The Florida Supreme Court has just issued its opinion in U.S. Fire v. J.S.U.B., No. SC05-1295 (Fla. Dec. 20, 2007). The supreme court approved the second district’s decision in J.S.U.B., disapproved the fourth district’s decision in Lassiter Constr. Co. v. American States Ins. Co., 699 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), and answered this question in the affirmative:
whether a post-1986 standard form commercial general liability (CGL) policy with products-completed operations hazard coverage, issued to a general contractor, provides coverage when a claim is made against the contractor for damage to the completed project caused by a subcontractor’s defective work.
The supreme court further stated as follows:
We conclude that defective work performed by a subcontractor that causes damage to the contractor’s completed project and is neither expected nor intended from the standpoint of the contractor can constitute “property damage” caused by an “occurrence” as those terms are defined in a standard form commercial general liability policy. Accordingly, a claim against the contractor for damage to the completed project caused by a subcontractor’s defective work is covered under a post 1986 CGL policy unless a specific exclusion applies to bar covered.
