Tred R. Eyerly | Insurance Law Hawaii | February 11, 2019
Damage to the concrete floor installed by the insured subcontractor was not property damage and thus not covered under the insured’s CGL policy. Kalman Floor Co. v. Old Republic Gen. Ins. Corp., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3319 (D. Colo Jan. 8, 2019).
In 2007, Kalman Floor Co. was subcontracted to construct over 158,000 square feet of concrete flooring for a cold storage facility. The concrete floor was completed in late 2008. In late 2009, the contractor notified Kalman that pockmarks, or “pop-outs,” were visible on the concrete flooring. The only damage to tangible property in the facility caused by the pop-outs was the concrete flooring itself.
On January 31, 2009, Old Republic issued a general liability policy to Kalman for one year. The policy excluded for damage to “your work,” defined as “work or operations performed by you or on your behalf.” Old Republic denied coverage for damage to the concrete floor. Kalman sued, seeking a declaration that the exclusions did not bar coverage.
Under Tenth Circuit law, as established in Greystone Const, Inc. v. Nat’l Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 661 F.3d 1272 (10th Cir. 2011), the term “occurrence” in a CGL policy encompassed unforeseeable damage to non-defective property arising from faulty workmanship. The policy was intended to protect the insured business from claims by third parties concerning personal injury or property damage resulting from accidents. In discovery, Kalman admitted the pop-outs in the concrete floor “did not physically injure or damage any tangible property other than the floor system it installed.” Thus, under the terms of the policy, property damage did not occur.
Consequently, Old Republic’s motion for summary judgment was granted and the case dismissed with prejudice.