J-McDaniel Construction Co v. Mid-Continent Casualty Co., et al., No. 13-2673 (8th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff filed suit against Mid-Continent, alleging that Mid-Continent breached the insurance contract by denying coverage to plaintiff in an underlying lawsuit arising from a subcontractor's faulty workmanship during construction of a home. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the claim because faulty workmanship on the home was not an "occurrence" within the meaning of the policy under Essex Ins. Co. v. Holder. The district court did not err by denying plaintiff leave to amend because plaintiff seeks to extend coverage to subcontractor negligence through a claim of estoppel. Under Arkansas law, the doctrine of waiver of estoppel cannot be given the effect of enlarging or extending the coverage as defined in the contract.
Court Description: Civil case - Insurance. The Commercial General Liability policy did not cover faulty workmanship by plaintiff's subcontractor as it was not an "occurrence" within the meaning of the policy; plaintiff's proposed amendment would not have stated a claim under Arkansas law, and the district court did not err in denying the motion to amend.
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