First Circuit Sides With Insurer on Construction Defect Suit

A W.R. Berkley Corp. unit that insured a general contractor on a residential construction project doesn’t have to defend the contractor in a suit over damage to nondefective work caused by a subcontractor’s defective work, a federal appeals court ruled.

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit came to the same conclusion as a lower court, but for different reasons, it said Friday.

Instead, the appeals court held that an exclusion for damage to property barred coverage for Tocci’s defense costs in the underlying suit.

Tocci Building Corp. was the general contractor for an apartment project and held ...