Category «Chinese Drywall»

Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Chinese Drywall Coverage Claim Under Total Pollution Exclusion

I previously discussed the American Building Materials coverage cases here. ABM II was decided against the policyholder under Massachusetts law. Judge Bucklew of the Middle District of Florida entered summary judgment in the insurer’s favor after finding that Granite State’s Total Pollution Exclusion unambiguously excluded coverage for the Chinese drywall claims. Yesterday, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed …

Deni Strikes Again: Total Pollution Exclusion Eliminates Coverage For Chinese Drywall Claims

The Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Deni Associates of Florida, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Insurance Co., 711 So.2d 1135 (Fla. 1998) continues to haunt Florida policyholders with Total Pollution Exclusions in their general liability policies. This time it was Southern District of Florida Judge Robert Scola’s July 16, 2012 decision in First …

Duty to Defend Owed In Chinese Drywall Case

This April 9, 2012 decision (Great American Fidelity Insurance Co. and Great American E&S Insurance Co. v. JWR Construction Services Inc. and Gulf Reflections Condominium Association, No. 10-61423 (S.D. Fla. April 9, 2012)) by Judge Huck of the Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale) is interesting for several reasons. The declaratory judgment action was filed …

Chinese Drywall Insurance Coverage Update: A Tale of Two Pollution Exclusions

On March 2, Auto-Owners Insurance Company dropped its Eleventh Circuit appeal of a Middle District of Florida decision granting summary judgment to its policyholder on defense and indemnity coverage for Chinese drywall liabilities. The district court’s opinion, authored by Judge Susan Bucklew in Tampa, denied Auto-Owners’ summary judgment motion seeking to avoid coverage obligations based on the pollution …

11th Circuit Unsure If Insurance Policy Ambiguities Are Automatically Construed Against Insurers In Florida

Let’s take a short break from the top 10 insurance myths series to discuss a recent Eleventh Circuit decision that might seem a bit puzzling at first. (Hat tip to my friend Dan Thomas, construction lawyer extraordinaire at Leopold Law, for sending me a copy of the opinion.) In Ruderman v. Washington National Insurance Corp., …