Tidwell Enterprises, Inc. v. Financial Pacific Insurance Co.

Opinion

ROBIE, J.

A fire destroys a house. The homeowner’s insurer agrees to pay for the damages resulting from the fire, then sues the contractor who installed the fireplace several years earlier, claiming negligence. The contractor tenders defense of the action to its liability insurer, asserting that even though the fire occurred after the relevant policy periods ended, there is a possibility of coverage because the fire may have been the result of ongoing damage to the wood in the chimney chase 1 during one or more policy periods due to the exposure of that wood to excessive heat from the…