The claimant sought an indemnity from his insurers under the Public Liability Section of a standard Builders Contractors Policy. A sub-contractor who had spent money rectifying a defectively laid floor and who had been sued to judgment in contract by the general contractor for losses caused by delay. The relevant wording was: ‘All sums for which the Insured shall be liable at law for damages in respect of (a) bodily injury to any person; (b) Damage to property; (c) Obstruction loss of amenities trespass or nuisance; occurring during the period of Insurance and arising in connection with the Business. ‘ The judge had decided that neither the cost of rectification nor the damages payable to the general contractor were within the cover.
Held: The appeal failed. Potter LJ said: ‘It is not the usual intention, in a contractor’s public liability insurance, to give cover in respect of defective workmanship which requires rectification but does not cause physical damage to the personal property of a third party or interference with a third party’s property rights, as opposed to their purely economic interests.’
Judges:
Potter LJ
Citations:
[2001] EWCA Civ 1242, [2002] 1 Lloyd’s Rep IR 421
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Tesco Stores Ltd. v Constable and others Comc 14-Sep-2007
The defendants provided insurance for the claimant to construct a train tunnel over which the claimant would build a supermarket. The tunnel collapsed, and the railway operator claimed for loss of revenues. The insurers denied responsibility saying . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Insurance, Construction
Updated: 13 June 2022; Ref: scu.201257
