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October 23, 2026
TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida dismissed with prejudice declaratory judgment and equitable subrogation claims filed by a builder’s insurer against two subcontractors’ insurers, finding that the underlying construction defect suit did not allege liability that triggered additional-insured coverage under either subcontractor’s policy.
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October 23, 2026
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation finding that a subcontractor’s insurer had a duty to defend a general contractor in an underlying action over property damage after a busway duct explosion, agreeing that the underlying action alleges damages to the property beyond the contractor’s own work, which created the possibility of coverage under the policy.
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October 23, 2026
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California granted a stipulation to dismiss filed by an excess insurer and a general contractor that notified the court that they had finalized their settlement in the insurer’s action against the contractor for reimbursement of funds it paid to settle an underlying construction defect action.
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October 23, 2026
ORLANDO, Fla. — After an insurer’s two motions for default judgment against a subcontractor were denied , the insurer voluntarily dismissed its action seeking a declaration that it owes no duty to defend or indemnify the subcontractor in an underlying construction defect suit, the insurer filed a notice of voluntary dismissal and a federal judge in Florida dismissed the complaint without prejudice.
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October 23, 2026
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California federal judge denied a plumbing subcontractor’s insurer’s motion for summary judgment in an equitable contribution action brought by a builder’s insurer, which defended the builder against airplane hangar construction defect claims and seeks contribution on the grounds that the builder was an additional insured under the plumbing subcontractor’s policy.
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October 23, 2026
FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida granted in part and denied in part a contractor’s motion for summary judgment in an insurer’s negligence action, finding that the insurer presented evidence that the damage allegedly caused by the contractor’s shrink-wrap work was factually indistinguishable from the damage allegedly caused by another contractor, creating an issue for the factfinder.
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October 22, 2026
SAN ANTONIO — A contractor is seeking panel rehearing and en banc reconsideration of a Texas appellate panel’s conditional grant of mandamus relief to its subcontractor’s insurer, arguing that the panel wrongly applied the no-direct-action rule because its allegations present a direct coverage dispute between the insurer and the contractor as an additional insured.
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October 22, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — A builder filed a motion for leave to file supplemental briefing in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that a lower court judge’s supplemental memorandum providing further explanation regarding why he granted summary judgment in favor of the insurer in the builder’s suit seeking indemnification for an arbitration award for damages caused by defects in a home built by the builder brought up an issue not previously briefed — whether, as the judge put it, the arbitration proceeding was an “occurrence.”
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October 22, 2026
LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana appellate panel granted an insurer’s application for a supervisory writ and made the writ peremptory, reversing a lower court’s denial of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a grain bin owner’s and lessees’ suit over damage allegedly caused by defective construction because coverage was excluded under the “your work” and “your product” exclusions.
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October 22, 2026
ATLANTA — A federal judge in Georgia denied separate postjudgment motions by a primary insurer and an umbrella insurer seeking to alter a $3 million contribution award arising from a subcontractor’s $4.5 million faulty-construction settlement, finding that the umbrella insurer reiterated arguments the court had already rejected and the primary insurer sought contribution for defense costs it had not raised at summary judgment.
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October 21, 2026
DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the “your work” exclusion barred coverage for damage to and repair of a sign installed by a contractor and that the subcontractor’s claimed travel and loan costs did not constitute covered “property damage.”
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October 20, 2026
NEW YORK — An insurer filed reply briefs in New York federal court supporting its motion to amend and its amended complaint seeking a declaration that it owes no coverage for an underlying action stemming from a subcontractor’s allegedly defective stucco work, arguing that it had good cause for filing its motion to amend and that New York courts in recent decisions have granted motion to amend even when the parties failed to demonstrate good cause.
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October 20, 2026
PHOENIX — After the Arizona Supreme Court answered a certified question in a case regarding structural damage insurance coverage and set the fortuity standard, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a trial court’s summary judgment ruling for the insurer and remanded the case for further proceedings under the Arizona Supreme Court’s newly articulated standard.
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October 19, 2026
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The Fourth District California Court of Appeal, Division Three, affirmed a trial court’s order granting an insurer’s motion for summary judgment seeking a judicial declaration that a contractor’s policy was rescinded because the contractor made material misrepresentations on its application for insurance, finding that the insurer did not waive its statutory right of rescission by not properly investigating a prior claim the contractor had submitted.
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October 19, 2026
FLORENCE, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina allowed most of a construction company’s counterclaims against a commercial general liability insurer to proceed in a coverage dispute stemming from alleged water intrusion at a townhome project, finding that the construction company adequately pleaded all but one counterclaim.
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October 02, 2026
By William G. Passannante, Luma S. Al-Shibib and Kathleen V. Gatti
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October 05, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 5 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a group of homeowners requesting that the high court determine whether the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals violated Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins by applying a tract-housing exclusion to bar insurance coverage for construction defect claims against a development company.
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September 25, 2026
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York issued an order of dismissal after being notified that a settlement had been reached in principle in a general contractor’s insurer’s case against subcontractors’ insurers seeking a declaration that they had a duty to defend the general contractor in an underlying state court case alleging that water damage to an Old Navy store occurred after leaky valves were installed during work done on the HVAC system.
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September 25, 2026
PHOENIX — Addressing a question certified to it by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a case regarding structural damage insurance coverage, the Arizona Supreme Court held that a loss is fortuitous as long as the insured did not know, at the time coverage attached, that the loss-causing event had occurred, was in progress or was certain to occur.
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September 25, 2026
DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado granted default judgment in favor of an insurer in its suit against a co-insurer seeking equitable subrogation and equitable contribution after the insurer paid for a general contractor’s defense and settlement of an underlying action stemming from the general contractor’s faulty workmanship.
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September 25, 2026
LOS ANGELES — A limited liability company has appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a federal judge in California’s rulings that disposed of its bad faith and related claims against its insurer and limited its recovery of prejudgment interest in a dispute over coverage for water damage to an apartment building.
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September 25, 2026
TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge adopted a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation finding that policy exclusions do not bar coverage in a case by an insurer seeking a declaration that it did not owe a duty to defend or indemnify its insured subcontractor in an underlying action regarding the subcontractor’s faulty work during a redecking project.
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September 24, 2026
TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge in Washington denied a church’s motion for partial summary judgment on its breach of contract claim against its insurer stemming from the insurer’s denial of its claim for water damage that occurred while a subcontractor was replacing the church’s roof, holding that the loss is excluded from coverage because it was caused by defective construction.
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September 24, 2026
HOUSTON — After being charged by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals “to ‘permit reasoned considerations’ to be expressed concerning” his earlier ruling granting summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a builder’s suit seeking indemnification for an arbitration award for damages caused by defects in a home the builder built, a federal judge in Texas provided further explanation as to why property damage alleged in the underlying arbitration was not caused by an “occurrence” under the policy and, therefore, why the insurer owed no duty to defend or indemnify the builder.
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September 24, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted an insurer’s motion seeking prejudgment interest after granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its case against a concrete supplier seeking a declaration that it did not have a duty to indemnify the supplier in an underlying action over defective concrete.