A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The Illinois Appellate Court determined the general contractor was not covered for construction defects despite allegations of damage to personal property. Wesfield Ins. Co. v. West Van Buren, LLC, 59 N.E. 2d 877, (Ill. Ct. App. 2016).
The developer constructed a condominium development in Chicago. The installation of the roof was…
Bound by well-established case law in Pennsylvania, the federal district court ruled that there was no coverage for alleged faulty workmanship. Peerless Ins. Co. & Ohio Sec. Ins. Co. v. Manown Builders, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85261 (W.D. Pa. June 30, 2016).
Manown was sued by the homeowners after they noticed in…
The Hawaii federal district court confirmed its prior holdings that there is no duty to defend or indemnify for property damage caused by faulty workmanship. State Farm Fire & Cas Co. v. GP West, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74240 (D. Haw. Jun 7, 2016). (Full disclosure – our office represents GP West in…
The Hawaii Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Intermediate Court of Appeals [see prior post here] and determined that a subcontractor did not have a duty to defend the developer upon tender under an indemnify provision in the parties' contract. Arthur v. State of Hawaii, 2016 Haw. LEXIS 155 (June 27, 2016). …
The district court ruled that there was no duty to defend the purported additional insured because a purchase order did not invoke additional insured status. Fed. Signal Corp. v. Tammcor Indus., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47574 (N.D. Ill. April 7, 2016).
Federal Signal designed a speaker system that was installed on a…
Applying Illinois law, the federal district court ruled that there was no coverage for the insured's settlement of claims based upon breach of the implied warranty of habitability. Allied Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Metro North Condo. Ass'n, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43452 (E.D. Ill. March 31, 2016).
Metro North sued…
Because the contract between the parties failed to state that the insured was obligated to name the building owner as an additional insured, the owner was not an additional insured. Am. Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co. v. Endurance Am. Specialty Ins. Co., 2016 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 53 (N.Y. App. Div. Jan. 7, 2016).…
In a per curiam decision, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's holding that the pollution exclusion barred coverage for bodily injury caused by the insured's insulation. Evanston Ins. Co. v. Lapolla Industries, Inc., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22552 (5th Cir. Dec. 23, 2015).
The homeowners' contractors installed spray polyurethane foam (SPF)…
On summary judgment, the insured general contractor prevailed not only on the duty to defend, but also the duty to indemnify. Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Old Republic Gen. Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103954 (S.D. N. Y. Aug. 7, 2015).
170 Broadway entered into a construction management agreement with McGowan…
The court determined that the project owner's general partner was not an additional insured entitled to a defense and indemnity against claims for construction defects. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v,. Cypress Fairway Condo. Ass'n, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94012 (M.D. Fla. July 20, 2015).
Construction of the Cypress Fairway…
