Jemiola v. Hartford Casualty Ins. Co.

Citations

• 335 Conn. 117

Syllabus

The plaintiff, whose home had been insured by the defendant insurance company since 1986, sought to recover damages from the defendant for, inter alia, its alleged breach of a homeowners insurance policy that it had issued to the plaintiff. Before March, 2005, the homeowners insurance policies issued to the plaintiff covered the collapse of the home resulting from one of several specified causes but did not define the term ''collapse.'' Since March, 2005, however, all of the policies issued to the plaintiff have defined the term ''collapse'' to mean ''an abrupt falling down or caving in of a building or any part'' such that ''the building or part of the building cannot be occupied for its current intended purpose.'' The defendant first noticed cracks in the basement walls in 2006 but did not report them to the defendant at that time. In 2014, she noticed more cracks in the basement walls and was informed by a contractor she consulted that the cracks posed a serious problem because it appeared that her foundation was likely constructed with defective concrete. The plaintiff then submitted a claim to the defendant, seeking coverage for her alleged loss. The defendant denied coverage, claiming that the cracks were due to faulty workmanship and the type of materials used to construct the walls, and that faulty workmanship, materials, and the settling of walls and foundations were excluded from coverage under the provision of the policy insuring against collapse. The defendant also claimed that an engineer who inspected the walls had determined that their structural integrity was not compromised. The trial court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment and rendered judgment thereon, concluding, inter alia, that the provision of the applicable policy pertaining to coverage for collapse required an actual falling down or caving in of the home so as to render it uninhabi- table, that it was undisputed that such an actual collapse had not occurred, and that the lo