Construction defects

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Since the economy tanked, we’ve seen a number of cases in our office (particularly in the area of construction defects) where a defendant (such as a subcontractor) has become insolvent, and we’ve been called upon to pursue a direct action against that defendant’s insurance company.  Surprisingly, insurance companies don’t really care for this. So, the…

My old law partner Carl Salisbury is on the warpath against carriers’ efforts to escape construction defect coverage.  He has some interesting things to say about a recent pro-carrier South Carolina decision.  You can read Carl’s excellent blog post by clicking here.  (I promise not to call them “business risk” exclusions any more,

Here’s some advice I would give to anyone contemplating becoming a general contractor:  Don’t.   The liability insurance coverage picture is too muddy, and coverage for completed operations is too uncertain.  My secondary, and perhaps more realistic, advice: Review your subcontractors’ general liability coverage and make sure there’s adequate protection if you need to bring suit…

A few months back, I got a call from the general counsel of a construction company.  His employer was the general contractor in a construction defect case, and he needed some advice with respect to the applicable “additional insured” coverage. “Now, you do know about this stuff, right?” he asked.  “I don’t want to have…

On May 20, 2014, I’ll be speaking at Perrin’s Emerging Insurance Coverage & Allocation Issues Conference at The Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. My panel (shared with the inimitable Gary Kull of Carroll, McNulty & Kull, representing the insurance industry view of things), will focus on “Best Practices for Additional Insureds.” If you can …

Settling complex insurance claims involving multiple carriers can be like playing three-dimensional chess. (Since I can’t even play one-dimensional chess, that means it’s really difficult.) I once had a multimillion-dollar environmental insurance coverage settlement fall apart because one of the participating carriers would not assume an extra 1% of the coverage, despite (or perhaps because…

I’ve been working on reviewing a general contracting agreement for a rebuild following Sandy, and the attendant insurance requirements.  I just came across a very useful 50-state survey on the enforceability and construction of indemnification agreements, which you can access by clicking here.  If you’re involved with this area of the law, I think you’ll find it

Those of us who represent contractors in coverage disputes have had to wrestle a lot over the past few years with so-called “business risk” exclusions, such as the “your work” and “your product” exclusions.  Cynicism may be unhealthy, but the cynic in me says that insurance companies are twisting these exclusions far beyond their intended…

Here’s an interesting situation that recently came up.  A general contractor (Aristone) got sued in a construction defect case involving continuous water damage to a building over several policy periods, involving several insurance companies.  One of Aristone’s carriers – OneBeacon – stepped up to provide a defense.  Another – Pennsylvania Manufacturers – took a “no…