Frequent readers of the blog will appreciate that disputes involving the application of anti-concurrent causation language in the context of claims for flood or water damage have appeared with some frequency in recent years. This increased level of cases is due in large part to the damage caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. One frequently-litigated issue concerns what, if any, coverage is available under a policy with anti-concurrent causation language when a single indivisible loss is caused by a covered peril and an excluded peril. Recent decisions in New Jersey suggest a solid consensus that such a claim is not covered.
Continue Reading New Jersey Appellate Division Applies Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause to Bar Combined Flood/Sewer Backup Claim
sewer backup
Sewer Backup Exclusion Found Unambiguous by Rhode Island Supreme Court
By Caryn Daum on
Posted in Water Exclusion
As mentioned previously, there appears to be an influx of court cases arising from situations where heavy rainfall affects drain and sewer systems, resulting in property damage. The Rhode Island Supreme Court was recently tasked with handling such a case, reaching the same conclusion as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court did in Boazova and Surabian …
Surface Water Exclusion Applicable to Sewer and Drain Backup Based on Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause, According to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
By Caryn Daum on
Posted in Anti-Concurrent Causation
For the second time in two months, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court was called upon to decide whether or not property damage was covered when the damage resulted from a combination of a covered peril and an excluded peril. Once again, the court upheld the policy’s enforceable anti-concurrent causation language, finding that coverage was precluded.…