Truck Ins. Exch. v. O’Mailia
Annotate this CaseDon O’Mailia was hired by to install a water heater on the premises of a newly-constructed Famous Dave’s barbecue restaurant. At the time, O’Mailia was covered by a commercial general liability policy issued by Truck Insurance Exchange (TIE). Three years after the water heater was installed, the restaurant’s opening manager noticed a burning smell in the mechanical room. Diamond Plumbing & Heating (Diamond) was called to examine the water heater. A fire subsequently broke out in the restaurant. Famous Dave’s sued Diamond. Diamond sought indemnification from O’Mailia, alleging that the fire was caused by defective installation. O’Mailia asked TIE to provide a defense against the suit. TIE filed a petition for declaratory relief asking the district court to declare that O’Mailia’s policy offered no coverage for claims arising from the fire. The district court granted summary judgment for TIE, concluding that no property damage occurred during the policy period, and therefore, there was no coverage under the policy. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that O’Mailia’s TIE policy was inapplicable to the present claims resulting from the Famous Dave’s fire.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.