Earth Movement Exclusion Bars Coverage for Property Loss
Labate v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. (NY App., 2nd Dept., Nov. 29, 2007)
In a claim for coverage under a homeowner’s policy for damages sustained to insureds’ house when walls cracked and the concrete basement floor slab settled and cracked, the court held that an earth movement exclusion in the policy clearly and unambiguously applied to the property loss. The insurer's expert and the insureds' own engineers hired to remedy the conditions opined that the property damage was caused directly or indirectly by earth movement and settlement.
In a claim for coverage under a homeowner’s policy for damages sustained to insureds’ house when walls cracked and the concrete basement floor slab settled and cracked, the court held that an earth movement exclusion in the policy clearly and unambiguously applied to the property loss. The insurer's expert and the insureds' own engineers hired to remedy the conditions opined that the property damage was caused directly or indirectly by earth movement and settlement.
