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California Court Holds Pre-Loss Preventative Measures To Avert A Collapse Are Not Covered as Mitigation.

Last week in Grebow v. Mercury Ins. Co., 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 948, 2015 WL 6166610 (Cal.App., Oct. 26, 2015), a unanimous panel of California’s intermediate level appellate court rejected arguments that expenses incurred to prevent the collapse of a portion of the policyholders’ house were covered as mitigation.  The court held that the policy provision requiring an insured to protect the property from further damage was not analogous to a sue and labor provision and did not apply until after a loss that already occurred because to hold otherwise would effectively convert the contract of insurance into a maintenance agreement. The insureds owned a house in Tarzana.  In early 2013, concerned over recurring watermarks, they had a general contractor

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Posted in Ambiguity, Collapse, Corrosion, Hidden Decay, Homeowners Coverage, Preservation and Protection, Sue and Labor

Iowa’s Highest Court: Damage by Rainwater is Damage by Rain

Last July, we posted that an intermediate level appellate court in Iowa had held that a policy excluding loss “caused by rain” did not bar coverage for loss occasioned by the non-excluded peril of “rainwater.”  On Friday, the state’s highest court threw cold water on such nonsense, holding that there was no distinction between rain and rainwater for coverage purposes.  No justice disagreed, though the court split 4-3 on another issue.  The decision can be found at Amish Connection, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2015 WL 1260085, 2015 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32 (Iowa, Mar. 20, 2015). The insured operated the Amish Connection Store in Crossroads Shopping Mall in Waterloo, Iowa.  Rooftop drains discharged into a 4” cast-iron

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Posted in Anti-Concurrent Causation, Corrosion, Ensuing Loss, Flood, Water

Virginia Court Nixes Claim Chinese Drywall Damage to HVAC Systems is Covered as Equipment Breakdown

In Travco Ins. Co. v. Ward, 284 Va. 547, 736 S.E.2d 321 (2012), the Virginia Supreme Court held that loss occasioned by the sulfuric gas released by defective Chinese drywall was excluded under the primary coverage grant of a property policy because of exclusions for corrosion and pollution.  Last month, a Virginia federal court shut down claims that such a loss might nonetheless be covered under a policy’s secondary coverage provisions extending coverage to equipment breakdown.  The matter was Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. CG Stony Point Townhomes, LLC, 2015 WL 236826, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5682 (E.D.Va., Jan. 15, 2015). The policyholder made claim after the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in five townhouses at its Creek’s Edge

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Posted in Contamination, Corrosion, Mechanical Breakdown, Pollution
About The Property Insurance Law Observer
For more than four decades, Cozen O’Connor has represented all types of property insurers in jurisdictions throughout the United States, and it is dedicated to keeping its clients abreast of developments that impact the insurance industry. The Property Insurance Law Observer will survey court decisions, enacted or proposed legislation, and regulatory activities from all 50 states. We will also include commentary on current issues and developing trends of interest to first-party insurers.
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