Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Pollution Exclusion Prevents Coverage for Injury Caused by Insulation

March 30, 2016 — Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law Hawaii
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) insulation as part of a renovation project in the home. Lapolla manufactured the SPF. Shortly after the insulation was installed, the homeowners smelled strong odors and suffered respiratory distress, causing them to leave the home. The homeowners sued the contractor and various subcontractors for negligence and breach of contract. A third party complaint was filed against Lapolla. The homeowners also amended their complaint to assert a products-liability claim against Lapolla. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Commercial Construction in the Golden State is Looking Pretty Golden

August 26, 2015 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
If the $2.1 trillion erased from the U.S. stock market over the last week has you white knuckled, you might consider commercial construction in the Golden State, where things are looking . . . well . . . pretty golden. According to the Summer/Fall 2015 Commercial Real Estate Survey jointly published by Allen Matkins and the UCLA Anderson School of Management, commercial construction in California has risen to its highest level since 2001. The survey, conducted of commercial real estate developers and financiers and their outlook for seven metropolitan regions in California including the East Bay, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, found that all respondents expressed optimism (characterized as an optimism sentiment above 50) that office, multifamily, industrial and retail construction would grow over the next three-years although it varied depending on the region and sentiment was at times lower than when the survey was last taken last year. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

The Vallagio HOA Appeals the Decision from the Colorado Court of Appeals

August 04, 2015 — David M. McLain – Colorado Construction Litigation
As highlighted in our most recent post, the Colorado Court of Appeals’ Vallagio decision upheld a declaration provision that prohibited the amendment of a mandatory arbitration clause without the consent of the developer/declarant. Vallagio at Inverness Residential Condominium Association, Inc. v. Metropolitan Homes, Inc., et al., 2015COA65 (Colo. App. May 7, 2015). This case protects a developer/declarant’s ability to arbitrate construction defect claims with a well-crafted declaration that requires declarant consent in order to amend the mandatory arbitration provisions for construction defect actions. However, the Vallagio ruling still hangs in the balance while the Colorado Supreme Court considers the condominium association’s petition for certiorari review, filed June 18, 2015. In its petition, the association argues that the declarant consent requirement violates public policy and four separate sections of the Colorado Common Interest Act (“CCIOA”). For instance, the association argued in the courts below that a declarant consent requirement violates section 217 of CCIOA, which governs unit owners’ voting percentage requirements and provides that declarations may not require more than 67% affirmative vote for amendments. The Court of Appeals rejected this argument, reasoning that other provisions of section 217 contemplate consent requirements by parties other than unit owners, such as first mortgagees. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David M. McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Mr. McLain may be contacted at mclain@hhmrlaw.com

It’s Too Late, Lloyd’s: New York Federal Court Finds Insurer Waived Late Notice Defense

June 05, 2023 — Latosha M. Ellis & Janine A. Hanrahan - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
A New York federal judge recently ruled that an insurer waived its late notice defense because a generic reservation of rights was insufficient to preserve it. As a result, the policyholder’s claim was preserved despite being submitted more than three months after the loss—a delay which would ordinarily be fatal under New York law. The decision underscores the importance both of timely submission of claims and careful attention to reservation of rights letters. Background Mave Hotel Investors LLC (“Mave”) owns a small hotel in Manhattan that was insured by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London (“Lloyd’s”). From October 2017 to October 2020, Mave contracted with a housing network to temporarily house homeless families and their children in the hotel. When the contract with the housing network terminated in October 2020, Mave alleged that the rooms were severely damaged and that it had to pay $1.4 million to repair them. Reprinted courtesy of Latosha M. Ellis, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Janine A. Hanrahan, Hunton Andrews Kurth Ms. Ellis may be contacted at lellis@HuntonAK.com Ms. Hanrahan may be contacted at jhanrahan@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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State Supreme Court Cases Highlight Importance of Wording in Earth Movement Exclusions

June 21, 2017 — Hannah E. Austin - Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
In Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Company v. Chaber, the West Virginia Supreme Court recently held that an insurance policy’s earth movement exclusion was unambiguous and applied to both manmade and natural earth movement. The Court also found that a narrow “ensuing loss” exception to the exclusion that provided coverage for glass breakage resulting from earth movement could not be extended to cover the entire loss. The Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Company (Erie) insured five commercial buildings owned by Dmitri and Mary Chaber. One of the properties was damaged by a landslide, and the Chabers filed a claim with Erie. Erie asserted that the loss was excluded from coverage because the policy excluded coverage for losses caused by earth movement, which was defined to include earthquakes, landslides, subsidence of manmade mines, and earth sinking (aside from sinkhole collapse), rising or shifting. The exclusion stated that it applied “regardless of whether any of the above . . . is caused by an act of nature or is otherwise caused,” and also contained an anti-concurrent causation clause. However, there was an exception for glass breakage caused by earth movement. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Hannah E. Austin, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Ms. Austin may be contacted at hea@sdvlaw.com

Water Intrusion Judged Not Related to Construction

October 09, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A Wisconsin couple has lost their lawsuit against the city of Stoughton. Jerry and Maxine King claimed that construction of the Stoughton Fire Station lead to flooding of their basement. The city conceded that in 2008, the contractor failed to “have in place some of the measures that could have prevented the water from running onto the King property.” The contractor’s insurance company compensated the Kings. Subsequently, the Kings complained of further water damage. But Matt Dregne, Stoughton’s attorney, said that the Kings “didn’t repair the basement.” The judge in the case dismissed the suit with prejudice, disallowing any further suits from the Kings on these circumstances. Read the court decision
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Coverage Denied for Condominium Managing Agent

May 24, 2018 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
Determining there were no allegations of bodily injury or property damage in the underlying lawsuit, the court found there was no duty to defend or indemnify the condominium's managing agent. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Certified Mgmt., 2018 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 71124 (D. Haw. April 27, 2018). Frederick Caven sued Certified Management, dba Associa Hawaii ("Associa") on behalf of himself and a class. Caven alleged that he owned a condominium and was a member of the Regency homeowners' association. The suit alleged that Associa was the managing agent for the association. Caven sold his unit in April 2016. Caven asked Associa for condominium documents to provide to the purchaser. Associa charged Caven $182.29 to download 197 pages of condominium documents for Regency. Associa also charged Caven $286.46 for a one-page "fee status confirmation," a document prepared by Associa which contained financial and other information needed to complete the sale. Caven alleged that the fees charged by Associa and other unit owners were excessive and in violation of Hawaii law. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law Hawaii
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

Traub Lieberman Attorneys Recognized in the 2022 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®

September 13, 2021 — Traub Lieberman
Traub Lieberman is pleased to announce that three Partners have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. In addition, five attorneys have been included in the 2022 Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch list. These recognitions include attorneys from the firm’s Chicago, IL; Palm Beach Gardens, FL; and St. Petersburg, FL offices. 2022 Best Lawyers®

Brian C. Bassett – Insurance Law

Rina Clemens – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants

Scot E. Samis – Appellate Practice

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Reprinted courtesy of Traub Lieberman

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