Cracks in O’Hare Columns Aren’t Insured Property Damage, Just Bad Product – Court
Article 0 Comments Cracked steel columns are not “property damage,” but are building products that are not covered by a contractor’s general liability policy, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decided in an opinion that lets St. Paul and other insurers off the hook in a botched construction project at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. While U.S. courts have often found that policy wording is ambiguous, in this case, the lower court and the appeals court concluded that a St. Paul Guardian Insurance Co. policy for a subcontractor was clear enough and limited coverage only to damage to property owned by “others.” Travelers and Charter Oak policies similarly confined the steel-making subcontractor’s coverage to its own products. The dispute began in 2003 when the City of Chicago contracted with Walsh Construction Co. to build a canopy and glass-and-steel curtain wall at the airport. Walsh subcontracted with a steel company, which subcontracted with LB Steel LLC to fabricate and install the steel columns to support the wall and canopy. Per an agreement, LB listed Walsh as an additional insured on its GCL policies. Several years into the project, city inspectors found cracks in the welds on the columns, and the city...
