Construction Litigation of Additional Insured Endorsements: Blanket Clause Risks, Contractual Privity, Coverage Limits
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will provide counsel for construction companies with guidance on the use of additional insured requirements in contracts and their role in passing insurance obligations through to subcontractors and suppliers. The panel will discuss the circuit split related to the need (or not) for contractual privity between the putative additional insured and named insured, and the risks associated with blanket additional insured endorsements rather than an endorsement specifically naming an additional insured. The panel will address what recent decisions in New York, Texas, and California tell counsel regarding future enforcement of additional insured endorsements.
Outline
- Additional insured coverage and recent litigation
- Different forms of additional insured endorsements: ISO forms, manuscript, and key language of each
- Defense obligation under the additional insured endorsement: the elements and checks in your state
- When can extrinsic facts outside of the complaint be used by the insured or insurer regarding a tender of defense
- Claims by named insured subcontractor's employee and the interplay between the indemnity agreement and the additional insured endorsement
- Duty to defend versus indemnify, and the concept that the "AI File" pays only defense costs
- Update of relevant recent case law
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- California/Nevada
Benefits
The panel will address these and other important topics:
- How is proximate cause determined when examining the named insured's connection to the accident?
- When can an injured employee of a named insured pursue an additional insured claim?
- What limits are there on the duty to defend in additional insured claims?
Faculty
Bethany L. Barrese
Partner
Saxe Doernberger & Vita
Ms. Barrese is a skilled insurance coverage attorney committed to providing practical advice, creative solutions, and... | Read More
Ms. Barrese is a skilled insurance coverage attorney committed to providing practical advice, creative solutions, and the highest level of advocacy for policyholders. She helps clients recover on their insurance claims under a wide variety of policies, including commercial general liability, commercial property, builder's risk, professional liability, educator's legal liability, and captive policies. Ms. Barrese has extensive experience handling insurance coverage disputes arising from real estate development and construction projects. She frequently negotiates construction defect and additional insured claims on behalf of owners, architects, construction managers, and general contractors.
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Ethan W. Middlebrooks
Shareholder
Anderson Kill
Mr. Middlebrooks concentrates his practice in insurance recovery, exclusively on behalf of policyholders. He also works... | Read More
Mr. Middlebrooks concentrates his practice in insurance recovery, exclusively on behalf of policyholders. He also works in corporate and commercial litigation. Mr. Middlebrooks has assisted numerous policyholders with insurance recovery on a range of matters and insurance policies, including multiple matters involving first-party property policies and construction-related issues, as well as municipal-related concerns. He has also worked on claims involving representations and warranties insurance, as well as a variety of liability policies including public officials' liability, general liability, and directors' and officers' liability. Mr. Middlebrooks’ insurance recovery practice has involved claims that have undergone litigation, arbitration, mediation, formal appraisal proceedings, and that have successfully resolved without formalized proceedings. In addition to his insurance recovery work, his practice has involved construction-related disputes, and litigation involving financial institutes.
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John H. Podesta
Partner
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker
Mr. Podesta focuses his practice in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith, business litigation, land... | Read More
Mr. Podesta focuses his practice in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith, business litigation, land development and general civil litigation. With more than three decades of experience in the insurance field, he has knowledge across the industry from contract language to insurance agents’ professional liability. As a former claims supervisor for a major insurer and as an insurance investigator prior to practicing law, he brings a “bottom-line” perspective to insurance coverage and bad faith matters as well as to his commercial and defense work.
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