With multi-party construction defect claims, it becomes imperative for the claimant to fully understand each defendant’s scope of work and how it may have contributed to the damages sought. This becomes critically important where, for example, there has been different contractors involved with different subcontractors (perhaps even for the same trades), such as where an...Read More

Understanding Allocation of Construction Damages Between the Parties While it is imperative that the claimant fully understand its damages—not only what it is claiming, but what the law supports—equally if not more important is understanding where those damages may be apportioned between the parties. If the claimant presents a reasonable apportionment of damages in advance...Read More

Claims arising during the contractor’s ongoing operations may not be covered due to typical CGL exclusions, whereas there may be coverage for claims occurring after project completion where the contractor has completed operations coverage and the work was performed through a subcontractor. Additional insured (AI) status is another factor to consider. Contractors are routinely required...Read More

Help Understanding the Construction Project Insurance Program A Claimant should identify early on applicable policies of insurance and understand the policy terms, exclusions, and coverage limits. Where a project has an insurance program that is owner-controlled (OCIP) or contractor-controlled (CCIP), one policy will cover most of the parties working through or under the general contractor....Read More

What You need to Know About Occurrences under CGL Policies An “occurrence” under a standard commercial general liability (CGL) policy is “an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions.” A construction defect claim may therefore involve more than one occurrence during a single policy period or during multiple policy...Read More