Insurance

One-Year Limitations Period Enforceable for Insurance Policy Claims

December 19th, 2019
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
In what may seem to many as a harsh decision, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld a one-year limitations period in an insurance policy. The insurance carrier and insured homeowners were in contact soon after the loss. The carrier did some inve… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Insurance
Tags: contract limitations period, Equitable Tolling, one-year limitations, Statute of Limitation, Waiver

Duty to Defend Enforceable Even if Duty to Indemnify is Unresolved

December 6th, 2019
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
A Connecticut court, applying plain language in a subcontract, has held that the sub must defend the general contractor in an injured worker lawsuit, even if the sub’s obligation to indemnify the GC is not yet established. The worker was employed b… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Indemnity, Insurance
Tags: Contract Terms, Duty to Defend, obligation to indemnify

Failure to Promptly Reserve Rights on Coverage = Loss of Ability to Disclaim

October 2nd, 2018
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
From the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal comes a reminder that undertaking defense of a claim without any reservation of rights can bar an insurer from disclaiming coverage nine months later – even if the claim was not within the policy language from t… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Insurance
Tags: Disclaimer of Coverage, Prompt Disclaimer, Reservation of Rights, Waiver

Rental Agreement Indemnity – A Setback for Rental Companies

April 27th, 2018
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
Readers of this blog know that the terms and conditions in equipment rental agreements favor the rental company. Those agreements typically have one-sided indemnity clauses, on the basis that the rental company expects the renting contractor to carry… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Indemnity, Insurance
Tags: Indemnity for indemnitee's Own Negligence, Indemnity for One's Own Negligence, Scope of Indemnity

Unfortunate (and Unexpected) Restriction on Additional Insured Status

March 28th, 2018
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
The New York Court of Appeals, in a split decision, has focused on one word in deciding that a owner’s construction manager was not entitled to additional insured status on the general contractor’s policy. The contract required the GC to include… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Insurance, Public contracts
Tags: Additional Insured, Additional Insured by Contract, Construction Manager, With Whom

When Will We Learn? Contracts Do Not Modify Insurance Policies

October 18th, 2017
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
A subcontract required the second-tier sub to include the project owner and general contractor as additional insured parties. But the second-tier sub’s insurance policy had a “privity endorsement,” which allows additional insured status only fo… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Insurance
Tags: Additional Insured, Automatic Status Header, Endorsement, Privity Exclusion

Additional Insured Status Can Arise Indirectly by Lease (or other Written Contract)

September 29th, 2017
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
Decisions in two separate courts have come to the same conclusion: additional insured status can be conferred via (1) a contract – which was a lease, in each of these cases – requiring Party A to be designated as an additional insured on Party B… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Insurance
Tags: Additional Insured, Incorporation by Reference, Lease, Named Insured

Insurer’s Duty to Defend Does Not Include Duty to Pursue Counterclaim

June 22nd, 2017
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
At first blush this seems simple: “defend” does not mean “prosecute.” But there is a split among jurisdictions as to whether the insurer’s duty to defend includes the duty to pursue a counterclaim that is factually intertwined with the defe… Read More
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Categories: Insurance
Tags: Affirmative Claim, Compulsory Counterclaim, Defend, Defense Costs, Duty to Defend, In for One In for All

“Arising Out of” is Not the Functional Equivalent of “Proximately Caused by”

June 9th, 2017
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
The NY Court of Appeals, construing language of an insurance endorsement, has held that the endorsement terms established a proximate cause standard. In the process, the court reiterated that a proximate cause standard is narrower than the phrase “… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Insurance
Tags: Additional Insured, Arising Out of, Causation, Indemnity, Proximate Cause

Unsigned Contract = No Proper Insurance Coverage

May 18th, 2017
Posted By
Stanley A. Martin
File this one under “Oops.” The unsigned contract meant that the contractual liability exclusion in the subcontractor’s insurance policy would control, since there was no obligation “assumed in a contract or agreement . . . [where the claim]… Read More
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Categories: Construction, Indemnity, Insurance
Tags: Additional Insured, Contractual Liability Exclusion, Signed Contract, Written Contract
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About Stan Martin

Stanley A. Martin's Profile Image
Stan Martin holds a law degree and an undergraduate degree in architecture. He has been involved with the construction industry for more than 45 years, working in construction prior to law school and beginning his construction law practice. Over the course of his career, he has served on boards and committees for organizations including the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, the Boston Society of Architects, and the Massachusetts Building Congress.

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