Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Property Law and Real Estate
Insurance Policies: The Grandparents Of Contractual Black Holes, Christopher French
Insurance Policies: The Grandparents Of Contractual Black Holes, Christopher French
Christopher C. French
In their recent article, The Black Hole Problem in Commercial Boilerplate, Professors Stephen Choi, Mitu Gulati, and Robert Scott identify a phenomenon found in standardized contracts they describe as “contractual black holes.” The concept of black holes comes from theoretical physics. Under the original hypothesis, the gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong that once light or information is pulled past an event horizon into a black hole, it cannot escape. In recent years, the theory has been reformulated and now the hypothesis is that some information can escape, but it is so degraded that it is virtually …
Revisiting Construction Defects As “Occurrences” Under Cgl Insurance Policies, Christopher French
Revisiting Construction Defects As “Occurrences” Under Cgl Insurance Policies, Christopher French
Christopher C. French
Imagine a situation in which a homeowner hires a contractor to redo a bathroom, for example, and the work is done incompetently such that the plumbing leaks and causes damage to other parts of the house. If the homeowner sues the contractor to recover the costs of repairing the faulty workmanship and the damage caused by the faulty workmanship, has there been an “occurrence” that is covered by the contractor’s Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) insurance policy? This article provides an answer to that question.
The issue of whether construction defects are occurrences under CGL insurance policies has been litigated frequently …