{"id":895325,"date":"2018-12-19T11:34:43","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T18:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=895325"},"modified":"2018-12-19T11:34:43","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T18:34:43","slug":"trial-court-sides-insurers-cracked-concrete-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/trial-court-sides-insurers-cracked-concrete-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial Court Sides with Insurers Over Cracked Concrete Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jason Cleri | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog<\/a> | December 15, 2018<\/p>\n

In March of 2017, I wrote a\u00a0blog post about the crumbling foundations<\/a>\u00a0in Connecticut due to a concrete company, J.J. Mottes & Company, using concrete that contained pyrrhotite, that cause the concrete to lose integrity and collapse. Many insurance companies have been denying these claims for various reasons. One insured, Lawrence and Karen Cockill, sought to have their claim against Nationwide covered by arguing that the structural integrity of the concrete was diminished due to a \u201cchemical reaction.\u201d1<\/sup><\/p>\n

Nationwide denied coverage citing to the policy provision that stated:<\/p>\n

We do not cover loss to property described in Coverages A and B resulting directly from any of the following. . . .<\/p>\n

(f)(1) wear and tear, marring, deterioration<\/p>\n

(2) inherent vice, latent defect, mechanical breakdown;<\/p>\n

(3) smog, rust. . . .<\/p>\n

(5) release, discharge, or dispersal of contaminants or pollutants;<\/p>\n

(6) settling, cracking, shrinking, bulging or expansion of pavements, patios, foundations, walls, floors, roofs or ceilings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In ultimately ruling for Nationwide and granting their motion to dismiss, the District Court reasoned that \u201calthough loss from \u2018chemical reaction\u2019 was not specifically listed among the exclusions in the policy\u2026many of the exclusions were broad enough to include chemical reactions.\u201d For example, \u201cwear and tear,\u201d \u201cdeterioration,\u201d \u201cinherent vice,\u201d \u201clatent defect,\u201d \u201crust,\u201d and \u201ccracking\u201d all were terms \u201cthat may encompass the \u2018chemical reaction\u2019 \u201d described.<\/p>\n

The trial court also noted that the only manifestation of the loss that the insured observed was \u201ccracking in the basement walls,\u201d but that loss from cracking was excluded under the policy\u2019s \u201ccollapse\u201d provision.<\/p>\n

I leave you with a quote from Hall of Famer Connie Mack, who said: \u201cHumanity is the keystone that holds nations and men together. When that collapses, the whole structure crumbles. This is true of baseball teams as any other pursuit in life.<\/em>\u201d Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t seem that humanity can help the Cockill\u2019s pay for their crumbling foundation.
\n____________________________
\n1<\/sup>\u00a0Cockill v. Nationwide Property and Casualty Ins. Co., No. 3:18-cv-254 (D. Conn. Nov. 27, 2018).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jason Cleri | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog | December 15, 2018 In March of 2017, I wrote a\u00a0blog post about the crumbling foundations\u00a0in Connecticut due to a concrete company, J.J. Mottes & Company, using concrete that contained pyrrhotite, that cause the concrete to lose integrity and collapse. Many insurance companies have been denying these… Continue reading Trial Court Sides with Insurers Over Cracked Concrete Foundation<\/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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[9895,8672,8284],"class_list":["post-895325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-defects","tag-advise-consult","tag-collapse","tag-concrete","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrial Court Sides with Insurers Over Cracked Concrete Foundation - 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