Occurrences in Construction Defects Claims: Navigating Divergent Views to Maximize Coverage or Limit Liability
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Real Property - Transactions
- event Date
Thursday, February 6, 2020
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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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.
Professor French teaches contracts, torts, civil procedure and insurance law. He has written and published extensively in the area of insurance law. He is a former Partner with K&L Gates LLP, where he practiced in the area of commercial litigation, with a focus on insurance coverage disputes.
Mr. Salisbury has more than 20 of years experience in the litigation and trial of complex commercial disputes and complex commercial insurance cases. He has helped corporate policyholders recover for insurance claims involving environmental pollution, workplace discrimination, bodily injuries and property damage, mold contamination, construction defects, and a variety of other commercial disputes.
Mr. Weimer is a seasoned commercial attorney, with more than 29 years of litigation experience. His practice encompasses a wide range of insurance coverage, insurance defense, and commercial litigation, including EPL, CGL, D&O, commercial property, workers compensation, insurance and real estate E&O, accounting and medical malpractice, construction defects, asbestos, electric utilities, liquor liability, media, lender liability and products liability.
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.
- Relevant policy language and policy interpretation principles
- Courts and theories supporting construction defects as occurrences
- Courts and theories supporting construction defects are not occurrences
- Number of occurrences--are construction defects a single or multiple occurrences?
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?
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