Ohio N. Univ. v. Charles Constr. Svcs., Inc., 2017-Ohio-258 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2017-0514)

Ohio Supreme Court to determine scope of the sub-contractor exception to the workmanship exclusion in a CGL policy.

The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of Cincinnati Insurance Company from the Third District Court of Appeals (Hancock County), which found that the sub-contractor exception to the “your work” exclusion required Cincinnati Insurance Company to defend, and potentially indemnify, a general contractor for defects in a commercial building discovered after the work was completed. The insurer argues that based on the holding in Westfield Ins. Co. v. Custom Agri Systems, Inc., 133 Ohio St.3d 476, 2012-Ohio-4712, defects in a sub-contractor’s workmanship do not arise out of an occurrence and, therefore, are not covered under a CGL policy. The property owner and insured argue that the sub-contractor exception to the “your work” exclusion bring claims for defects in the sub-contractor’s work, which were discovered after the work was completed, within the “completed operations” coverage of the policy. The trial court had granted summary judgment for Cincinnati Insurance Company. The Court of Appeals reversed. The Ohio Supreme Court has accepted a discretionary appeal and will have an opportunity to decide the case on the merits in the coming year. This case will further clarify the limits of the Ohio Supreme Court’s earlier decision in Westfield Ins. Co. v. Custom Agri Systems, Inc

 

Case Law Alerts, 2nd Quarter, April 2018

Case Law Alerts is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2018 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.