INSURER DODGES LIABILITY FOR CONTRACTOR’S “ONGOING OPERATIONS”

Dallas National Insurance Co. v. Calitex Corp.
Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-13-01505-CV (March 3, 2015)
Justices Francis, Lang (Opinion), and Lang-Miers
Calitex sued its construction contractor, Turnkey, for damages attributed to water intrusion caused by faulty work on stone exteriors and windows in a residential housing project. Turnkey submitted the claim to its CGL carrier, Dallas National, which denied coverage and refused to defend. After a jury trial, Calitex obtained a judgment against Turnkey for $500,000 actual damages and $193,500 attorneys’ fees. Calitex then sought to recover the amount of the judgment from Dallas National as a third-party beneficiary of Turnkey’s policy, and sued the carrier for breach of contract, declaratory judgment, and attorneys’ fees. The trial court granted summary judgment for Calitex, and Dallas National appealed. The Dallas Court of Appeals reversed and rendered a take-nothing judgment for Dallas National, holding that (1) at least some of the property damage was excluded because it occurred “while the insured [was] performing ongoing operations” and (2) Calitex failed to show any damages caused solely by a covered risk.
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