Robin E. Nelson v. Allstate Insurance Company

Syllabus

The plaintiff, Robin Nelson, appealed from the judgment granting summary judgment in favor of her homeowner's insurance carrier, Allstate Insurance Company, on her claim that Allstate breached its contract with her when it refused to cover the water damage in her basement caused by her defective water heater. The hearing justice concluded that the plaintiff's homeowner's insurance policy did not cover the damage the plaintiff sustained in her basement. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the policy did cover the water damage in her basement because this type of damage was not explicitly excluded by the unambiguous language of the policy. The Supreme Court held that the language in the plaintiff's homeowner's insurance policy was unambiguous and the plain language did not include water damage caused by a malfunctioning appliance as one of the sudden and accidental physical losses that were explicitly covered by the policy. The Court also held that, even without a specific exclusion, the damage caused by the plaintiff's malfunctioning water heater was clearly not one of the hazards articulated in the policy language. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.