Georgia Supreme Court Rules Construction Defects Satisfy CGL Policy's 'Occurrence' Requirement

Baker Donelson
Contact

Homeowners sued their homebuilder alleging that the concrete foundations of their homes were improperly constructed. As a result, it was alleged that the foundations were failing, and the defects in the foundations had caused "tangible physical damage" to the homes built atop them. The homeowners asserted both breach of warranty and fraud. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the defective construction work can be covered under the standard commercial general liability (CGL) policy as an "occurrence." Georgia law does not require there to be damage to "other property," that is property other than the insured's completed work itself.

The impact of this ruling on the construction industry in Georgia is that there is insurance coverage for construction defects. The court found that breach of warranty claims can satisfy the "occurrence" requirement in the policies. It is likely that a breach of contract claim will too.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

© Baker Donelson | Attorney Advertising

Written by:

Baker Donelson
Contact
more
less

PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA NOW

  • Increased visibility
  • Actionable analytics
  • Ongoing guidance

Baker Donelson on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide