Mailhiot v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance

This case raises the issue of whether, when indemnification is sought from an insurance company, the fact that a plaintiff has claimed two distinct theories of recovery is sufficient to invoke the concurrent causation doctrine adopted in State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Roberts, 166 Vt. 452, 697 A.2d 667 (1997), thus allowing for recovery under a policy despite the fact that one of the causes of the accident was an excluded risk. We conclude that the pleading of distinct theories of recovery does not establish concurrent causation, and therefore affirm.

Plaintiffs Joseph Mailhiot,…