The plaintiff was a developer of a subdivision. See Standard Pacific of the Carolinas, LLC v. Amerisure Ins. Co., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 963 (D. S.C. Jan. 5, 2011). Pursuant to a contract, it hired Matthews Construction as general contractor to build the subdivision. Matthews agreed to providea general liability policy from Amerisure naming plaintiff as an additional insured.
Plaintiff, Matthews and others were sued by Terry Shortt for injuries suffered when he fell off a bike while riding over a deteriorated section of an asphalt path in the subdivision. The complaint alleged defendants were jointly and severally liable for Shortt's injuries because of their negligence in the design, development, construction, management, and maintenance of the asphalt path.
Amerisure refused to defend plaintiff, arguing the Shortt claim did not arise out of Matthew's ongoing operations. The injury occurred several years after Matthews had completed work on the subdivision. Amerisure argued the policy covered the plaintiff for Matthews' ongoing operations only, not finished and completed work.
The policy limited coverage to the ongoing operations of the contractor performed for the additional insured. The policy allowed for "your work" coverage only if the written contract required "your work" coverage or wording to the same effect. Nowhere in the written agreement did Matthews agree to provide the equivalent to "your work" coverage. The plain language of the agreement didnot amount to wording to the same effect of "your work." Therefore, Amerisure had no duty to defend.
