1st Circ. Ruling Won't Be Last On Mass. Faulty Work Coverage

Mark Herman’s commentary was included by Law360 in a piece covering a ruling by the First Circuit on an unsettled question of whether Massachusetts law requires an insurer to defend a general contractor against a suit over damages caused by a subcontractor's allegedly faulty work. The questions of what equals an occurrence and property damage are common issues in disputes involving CGL policies, Mark explained.

"My experience is that if the defective work causes damage to non-defective work, that is property damage," he said. Mark believed fact that the insured did not intend the property damage at issue weighs in favor of coverage.