Insureds' Claim for Damage Caused by Leaking Dishwasher Barred
In Bolan v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., (Mich. App. Dec. 11, 2007), insureds made claim for coverage under a homeowner's policy when they discovered softening in the floor around their dishwasher caused by a dishwasher leak during the drain cycle. Plaintiffs acknowledged that the dishwasher had been leaking for some time before they noticed softening in the floor. The policy excluded loss resulting directly or indirectly from an “inherent vice, latent defect or mechanical breakdown”; however, damage caused by the escape of water from a domestic appliance was excepted from the exclusion. The policy also excluded loss resulting directly or indirectly from “constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water or steam from within a ... domestic appliance which occurs over a period of weeks, months or years.” Court held that while the insureds could recover for loss caused by water escaping from a domestic appliance under the exception to the exclusion, the claim was nevertheless excluded because of the duration of the leak.
