On May 25, 澳门六合彩开奖预测 filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Rhode Island Supreme Court in the Bacon Construction case, where the court will soon decide whether the standard form of the additional insured (AI) endorsement provided a general contractor鈥檚 with coverage under its it鈥檚 subcontractor鈥檚 insurance policy for a 鈥渢hird-party-over鈥 action.
At the heart of the case lies a commercial general liability policy that granted the subcontractor coverage (with certain exceptions) for bodily injuries or property damage resulting from any 鈥渙ccurrence鈥 or 鈥渁ccident.鈥 The AI endorsement granted the general contractor coverage under the same policy but only for injuries or damage 鈥渃aused in whole or in part鈥 by the subcontractor鈥檚 鈥渁cts or omissions.鈥 The question that the case presents is whether that language cut off the general contractor鈥檚 coverage under the relevant policy for a 鈥渢hird-party-over鈥 action that one of the subcontractor鈥檚 carpenters brought against the general contractor. In that other action, the carpenter alleged that the general contractor was responsible for injuries that he suffered when he slipped and fell on an open and apparently icy stairway that the subcontractor had yet to enclose.
Last July, the Superior Court of Rhode Island held that the wording of the endorsement cut off the general contractor鈥檚 coverage. In a somewhat murky ruling from the bench, the court emphasized that the carpenter had only alleged that the general contractor was negligent.
The problem is that the carpenter had no reason to level an allegations against the subcontractor. The state鈥檚 workers compensation statute precluded him from taking any legal action against his own employer. In its legal brief, 澳门六合彩开奖预测 acknowledges that the endorsement 鈥渄oes not provide insurance coverage if the loss is cause solely by the additional insured鈥檚 acts or omissions鈥 but goes on to explain that that 鈥渋t does provide coverage if the loss is potentially caused at least in part by the named insured.鈥 On that basis, the association urges the court to hold that the carpenter鈥檚 allegations against the general contractor 鈥渁nd its employees, agents or servants鈥 were broad enough to require coverage.
For 澳门六合彩开奖预测, the brief also provides another excellent example of national-chapter collaboration. Together, 澳门六合彩开奖预测 of America and the 澳门六合彩开奖预测 of Rhode Island studied the facts of the case and determined that it threatened the insurance coverage that general contractors should expect additional insured endorsements to provide. Together, they also selected Jeffrey Vita at Saxe, Doernberger & Vita to write and file the brief. Indeed, they collaborated on every step of this effort to protect the interests of the construction industry.
For more information, contact 澳门六合彩开奖预测鈥檚 General Counsel, Michael Kennedy, at kennedym@agc.org or 703-837-5335.