Newsletter RSS

Mealey's Construction Defects Insurance

  • July 11, 2025

    Condo Developer, Insurer Settle Coverage Dispute In Advance Of Scheduled Retrial

    DENVER — A condominium developer and its builders risk insurer on July 10 notified a federal court in Colorado that they “have reached a full and final resolution of all claims” and are drafting settlement documents; the claims relating to repair costs of a cracked concrete slab had been scheduled to go to trial in January 2026 after the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in December reversed a $2.54 million jury award in favor of the developer and remanded for a new trial.

  • July 11, 2025

    Contractor’s Insurer Must Defend Developers For Water, Other Damages

    LOS ANGELES — A contractor’s commercial general liability insurer agreed to defend the developers of a residential development as additional insureds, and the homeowners’ subsequent filing of an action alleging that the contractor’s improper installation of concrete flatwork and foundation systems caused water intrusion and other damage to their homes triggered the insurer’s duty to defend, a federal judge in California ruled.

  • July 09, 2025

    4th Circuit Finds Some Coverage Possible in Suit Over Faulty Stucco Claims

    RICHMOND, Va. — A panel of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that a commercial general liability insurer owned no coverage to a general contractor for the costs incurred in repairing faulty stucco, but said the trial court erred in dismissing as moot the contractor’s breach of contract and bad faith claims because the court didn’t assess whether the costs associated with the property damage were covered under the policy.

  • July 08, 2025

    Judge Denies Motion To Reconsider Finding Coblentz Agreement Unreasonable

    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida federal judge denied a condominium association’s motion to reconsider the judge’s order granting summary judgment to an insurer that the condominium association, as assignee for an insured general contractor, sued seeking to collect funds agreed to under a Coblentz settlement in an underlying suit stemming from defects in the construction of a condominium building, holding that the condominium associate hadn’t met the requirement to distinguish between covered and uncovered claims.

  • July 08, 2025

    California Panel Affirms Exclusions Bar Coverage For Subcontractor’s Faulty Work

    LOS ANGELES — Rejecting arguments by a developer and general contractor that a trial court erred by denying them a jury trial and by construing two faulty workmanship exclusions in a subcontractor’s businessowners insurance policy too narrowly, a California appellate court panel affirmed the trial court’s judgment in favor of the insurer in the developer and contractor’s suit to recover more than $1 million in damages and delay costs.

  • July 08, 2025

    Magistrate Judge: Homeowner Not Covered For Damage From Delays, Faulty Workmanship

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a homeowner’s complaint against his contractor’s commercial general liability insurer for damages the homeowner alleged were the result of faulty workmanship and delays in the building of his home, finding that coverage wasn’t triggered under the policy.

  • July 03, 2025

    Earth Movement Coverage Suit Dismissed With Prejudice After Parties Settle

    MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge in Minnesota in a text-only order dismissed with prejudice and on the merits an insured’s breach of contract suit against its insurers seeking damages related to the cracking and settling of reinforced equipment pads in its printing facility after the parties stipulated to the dismissal of the suit after reaching a settlement.

  • July 02, 2025

    Judge Finds Insurer Not Required To Indemnify Builder For Arbitration Award

    HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas granted a commercial general liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a case brought against it by a builder that alleged that the insurer was required to indemnify it after homeowners were awarded more than $213,000 for damages caused by construction defects in the home the builder built, finding that the appraisal process discharged the insurer’s obligations under the policy.

  • July 02, 2025

    Homeowners Appeal Judge’s Finding That Exclusion Bars Building Defect Claims

    TACOMA, Wash. — Several homeowners appealed a federal judge in Washington’s dismissal of an insurance coverage suit they filed, as assignees of a developer, 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.  The judge had agreed with a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation that a tract housing exclusion precluded coverage.

  • July 01, 2025

    Insured Urges Texas Federal Court To Allow Promissory Estoppel Claim To Proceed

    AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal court should not adopt a magistrate judge’s recommendation to dismiss an insured’s counterclaim for promissory estoppel in a dispute over coverage for defective pool shells because the magistrate judge misapplied the legal standard governing promissory estoppel claims, the insured says in its objections to the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation.

  • July 01, 2025

    Oregon High Court Enters Judgment In Coverage Dispute Over ‘Occurrence’

    SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Supreme Court entered judgment on its earlier reversal of a holding by lower courts that a commercial general liability insurer owed no duty to indemnify homeowners who sustained water damage in their home due to a cracked and sloped garage floor laid by the insured’s subcontractor.

  • June 30, 2025

    Insurer Files Satisfaction Of Judgement After Settlement From Subcontractor

    BISMARK, N.D. — A subrogated insurer filed a satisfaction of a $100,000 judgment from a subcontractor the insurer alleged used the wrong materials in constructing a storage building for its insured; the satisfaction was filed the same day the parties filed a stipulation for dismissal with prejudice.

  • June 27, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Some Claims Brought By Insurer Over Grain Bin Installation

    PEORIA, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois granted a grain bin manufacturer’s motion for summary judgment in a suit brought by an insurer who paid a claim to a grain bin owner after the grain bin was damaged in a storm, allegedly because it was not built to sustain the required wind velocity, finding that the grain bin manufacturer had no contract with the grain bin owner; the judge did find the grain bin installer may have breached its implied warranty.

  • June 27, 2025

    Insurer’s Suit Over Defense For Roof Leak Case Dismissed Per Stipulation

    TEXARKANA, Ark. — A federal judge in Arkansas dismissed with prejudice a commercial general liability insurer’s suit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify its contractor insured in an underlying case in which the owner of an apartment complex claimed that defective roofing work by the insured’s subcontractor caused the roofs on 12 buildings it was having remodeled to leak after the plaintiff and the only remaining defendant filed a joint stipulation of dismissal.

  • June 25, 2025

    Judge: Housing Developer Didn’t Prove Insurer Waived Consent To Claims Procedures

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California denied a housing developer’s motion for partial summary judgment in its case against its excess insurer for breach of contract after homeowners reported construction defects, finding that the developer didn’t provide sufficient evidence that the insurer waived its right to consent to mediation proceedings the developer conducted with the homeowners.

  • June 23, 2025

    Parties Settle Coverage Suit Over Subcontractor’s Negligent, Defective Work

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A contractor and community owner insured and its insurer filed a joint notice indicating that they have reached a settlement in principle of the insured’s second amended complaint seeking declaratory relief as to additional insured coverage for a homeowner’s association’s underlying lawsuit arising from allegations of a subcontractor’s negligent and defect construction work.

  • June 23, 2025

    Contractor’s Suit Over Faulty Flooring Installation Dismissed After Parties Reach Resolution

    BOSTON — A federal judge Massachusetts dismissed a general contractor’s lawsuit stemming from allegedly faulty installation of flooring at a construction project in New Jersey the same day the contractor and subcontractors filed a joint status report stating that they resolved the action.

  • June 19, 2025

    Judge Tosses FCA Suit, Denies Motion To Amend In Case Alleging Medicare Fraud

    WASHINGTON, D.C.  — A District of Columbia federal judge denied relators’ motion to amend and dismissed their qui tam suit alleging that a hospital and related parties violated the federal False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting claims to Medicare and Medicaid that allegedly falsely attested compliance with participation in those programs, finding that the relators failed to state a claim for relief and that amendment would be futile.

  • June 19, 2025

    Insurer Appeals To 9th Circuit Ruling Construction Company Not Additional Insured

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A commercial general liability insurer for a construction company filed a notice of appeal of a federal court in California’s judgment finding that another of the company’s insurers had no duty to defend the company as an additional insured in a dispute over damages to a Hard Rock Hotel location because the terms of the original contract included no requirements to maintain insurance beyond the final payment date for the project.

  • June 18, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Court’s Dismissal Of Construction Defects Coverage Dispute

    SEATTLE —The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a lower federal court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing homeowners’ coverage dispute stemming from a construction defects lawsuit over the construction of homes, finding that four out of the five factors in Hernandez v. City of El Monte favor dismissal for failure to prosecute or comply with a court order.

  • June 18, 2025

    Insured Files Stipulation To Dismiss Earth Movement Coverage Dispute

    MINNEAPOLIS — An insured filed a stipulation for dismissal of its breach of contract suit against its insurers seeking damages related to the cracking and settling of reinforced equipment pads in its printing facility, just over a month after the parties indicated they had reached a settlement in the case during settlement conference proceedings before a federal magistrate judge in Minnesota.

  • June 17, 2025

    Judge Says Insurer Must Defend Roofing Company In Suit Over Deficiencies

    SCRANTON, Pa. — A federal judge in Pennsylvania denied an insurance company’s motion for summary judgment in its case seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend a roofing company in an underlying complaint brought by a waterpark and hotel developer for alleged roofing deficiencies, finding that the insurer has a duty to defend the company until it is determined whether the cause of the roofing deficiencies is covered under the policy.

  • June 16, 2025

    Judge Grants Insurer’s Motion For Summary Judgment In Contractor’s Coverage Suit

    FLORENCE, S.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a contractor’s coverage suit stemming from water intrusion and other construction defect issues at a mixed-use development project, concluding that the contractor failed to satisfy the burden of demonstrating that property damage occurred during the policy period and the contractor does not qualify as an insured under the policy.

  • June 12, 2025

    Judge: Tract Housing Exclusion Bars Defense, Indemnity For Building Defect Claims

    TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge in Washington dismissed an insurance coverage suit filed by several homeowners, as assignees of a developer, 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, agreeing with a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation that a tract housing exclusion precluded coverage.

  • June 10, 2025

    8th Circuit Affirms No Soft Costs Owed To Developer Due To Policy Exclusion

    ST. LOUIS — An Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 9 affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a complaint brought by a property owner who sought soft costs and loss of rental income from a contractor’s insurer after the failure of a retaining wall at an apartment complex project, finding that coverage is precluded under the language of the insurance policy.