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Mealey's Construction Defects Insurance

  • November 17, 2025

    Subcontractor, Insurer Dismiss Suit Seeking Duty To Defend Property Damage Action

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A subcontractor and a general liability insurer filed a stipulation of dismissal in federal court in California, dismissing the subcontractor’s action against the insurer seeking defense of a cross-claim in an underlying dispute over property damage during a construction project.

  • November 17, 2025

    Calif. Federal Case Closed After CGL Insurer, Construction Company Seek Dismissal

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The same day a commercial general liability insurer and a construction company insured filed a stipulation to dismiss all claims, counterclaims and a cross-claim in a coverage dispute arising from alleged construction defects in a concrete slab the insured poured for a new building, a federal court in California terminated the entire action.

  • November 14, 2025

    Insured, Property Owner Seek Rehearing Over Retaining Wall Damage Coverage

    SAN FRANCISCO — A property owner and a construction company filed a petition for panel rehearing in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of a panel’s holding that the construction company’s insurer does not owe coverage for an underlying suit over damage caused by improperly constructed retaining walls, arguing that the panel’s decision is inconsistent with circuit court precedent and that the panel improperly weighed the evidence submitted by the parties.

  • November 14, 2025

    Indiana Court Grants Rehearing Petition, Reissues Opinion On Fire Damage Coverage

    INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Court of Appeals granted a petition for rehearing and reissued its opinion finding that the insurers of a subcontractor and a sub-subcontractor did not owe coverage for the cleanup of damage after a fire broke out while the sub-subcontractor was welding because the damage was covered under the project owner’s all-risk insurance policy and the project owner’s master agreement with the contractor required the project owner and contractor to waive their subrogation rights, omitting a footnote from the original opinion.

  • November 13, 2025

    Insurer Urges 9th Circuit To Vacate Amended Judgment In Damages Coverage Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — In its opening appellant brief, a general contractor’s insurer argues that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should vacate a lower court’s amended judgment in favor of a subcontractor’s commercial general liability insurer, stating that the subcontractor’s insurer had a duty to defend the subcontractor in the insurer’s equitable contribution and equitable indemnification suit arising from construction defect-related damages to a hotel that the general contractor and subcontractor were constructing.

  • November 12, 2025

    Railway Company, Insurer Dismiss Case Over Coverage Of Underlying Flood Claim

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A railway company and an insurer filed a stipulation to dismiss the insurer’s claim for declaratory relief that it did not have a duty to indemnify the railway company in an underlying complaint against it for negligence after the construction of the railway caused property to flood.

  • November 12, 2025

    Subcontractor, Insurer Settle Dispute Over Defense Of Action Over Microtunneling

    SEATTLE — A subcontractor and its insurer filed a notice of settlement in a case brought by the subcontractor alleging that the insurer failed to defend it against a counterclaim in an underlying suit arising out of the subcontractor’s microtunneling work for a water project in Seattle.

  • November 11, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Coverage Case After Insurance Company, Roofing Company Settle

    SCRANTON, Pa. — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Nov. 10 issued an order of dismissal after an insurance company and a roofing company filed a notice that they had settled a case brought by the insurer against the roofing company seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend the roofing company in an underlying complaint brought by a waterpark and hotel developer for alleged roofing deficiencies.

  • November 10, 2025

    Putative Damages Dismissed Against Subcontractor’s Insurer; Other Claims Proceed

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California found a construction company did not sufficiently plead punitive damages in its third amended complaint (TAC) against its subcontractor’s insurer for damages the company alleges were caused by using the subcontractor’s drawings for the project, but allowed the construction company’s other claims against the insurer to proceed.

  • November 06, 2025

    Judge Finds Contractor Is An Additional Insured, Must Be Defended In Suit

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida found that an insurer owes a general contractor and its affiliates a duty to defend in two suits brought by homeowners’ associations alleging a subcontractor’s faulty stucco work caused water intrusion and property damage, agreeing with the general contractor that its affiliates are also insureds under the policy that must be provided a defense.

  • November 06, 2025

    Insurer Owes No Defense To Subcontractor In Faulty Power Pole Installation Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California held that an insurer does not owe a duty to defend or indemnify a subcontractor in an underlying suit brought by a contractor to recover costs and expenses incurred in the inspection and remediation of nonconforming installations of power pole anchors and guy wires by the subcontractor on power poles, finding that the subcontractor’s defective work doesn’t constitute property damage under the terms of the policy.

  • November 05, 2025

    Subcontractor Argues Court Should Reconsider Dismissal, Allow For Discovery

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A subcontractor argues in its motion for reconsideration of a Kentucky federal judge’s grant of summary judgment on an insurer’s behalf that the court had insufficient grounds for dismissal without additional discovery on its affirmative defenses; the subcontractor seeks reconsideration of the judge’s finding that it was required to release its counterclaim as part of a global settlement regarding the construction of off-campus student housing and the judge’s grant of summary judgment.

  • November 04, 2025

    Ongoing Damage Exclusions Not Enforceable In Water Damage Defects Suit, Judge Says

    NEWARK, N.J. — Exclusions for preexisting injury or damage and continuing or ongoing damage are unenforceable under New Jersey law and public policy in construction defect coverage cases involving continuous or progressive damage because progressive damage, such as damage caused by water infiltration stemming from construction defects, can progress undetected over time and warrants coverage across all policy years, a New Jersey state court judge said in granting the insureds’ motion for partial summary judgment on the applicability of the exclusions.

  • October 31, 2025

    Insurer, Construction Manager, Homeowners To File For Dismissal After Settlement

    ST. LOUIS — A federal judge in Missouri ordered a stipulation for dismissal or motion for leave to voluntarily dismiss to be filed in a case brought by a construction manager’s insurer against the construction manager and homeowners seeking a declaration that the insurer owed no duty to its insured in an underlying action against the construction manager for events arising out of the construction of the homeowners’ house, after receiving notice the parties had settled the case.

  • October 31, 2025

    Split 9th Circuit Panel Says Insurer Owes No Coverage In Retaining Wall Damage Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A split panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Washington federal judge’s finding that an insurer does not owe coverage for an underlying suit over damage caused by improperly constructed retaining walls because the policy’s impaired property exclusion bars coverage and the “sudden and accidental injury” exception to the exclusion does not apply.

  • October 23, 2025

    Homeowners Argue District Court Erred In Finding Insurer Didn’t Act In Bad Faith

    SAN FRANCISCO — In their opening brief filed in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, several homeowners, as assignees of a developer, argue that the Ninth Circuit should reverse a federal judge in Washington’s dismissal of their case 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; they specifically argue that the lower court erred in ruling that the insurer did not act in bad faith.

  • October 23, 2025

    Judge Denies Subcontractor’s, Insurer’s Summary Judgment Motions Over Defense

    SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington denied a subcontractor’s and its insurer’s motions for summary judgment of the subcontractor’s complaint that the insurer failed to defend it against a counterclaim in an underlying suit arising out of the subcontractor’s microtunneling work for a water project in Seattle, finding disputes of fact material to the claims.

  • October 23, 2025

    Insurer Argues It’s Not Required To Defend Against Negligence Allegations

    FLORENCE, S.C. — A commercial general liability insurer filed a complaint in federal court in South Carolina seeking a declaratory judgment that it does not have to defend two construction companies in an underlying complaint alleging that the companies’ installation of siding and trim led to water intrusion and damages to townhomes.

  • October 23, 2025

    Construction Company Sues Insurer For Denying Coverage Based On Wrong Exclusion

    LOS ANGELES — A construction company sued its insurer and insurance broker in California state court, arguing that the insurer breached its contract by not defending it in an underlying complaint against the company alleging construction defects in the building of five houses; the company argues that the insurer wrongly denied coverage based on a condominium construction exception.

  • October 21, 2025

    Insurer Argues Court Should Not Amend Judgment As To Defective Bin Coverage

    INDIANAPOLIS — A grain equipment company’s insurer argues that a federal court in Indiana should not grant a grain production firm’s motion to alter or amend a partial summary judgment order in favor of the insurer in which the judge held that some of the claimed losses for the repair and replacement of leaky grain storage bins related to a contractual dispute rather than to coverage liability; the insurer argues that the judge correctly found that “the grain bins did not sustain ‘property damage’ as defined (and required) by the Policy.”

  • October 21, 2025

    Insurer: No Connection Between Subcontractor’s Work, Company’s Liability

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A subcontractor’s insurer says that a federal court in California should grant its motion to dismiss a construction company’s third amended complaint (TAC) against it alleging that it wrongly denied the coverage for claims brought against the company by a builder for damages the company alleges were caused by using the subcontractor’s drawings for the project, arguing the company provides no connection between the subcontractor’s work and the company’s liability.

  • October 20, 2025

    Judge Tosses Faulty Stucco Coverage Suit After Insurer, Contractor Reach Settlement

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — One day after a commercial general liability insurer and a general contractor filed a notice of settlement, a federal judge in South Carolina dismissed without prejudice a coverage dispute arising from damages caused after stormwater seeped through faulty stucco.

  • October 17, 2025

    Insurer Says Subcontractor’s Arguments Rejected, Shouldn’t Be Reconsidered

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An insurer opposed a subcontractor’s motion for reconsideration of a Kentucky federal judge’s finding that the subcontractor was required to release its counterclaims as part of a global settlement regarding the construction of off-campus student housing and the judge’s grant of summary judgment on the insurer’s behalf, arguing that the court has already rejected the subcontractor’s arguments.

  • October 15, 2025

    Project Owner’s Insurance, Not Subcontractors’, Covered Fire Damage, Court Finds

    INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Court of Appeals found that the insurers of a subcontractor and a sub-subcontractor did not owe coverage for the cleanup of damage after a fire broke out while the sub-subcontractor was welding because the damage was covered under the project owner’s all-risk insurance policy and the project owner’s master agreement with the contractor required the project owner and contractor to waive their subrogation rights.

  • October 14, 2025

    Subcontractor Seeks Reconsideration Of Summary Judgment In Coverage Dispute

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A subcontractor filed a motion for reconsideration of a federal judge in Kentucky’s finding that it was required to release its counterclaims as part of a global settlement regarding the construction of off-campus student housing and the judge’s grant of summary judgment on an insurer’s behalf, arguing that the dismissal of the subcontractor’s bad faith counterclaim hadn’t been negotiated and agreed to as part of that global settlement.