Is damage caused by snow melt excluded under a homeowner's policy because it constitutes standing water? The court answered yes in Northwest Bedding Co. v. Nat. Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford, No. 28044-6, 2010 Wash. App. LEXIS 299 (Wa. Ct. App. Feb. 11, 2010).
The Spokane area, where the insured's buildings were located, experienced heavy snowfall during the winter of 2007-08. The State Department of Transportation diverted snow melt through trenches near the insured's buildings. The water overflowed the trenches and inundated the insured's building, causing damage.
National Fire denied coverage under the all-risk property policy, concluding the loss was caused by surface water. The insured argued the loss resulted from third parties channeling water onto its property. The court reasoned that abnormally heavy snowfall followed by rapid snow melt overwhelmed the drainage ditches and forced water onto land that could not readily absorb the water. Therefore, the water that caused the damage was surface water once it overflowed the ditch. The court further determined damage caused by the water was also excluded as "Flood."
The insured also argued the efficient proximate caused doctrine should apply. If the efficient proximate cause of the loss, or the predominant cause, is covered by the policy, the loss is covered even though other events within the chain of causation are excluded from coverage. The court, however, rejected this argument because the overflow of the drainage system was not independent from the snow melt and surface water that damaged the insured's premises.
