BarbriSFCourseDetails

Course Details

This CLE course will provide insights to insurance counsel to policyholders and insurers on the legal theories of construction defects constituting "occurrences." The panel will discuss whether construction defects are single or multiple occurrences and outline best practices to evaluate construction defect coverage under CGL policies.

Faculty

Description

Whether construction defects constitute occurrences under CGL policies is a hot issue with varying viewpoints among state courts. Some courts find coverage for accidental damages (favorable to policyholders).

Other courts hold that construction defects are not occurrences because they are not accidental acts (favorable to insurers). In response to such rulings, several states passed legislation to protect coverage under CGL policies for construction defects.

Listen as our panel provides insights to insurance counsel to policyholders and insurers on the legal theories of construction defects constituting "occurrences." The panel will also discuss whether construction defects are single or multiple occurrences and outline best practices to evaluate construction defect coverage under CGL policies.

Outline

  1. Relevant policy language and policy interpretation principles
  2. Courts and theories supporting construction defects as occurrences
  3. Courts and theories supporting construction defects are not occurrences
  4. Number of occurrences--are construction defects a single or multiple occurrences?

Benefits

The panel will review these and other essential questions:

  • What theories and policy interpretations are advanced by courts that find construction defects covered under CGL policies?
  • What theories and policy interpretations are advanced by courts that reject coverage for construction defects under CGL policies?
  • What approaches have state legislatures taken to address the issue of construction defect coverage under CGL policies?
  • When construction defect claims are assumed to be covered, what approaches have courts taken to determine whether a defect constitutes single or multiple occurrences?