{"id":854,"date":"2012-10-12T09:37:15","date_gmt":"2012-10-12T15:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=854"},"modified":"2012-10-12T09:37:15","modified_gmt":"2012-10-12T15:37:15","slug":"minnesota-arguably-expands-coverage-for-additional-insureds-in-the-construction-context","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/minnesota-arguably-expands-coverage-for-additional-insureds-in-the-construction-context\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Arguably Expands Coverage for Additional Insureds in the Construction Context"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laura N. Maupin – September 19, 2012<\/p>\n

The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an unpublished decision in May, 2012 which trends towards an expansion of coverage for additional insureds in the construction context by extending coverage to claims of direct, as well as vicarious liability. In Nor-Son, Inc. v. Western National Mut. Ins. Co., No. A11-2016, 2012 WL 1658938 (Minn. Ct. App. May 14, 2012), the Court reversed the trial court\u2019s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurer, in which the trial court held the insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify third-party plaintiff Nor-Son as an additional insured under a policy issued to two third-party defendants, Select Carpenters & Components, Inc. and SCC Carpenters, LLC (collectively \u201cSCC\u201d).<\/p>\n

This case arose from injuries sustained on a construction site by an employee of SCC when he suffered a seizure and fell from a roof. He suffered from a pre-existing seizure disorder and was not wearing safety equipment recommended by his physician. Plaintiff received workers\u2019 compensation benefits from SCC and sued Nor-Son (he could not sue SCC because of workers\u2019 compensation exclusivity). He alleged negligence, breach of contract and failure to warn based on Nor-Son\u2019s retention of control over the worksite.<\/p>\n

Nor-Son tendered the lawsuit to SCC\u2019s insurer, Western National. Western National refused the tender because its insured, SCC, was not named in the underlying complaint. Nor-Son then commenced a third-party action against SCC and provided the third-party complaint to Western National. Minnesota appellate courts had not previously ruled on the propriety of using a third-party complaint to establish a duty to defend.<\/p>\n

Relevant policy language extending coverage to Nor-Son states (with \u201cyou\u201d and \u201cyour\u201d referring to SCC):<\/p>\n

only with respect to liability for \u201cbodily injury,\u201d \u201cproperty damage\u201d or \u201cpersonal and advertising injury\u201d cause, in whole or part by: 1. Your acts or omissions; or 2. The acts or omissions of those acting on your behalf, in the performance of your ongoing operations for the additional insured(s) at the location(s) designated above\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Id. at *2.<\/p>\n

Western National took the position that it had no duty to Nor-Son under this clause for liability arising out of Nor-Son\u2019s own negligence and that because only Nor-Son, not SCC was alleged to be negligent in the underlying complaint that the insurer had no duty to defend. The<\/p>\n

Court of Appeals acknowledged that while the underlying complaint did not allege negligence by SCC, it also did not allege Nor-Son\u2019s negligence, but instead premised Nor-Son\u2019s liability on the fact that Nor-Son \u201cretained control of the work site.\u201d Id. The Court determined that the underlying complaint set forth a claim for vicarious liability through its allegations that Nor-Son was responsible for unsafe conditions on the site [including those created by SCC] because it retained control of the site. Id.<\/p>\n

The Court also held that the additional insured coverage could extend beyond claims for vicarious liability, stating that the policy provided \u201ccoverage for liability incurred by Nor-Son if \u2018caused\u2026in whole or in part by [SCC\u2019s acts or omissions].\u2019\u201d Id. at *3 (emphasis in original). The Court concluded that if \u201cSCC\u2019s negligent safety practices were at least at part the cause of the liability,\u201d that Nor-Son\u2019s negligent acts might be covered. Id. Finally, the Court determined that allegations in both the third-party complaint and the underlying complaint as least arguably fell within coverage and triggered Western National\u2019s duty to defend.<\/p>\n

Though unpublished, this case reaffirms that additional insureds are entitled to broad coverage under CGL policies and demonstrates a shift by extending additional insured coverage to claims of direct as well as vicarious liability.<\/p>\n

via Minnesota arguably expands coverage for additional insureds in the construction context – Lexology<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laura N. Maupin – September 19, 2012 The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an unpublished decision in May, 2012 which trends towards an expansion of coverage for additional insureds in the construction context by extending coverage to claims of direct, as well as vicarious liability. In Nor-Son, Inc. v. Western National Mut. Ins. Co., No.… Continue reading Minnesota Arguably Expands Coverage for Additional Insureds in the Construction Context<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,10,30],"tags":[179,12,57],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-2","category-duty-to-defend","category-general-liability-policy","tag-commercial-general-liability","tag-construction","tag-duty-to-defend-2","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nMinnesota Arguably Expands Coverage for Additional Insureds in the Construction Context - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/minnesota-arguably-expands-coverage-for-additional-insureds-in-the-construction-context\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minnesota Arguably Expands Coverage for Additional Insureds in the Construction Context - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Laura N. Maupin – September 19, 2012 The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an unpublished decision in May, 2012 which trends towards an expansion of coverage for additional insureds in the construction context by extending coverage to claims of direct, as well as vicarious liability. In Nor-Son, Inc. v. Western National Mut. Ins. 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