a stipulation for dismissal or motion for leave to voluntarily dismiss to be filed in a case brought by a construction manager’s insurer against the construction manager and homeowners seeking a declaration that the insurer owed no duty to its insured in an underlying action against the construction manager for events arising out of the construction of the homeowners’ house, after receiving notice the parties had settled the case.

  • October 31, 2025

    Split 9th Circuit Panel Says Insurer Owes No Coverage In Retaining Wall Damage Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A split panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Washington federal judge’s finding that an insurer does not owe coverage for an underlying suit over damage caused by improperly constructed retaining walls because the policy’s impaired property exclusion bars coverage and the “sudden and accidental injury” exception to the exclusion does not apply.

  • October 23, 2025

    Homeowners Argue District Court Erred In Finding Insurer Didn’t Act In Bad Faith

    SAN FRANCISCO — In their opening brief filed in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, several homeowners, as assignees of a developer, argue that the Ninth Circuit should reverse a federal judge in Washington’s dismissal of their case alleging that a general liability insurer breached its duty to defend and indemnify the developer for claims arising from the developer’s defective construction of the homeowners’ houses; they specifically argue that the lower court erred in ruling that the insurer did not act in bad faith.