On February 2, 2010, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in AIMCO v. Nutmeg Ins. Co., 593 F.3d 1188 (10th Cir. 2010). While not a construction defect case, this case is very interesting and will certainly have an impact on the determination of coverage (and in particular duty to defend cases) for […]
Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
I am happy to announce Colorado Construction Litigation, the blog by the attorneys at Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC has recently been listed in “55 Resources on State Construction Laws.” According to that posting: “Over the past few years, there has been an increasing emphasis on construction law and trends in construction law. Therefore, […]
Recently, Robert August suggested that I pick up a copy of Conflicts With Interest, a novel by Michael Ruddy. Having now read the book, I understand why he made the suggestion. Michael Ruddy is not just an author, he is a Colorado homebuilder who wrote a book about residential construction defect litigation. The biographical information from the […]
In an order by Judge Marcia Krieger, the homeowners in a recent construction defect case caught a lucky break. By way of background, Mark A. and Mark L. Hildebrand were the plaintiffs in a construction defect lawsuit against their builder, New Vista, and one of its principals, Richard Reeves. The claims against Mr. Reeves were […]
Recently, several insurance and construction professionals have contacted us regarding the differences between claims made and occurrence based commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies. A brief explanation of the key differences is provided below. An occurrence based CGL policy is insurance coverage for a fixed window in time (determined by the policy effective dates) that […]
I am happy to have been asked to speak at a Colorado Construction Defect Law Seminar on February 25th. The seminar, sponsored by MC Consultants, Inc. and Esquire Solutions, will be held at the Brown Palace Hotel from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, followed by a networking cocktail reception. The first panel, from 3:00 to 4:00, […]
In a February 1, 2010 Order on Plaintiff United Fire’s Second Motion for Reconsideration, Judge Brimmer, of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, dealt yet another blow to coverage for construction defect claims in Colorado. The court issued the order in the case of United Fire & Casualty Company v. Boulder Plaza […]
In Greystone Const., Inc. v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 649 F.Supp. 2d 1213 (D. Colo. 2009), a contractor and one of its insurers brought an action against a second insurer after the second insurer refused to fund the contractor’s defense in construction defect actions brought by homeowners. Relying heavily upon the reasoning of […]
In General Security Indemnity Co. of Arizona v. Mountain States Mut. Cas. Co., 205 P.3d 529 (Colo. App. 2009), a framing subcontractor’s insurer brought a contribution and indemnification action against a sub-subcontractor’s commercial general liability insurers. The framer’s carrier sought relief for the sub-sub’s insurer’s failure to fund the framing subcontractor’s defense costs related to […]
In an article in today’s online edition of the Denver Business Journal, Cathy Proctor reported that 85% of the contractors surveyed in Colorado by the AGC expect there to be no growth in 2010. Of the 52 contractors surveyed in Colorado (out of 700 surveyed nationally) an overwhelming majority stated that they did not believe […]
