Fifth Circuit Requires Causal Distinction for Ensuing Loss Exception to Faulty Work Exclusion
August 29, 2022 —
Avery J. Cantor & William S. Bennett - Saxe Doernberger & VitaIn Balfour Beatty v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals provided valuable insight on coverage available through ensuing loss exceptions to faulty work and design exclusions in builder’s risk insurance policies. In Balfour Beatty, the Court held that, in order to establish coverage through an ensuing loss exception, the ensuing loss must be causally distinct from the original excluded loss.1
Balfour Beatty, serving as general contractor for construction of a commercial office building in Houston, Texas, subcontracted with Milestone for steelwork on the project. As part of this work, Milestone welded a 2-inch metal plate to external tubing on the eighteenth floor of the building. While welding the plate in place, welding slag fell down the side of the building, damaging exterior glass windows on the floors below.
Balfour Beatty and Milestone, along with the developer, sought coverage for the damage to the windows under their builder’s risk policy, issued by Liberty Mutual. Liberty Mutual denied coverage, claiming that the damage was excluded by the policy’s “Defects, Errors, and Omissions” exclusion. The insureds sued, arguing that the ensuing loss exception to this exclusion would carve back coverage because the damage to the windows constituted an “ensuing loss.”
Reprinted courtesy of
Avery J. Cantor, Saxe Doernberger & Vita and
William S. Bennett, Saxe Doernberger & Vita
Mr. Cantor may be contacted at ACantor@sdvlaw.com
Mr. Bennett may be contacted at WBennett@sdvlaw.com
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In Florida, Component Parts of an Improvement to Real Property are Subject to the Statute of Repose for Products Liability Claims
December 02, 2015 —
Michael L. DeBona – White and Williams LLPIn Dominguez v. Hayward Industries, Inc., Certified Gunite Company d/b/a Custom Pools, and John M. Pieklo, — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 5438782 (3d DCA Sept. 16, 2015), the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District, discussed whether products liability claims related to a pool filter, a component part of a pool system, were subject to Florida’s twelve-year products liability statute of repose, section 95.031, Florida Statutes. The court held that a pool filter does not constitute an improvement to real property and, thus, the plaintiffs’ claims were subject to the statute of repose.
Background Facts
Ryan and Jessica Dominguez had a pool installed at their house; the delivery and installation of the pool and its filter were completed on December 20, 1999. Over twelve years later – on November 17, 2012 – the pool filter exploded, causing Mr. Dominguez a severe head injury. Mr. Dominguez and his wife brought a products liability action against, among others, the pool filter manufacturer and distributor, Hayward Industries, Inc., and the installer of the pool and intermediate distributor of the pool filter, Certified Gunite Company.
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Michael L. DeBona, White and Williams LLPMr. DeBona may be contacted at
debonam@whiteandwilliams.com
A Court-Side Seat: Permit Shields, Hurricane Harvey and the Decriminalization of “Incidental Taking”
May 31, 2021 —
Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2GavelThis is a brief review of some of the significant environmental (and administrative law decisions) released the past few weeks.
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
On April 22, 2021, the Court decided two important administrative law cases: Carr, et al. v. Saul and AMG Capital Management v. Federal Trade Commission.
Carr, et al. v. Saul
In this case, the constitutionality of Social Security Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) hearing disability claims disputes was at issue. More precisely, were these ALJs selected in conformance with the Appointments Clause of the Constitution? A similar issue was litigated in the case of Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission. There, the Court held that many of the agency’s ALJs were not selected in conformance with the Appointment’s Clause. Here, the Court held that this issue could be decided by the courts without compelling the litigants to first exhaust their administrative remedies. Thousands of ALJs are employed by the federal government, and it may take some time to resolve this question for every agency.
AMG Capital Management v. Federal Trade Commission
In this case, the court held, unanimously, that the Commission does not presently have the authority to employ such equitable remedies as restitution or disgorgement.
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Anthony B. Cavender, PillsburyMr. Cavender may be contacted at
anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com
OSHA Issues Guidance on Mitigating, Preventing Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace
February 22, 2021 —
Amy R. Patton & Blake A. Dillion - Payne & FearsOn January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued new employer guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. This guidance is intended to help employers and workers outside the healthcare setting to identify risks of being exposed to and of contracting COVID-19 and to determine any appropriate control measures to implement. While this guidance is largely duplicative of prior OSHA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) guidance and recommendations, it contains a few new and updated recommendations that employers should note:
Face Coverings
OSHA recognizes that face coverings, either cloth face coverings or surgical masks, are simple barriers that help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and are beneficial for the wearer as well as others. OSHA recommends that employers should provide all workers with face coverings, unless their work task requires a respirator. These face coverings should be provided at no cost and should be made of at least two layers of tightly woven breathable fabric, and should not have exhalation valves or vents. Employers should also require any other individuals at the workplace (i.e., visitors, customers, non-employees) to wear a face covering unless they are under the age of 2 or are actively consuming food or beverages on site. Wearing a face covering does not eliminate the need for physical distancing of at least six feet apart.
Employers must discuss the possibility of “reasonable accommodations” for any workers who are unable to wear or have difficulty wearing certain types of face coverings due to a disability. In workplaces with employees who are deaf or have hearing deficits, employers should consider acquiring masks with clear coverings over the mouth.
Reprinted courtesy of
Amy R. Patton, Payne & Fears and
Blake A. Dillion, Payne & Fears
Ms. Patton may be contacted at arp@paynefears.com
Mr. Dillion may be contacted at bad@paynefears.com
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Colorado Passes Construction Defect Reform Bill
June 05, 2017 —
David Suggs – Bert L. Howe & Associates, Inc.According to Daniel E. Evans of Gordon & Rees Scully Mansukhani, Colorado’s state legislature recently passed a bill “designed to reduce litigation risk associated with building condos by requiring a majority of actual condo unit owners, as opposed to a majority of the HOA board members, to approve the filing of a lawsuit over construction defects.” Evans stated that this “legislation cannot be viewed as sweeping reform” and that “future legislative sessions will undoubtedly see additional efforts to reform construction defect litigation.”
Perhaps the most significant aspect of HB 1279 is the requirement for a majority of condo owners in a development to approve a lawsuit, Evans reported. Furthermore, HB 1279 “requires the HOA board to notify all condo unit owners and builders about plans to pursue a construction lawsuit. It further requires the HOA board to hold a meeting to allow the board and the developer to present facts and arguments to the individual condo unit owners, including arguments of the potential benefits and detriments of filing a lawsuit.”
Unlike its failed predecessors, HB 1279 does not require arbitration.
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Administration Seeks To Build New FBI HQ on Current D.C. Site
February 28, 2018 —
Tom Ichniowski – ENRA Senate committee plans to examine a new $3.3-billion Trump administration proposal to demolish the Federal Bureau of Investigation's worn, outmoded headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C., and construct a new facility on that site.
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Tom Ichniowski, Engineering News-RecordMr. Ichniowski may be contacted at
ichniowskit@enr.com
Additional Insured Is Covered Under On-Going Operations Endorsement Despite Subcontractor's Completion of Work
December 20, 2017 —
Tred Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiAlthough the homeowners did not own their homes when the subcontractors completed their work, the general contractor was still covered as an additional insured for the homeowners' suits based on the ongoing operations endorsement in the subcontractors' policies. McMillin Mgmt. Servs. v. Fin. Pac. Ins. Co., 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 1000 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 14, 2017).
McMillin was the developer and general contractor for the project. Among the subcontractors were Martinez Construction Concrete Contractor, Inc. and Rozema Corporation. Martinez performed concrete flatwork between 2003 and November 2005. Rozema performed lath and stucco work between March 2003 and October 2005.
Lexington issued CGL policies to Martinez and Rozema. McMillin was an additional insured under both policies, "but only with respect to liability arising out of your [i.e., Martinez's or Rozema's] ongoing operations performed for [McMillin]." An exclusion provided that the insurance did not apply to property damage occurring after the insured subcontractor had completed operations on behalf of the additional insured.
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Tred Eyerly, Insurance Law HawaiiMr Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act Enacted
July 14, 2016 —
Michael B. McClellan & Jason L. Morris – Newmeyer & Dillion LLPOn May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) into law,
creating a private federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. This landmark
legislation, a product of bipartisan backing and significant support from the business
community, will affect businesses and individuals operating in almost every economic sector
across the country. The DTSA will potentially be at issue any time an employee with access to
confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information moves on to a competitor or launches
a startup that competes with the former employer. This will be true so long as the product
or service that the trade secret relates to is either used in or intended for use in interstate
or foreign commerce. Under present commerce clause jurisprudence, the vast majority of
businesses providing products and services in the United States will be affected by this new law.
The DTSA will provide, for the first time, a codified federal civil remedy for
misappropriation of trade secrets. Although most states have adopted some version of the
Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“UTSA”), there remains significant variation between the states in
their application of the UTSA and litigants face significantly different statutory frameworks
depending upon which state holds jurisdiction over the dispute. In addition, prior to this
new law, litigants were limited to pursuing their claims for misappropriation of trade secrets
in state courts, unless federal diversity jurisdiction applied to the dispute. The DTSA changes
that dynamic, providing original federal subject matter jurisdiction over trade secret disputes.
Reprinted courtesy of
Michael B. McClellan, Newmeyer & Dillion and
Jason L. Morris, Newmeyer & Dillion
Mr. McClellan may be contacted at Michael.mcclellan@ndlf.com
Mr. Morris may be contacted at Jason.morris@ndlf.com
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