The California Supreme Court held that the negligent hiring, retention and supervision of an employee who sexually abused a 13-year old at a school where he was working was an ‘accident’ for the purposes of a general liability policy.
In Californian law an accident is ‘an unexpected, unforeseen, or undesigned happening or consequence from either
Two tenants of a second-floor unit in an apartment building (condominium) in Florida USA died in their bedroom, after inhaling carbon monoxide gas whilst asleep. The gas was believed to have come from a car in the unit’s garage. It seeped into the air-conditioning system of the unit and entered the bedroom through the system’s
A UK court examined whether a construction dispute had been settled in the course of without prejudice correspondence between the parties’ lawyers. The letter of acceptance of the offer said the settlement was subject to approval by the board of the builder and would only become valid and binding when executed by authorised signatories.
The
A Federal Appeals Court in the US has refused to grant cover for alleged ‘collapse’ of a building which was insured under a property policy.
The building in question had some decayed framing but the framing as a whole was sufficient to support the weight and loads imposed.
The court held that the word ‘collapse’
Insurers could not reject liability on the basis that the insured had deliberately or recklessly misrepresented his address when applying for insurance because there was no clear evidence about the precise wording of the questions which appeared on the computer screen at the time the online application was made.
Computer websites allowed the consumer to
The UK high court refused to order insurers to indemnify Leeds Beckett University for the loss of a building which cracked and was subsequently demolished in 2011 because the damage was not accidental. The below-ground blockwork had turned into mush as a result of flowing ground water which the evidence revealed was there at the
This insurance dispute went all the way to the Court of Justice of the European Union which found that the phrase ‘use of vehicles’ in EU law covered any use of a vehicle as a means of transport.
The fact that a vehicle is stationary when the accident occurs does not itself preclude the use
A reasonable landowner is not obliged to ensure that in all circumstances any fire on its property will not spread beyond its boundaries.
The landowner is obliged to take steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to guard against such an event occurring. If the landowner takes those steps and a fire spreads nevertheless, the
In a UK case the court made some pertinent remarks about the personal liability of a director:
A policy exclusion for damage caused by ‘gradual deterioration’ was held to exclude cover where a building had to be demolished by reason of foundations which disintegrated from flowing water. The building was built across a line of an old watercourse with seven natural springs in the vicinity and there was no proper drainage design.