Insurance
Equitable Subrogation Claim Limited by Outcome of Insured Party Lawsuit
February 22nd, 2017
A carrier pursuing a subrogation claim has no better rights than its insured. This may seem elementary and logical, but a New York court has had to remind one carrier of this standard. The abutter to a construction project made an insurance claim for…
Read More
Read More
Damaged Tower Crane Was Not Covered by Builder’s Risk Policy
February 17th, 2017
Readers may recall photos of a dangling tower crane boom after Hurricane Sandy passed through New York City in October 2012. The New York Court of Appeal has just issued a decision, ruling that damage to the tower crane is barred by the “contractor…
Read More
Read More
Waiver of Subrogation: How Broad Is It?
January 20th, 2017
Many contractors believe a waiver of subrogation clause protects them from any effort by the owner’s property or builder’s risk carrier to recover damages covered by that insurance. As a federal court decision emphasizes, the protection afforded…
Read More
Read More
Generic Reservation of Rights Letters Are Inadequate Notice of Coverage Issues
January 16th, 2017
A common practice in reservation of rights letters has been heavily criticized by the South Carolina Supreme Court. In fact, the court rejected a generic reservation of rights letter. It stated: “It is axiomatic that an insured must be provided suf…
Read More
Read More
An Expensive Lesson About Notice of a Professional A/E Malpractice Claim
December 12th, 2016
The University of Pittsburgh has come out on the losing end of coverage battles with two different malpractice carriers for the architecture firm, The Ballinger Co., hired by Pitt to design a renovation project to Pitt’s Salk Hall (named for Jonas…
Read More
Read More
Company Was Additional Insured Under GL Policy Even by General Designation and Not Specific Name
September 3rd, 2016
A second-tier subcontract required the sub-sub to provide insurance naming, as additional insured parties, both the first-tier sub, and also “the Project owner and construction manager.” When the sub-sub’s employee was injured and sued…
Read More
Read More
When Choice of Law Made a Difference
August 22nd, 2016
Choice of law clauses are not usually the subject of intense negotiation, in part as there is substantial consistency among the laws of the various states. But not always, as parties on a New Jersey project learned. A difference in the New Jersey and…
Read More
Read More
Dispelling Myths about Insurance Coverage of Defective Construction
August 11th, 2016
Lawsuits over defective construction often result in one or more parties attempting to invoke insurance coverage, at least to cover defense costs if not to cover the underlying claims. Some fifty years after courts began parsing the extent of insuran…
Read More
Read More
Novel Damage Theory, for Loss of Use Claim, Fails
June 27th, 2016
A developer marketed condominiums for sale. Several units were damaged by a burst water pipe, but the repaired units were eventually sold for the original price. (Insurance covered the cost of repair.) The developer then sued some of the parties invo…
Read More
Read More
Damage from Defective Construction Was an “Occurrence” Leading to Insurance Coverage
June 15th, 2016
The Iowa Supreme Court has weighed in on the issue of whether damage arising from defective construction work can be an “occurrence” triggering insurance coverage. It appears that the damages awarded after a jury trial included both remedial work…
Read More
Read More
About Stan Martin
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. During his career, he has been actively involved with the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, the Boston Society of Architects, the American Arbitration Association, and the Massachusetts Building Congress.