When does an excluded loss end and a covered “resulting loss” begin? This thorny question was the subject of a recent decision out of the Southern District of Texas, EMS USA, Inc. v. The Travelers Lloyds Insurance Co., No. H-16-1443, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54509 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 28, 2018), adopted by EMS, USA, Inc. v. Travelers Lloyds Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52884 (S.D. Tex., Mar. 29, 2018). EMS involved a builder’s risk policy that covered a natural gas pipeline construction job in southeast Texas. The insured, the pipeline contractor, had through a subcontractor, drilled a “pilot hole” for the pipeline. The next step was to widen the pilot hole to accommodate the pipeline. This operation involved using a reamer attached to a guide wire that directed the operation. When the guide wire broke, the reamer was stuck in the pilot hole and could not be removed, and a new pilot hole had to be excavated. Travelers denied coverage for the cost of attempting to salvage the first pilot hole, and redrilling the second, arguing that the loss was not covered because (1) the pilot hole was “land” that was not covered under the policy; (2) the hole had not suffered “direct physical loss or damage” as required by the policy’s coverage grant; and (3) the loss, even if within the grant of coverage, fell under the policy’s exclusion for faulty workmanship.
Continue Reading Texas Federal Court Holds Faulty Workmanship Exclusion Applies to All Damage Caused By Drilling Gear Malfunction, Rejects Insured’s Claim for Covered “Resulting Loss”
Raymond DeMeo
Ray DeMeo focuses his practice on insurance litigation and class action lawsuits, and has extensive experience supervising complex and high-exposure property and general liability insurance claims and litigation, including class action suits, domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining Robinson+Cole, Ray was Assistant Vice President and Managing Counsel at Travelers Property Casualty Company, where he oversaw all commercial property insurance litigation nationwide, including bad faith lawsuits arising from property insurance claims. He directly supervised the World Trade Center property insurance litigation and oversaw all litigation arising from Hurricane Katrina.
Report from June 2014 LEA Conference
Five members of Robinson & Cole’s Insurance Practice Group (Steve Goldman, Greg Varga, Kip Dwyer, John Malloy, and Ray DeMeo) attended the 83rd Spring Meeting & Educational Conference of the Loss Executives Association (LEA) in Boston, MA from June 11-13, 2014. The LEA is an organization dedicated to furthering the advancement and education of property…