A football field has only four corners. But, what if you compare two different fields? Now, you have eight corners. In this short example, a Virginia federal court compared only two documents, each with four corners, to decide an insurer had no duty to defend its insured.
A supplier/insured provided a chiller unit to a prime contractor. When the unit didn’t perform as expected, the prime sued the supplier/insured who then, in turn, sought defense and indemnity from the insurer. The court needed only two documents to support its conclusion:
(1) the complaint by prime against supplier/insured and
(2) the insurance policy between insurer and supplier/insured.
(Together, the four corners of each document totaled eight corners.)
To decide if an insurer has a duty to defend, a Virginia State or Federal Court may only look at the allegations in the complaint and the insurance policy to determine if a judgment against the insured will be covered by the policy. If there is a possibility of coverage, then the insurer must defend the insured.
Western World Ins. Co. v. Air Tech, Inc., Case No. 7:17-cv-518 (March 29, 2019)
Differing Site Conditions: When the Part Does Not Equal the Whole
If all apples are fruit, then why are all fruit not apples?
Forum Selection Can Be a Home-Court Advantage
I promise that any disputes between us will be argued at your house. Time passes and a dispute begins to brew. Now, I want to argue at my house, not at yours. You pay costs to argue at my house that you wouldn’t have incurred had I done as agreed. Should I have to reimburse your costs?
No-Damage-for-Delay and Owner-Related Dispute Clauses are No Defense to Surety Liability Under Miller Act
Prime Government Contractors - you may need to update your interim payment waivers.
Contractual Fairness is Whatever the Parties’ Agreed
When you know a current action or inaction is wrong, but you do not object, should you be allowed to object later?
Which Comes First – Specifications or Drawings?
Sometimes it's not better to ask for forgiveness after-the-fact.
Government Contract Claims: When Appeal is Rejection of Settlement
Without a reservation of rights, appealing a Contracting Officer’s Final Decision is a rejection of any offer of payment or settlement included therein. So, the contractor had only three options.
Linking Obligations
If you want to bind the subcontractor to the prime in every way the same as the prime is bound to the owner, then the incorporation clause of the subcontract should be: . . .
Termination of Government Contracts for Convenience (T4C)
Imagine you’re a Government Contractor under a firm, fixed-price contract and you’ve done nothing wrong. Nevertheless, the Government has decided to unilaterally end its contract with you. Yes, the Government can do this...
Government Contractors: Build a Snowman in August
As a Government Contractor, when have you agreed to perform a certain way, but later realized that another way is better for everybody? When the Government agrees, expressly or impliedly, to the alternative performance, it waives a credit for the unperformed work.
