Bering Strait School District v. RLI Insurance Co.

As the result of a fire, the Stebbins High School building was destroyed. It was reconstructed. Bering Strait School District incurred increased construction costs which resulted from enforcement of current building codes regulating construction of the building. The increased construction costs are at issue.

Several clauses of the RLI/Lexington Insurance contracts bear on the parties’ arguments and the court’s analysis. The insuring clause of the RLI contract excludes from the cost to repair or replace property “allowance for any increased cost of repair or reconstruction by reason of any…