Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Bates

This appeal arises from a claim on a commercial all-risk insurance policy. We affirm the trial court’s ruling in favor of the insured, because the settling that damaged the structures on the insured’s property was not the type of normal settling connoted by the exclusions clause of the policy.

Appellant issued a commercial all-risk insurance policy to Appellee on her rental home. Unbeknownst to either Appellant or Appellee, construction debris was buried in the ground beneath the home. When the debris began to decay, it caused the ground to slowly cave in and, in turn, the structures on the…