Tred R. Eyerly | Insurance Law Hawaii | December 18, 2017
The Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s determination that the seller’s alleged negligent misrepresentation regarding the propensity of the property to flood was covered. Erie Ins. Exh. v. Maxwell, 2017 Tenn. App. LEXIS 746 (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 15, 2017).
The Chapmans purchased a residence from the Maxwells on March 7, 2014. Prior to the sale, the Maxwells completed a residential property disclosure in which they allegedly misrepresented the propensity of the property to flood. Five months after the purchase, the residence sustained damage as a result of two floods within three days. The Chapmans sued, alleging they relied on the Maxwells’ representations regarding the propensity of the property to flood. The Chapmans further alleged that they sustained property damage as a result of the Maxwells’ negligence and negligent misrepresentations.
The Maxwells notified their insurer, Erie. Erie then filed an action for declaratory judgment, alleging that the policy offered no coverage for the claims asserted in the underlying lawsuit. Erie filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that none of the claims asserted in the Chapman complaint alleged an “occurrence.” The trial court denied the motion.
The appellate court reversed because the alleged misrepresentations did not cause the damage to the property. Under the policy, property damage was covered only if it was caused by an occurrence. Under the Chapman complaint, the property damage sustained by the Chapmans was caused by flooding, not by the alleged misrepresentation of the Maxwells. The court emphasized it was not determining whether a negligent misrepresentation was an accident, but rather, whether the alleged misrepresentations by the Maxwells caused the damage to the property. The court determined that the misrepresentations did not cause the damage.