On November 1, 2011, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on the certified question of whether property damage caused by a subcontractor’s faulty workmanship is an “occurrence” for purposes of a commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy. In Greystone Const., Inc. v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., No. 09-1412 (10th Cir. Nov. 1, […]
Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
With the downturn in the economy over the last few years, and the fact that the homebuilding industry has been particularly hard hit, I have heard from clients and colleagues that more and more builders are discontinuing their annual renewable commercial general liability insurance programs, deciding instead to go bare. This absolutely scares the crap […]
In D.R. Horton, Inc., et al. v. Assurance Company of America, et al., Judge Valeria N. Spencer applied HB 10-1394 retroactively in a coverage case. The case arose out of the construction of a multi-family condominium complex, on which DRH hired Campbell Beard as the roofer on the project. Pursuant to the requirements of the […]
In Martinez v. Mike Wells Construction Company, 09CV227, Teller County District Court Judge Edward S. Colt refused to apply C.R.S. § 13-20-808 retroactively to provide coverage for the underlying construction defect allegations. According to the recitation of facts in Judge Colt’s March 2011 order, Martinez contracted with Mike Wells Construction to serve as the general […]
In Weitz Co., LLC v. Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado was asked to rule on a motion to disqualify counsel in an insurance coverage action. 11-CV-00694-REB-BNB, 2011 WL 2535040 (D. Colo. June 27, 2011). Motions to disqualify counsel are viewed with suspicion, as courts “must guard against […]
In Dunn v. American Family Insurance, 09CA2173, 2010 WL 4791948 (Colo. App. Nov. 24, 2010), the Dunns reported a claim to American Family on their homeowners insurance policy after sewer and water backup caused sewage to flood their basement. American Family gave the Dunns contact information for a contractor (ICA) to remediate the flooding. However, […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently concluded that the “owned property exclusion” applied to bar coverage for claims of property damage. See Panico v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 2011 WL 322830 (10th Cir. 2011). In Panico, the plaintiffs sold property in Aspen, Colorado to the Taylors, who sued the […]
Roughly one year ago, we blogged about a case named United Fire & Casualty Company v. Boulder Plaza Residential, LLC, 06-CV-00037-PAB-CBS. You may find it here (February 3, 2010 Entry). In that case, the court granted summary judgment to United Fire & Casualty following a motion to reconsider based on the case, General Security Indemnity Co. […]
If you have followed the events in Colorado’s legislature this year related to the construction industry, then you’re most likely familiar with the recent passage of HB 10-1394. HB 10-1394, now codified at C.R.S. § 10-4-110.4 and C.R.S. § 13-20-808, provides courts guidance when interpreting commercial general liability policies issued to construction professionals. Interestingly, although […]
In that there is no appellate law at this point interpreting or applying the recently enacted HB 10-1394, I find even district court orders on the topic to be very interesting. In Colorado Pool Systems, Inc., et al. v. Scottsdale Insurance Company, et al., The Honorable Christopher C. Cross set forth the pertinent facts as […]
