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Federal Court Finds Exclusions in HOA GL Policies Applicable to Wrongful Death Suit

9/7/18

By: Peter Catalanotti
Colony Insurance issued a commercial general liability policy to The Courtyards at Hollywood Station Homeowners Association Inc. (“HOA”) that operates an apartment complex in Florida. Great American Alliance Insurance issued an umbrella policy to the HOA.
Two tenants were killed in their sleep by carbon monoxide poisoning at a unit in the complex.
The mother of one of the tenants filed a wrongful death suit in state court alleging that the deaths were caused by a car fumes that traveled through the HVAC of the complex.
The insurance carriers filed a declaratory relief lawsuit in federal court arguing that they are not obligated to cover the wrongful death suit because of a total pollution exclusion.
Both policies contain an exclusion that the policy does not provide for coverage for “bodily injury which would not have occurred in whole or part but for the actual, alleged or threatened discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration, release or escape of pollutants at any time.”
The exclusion contains an exception whereby it does not apply to bodily injury caused by “smoke, fumes, vapor or soot produced by or originating from equipment that is used to heat, cool or dehumidifier the building.”
The HOA argued that the exception should apply because the carbon monoxide seeped through the AC vents.
In July 2018, the Court granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment.  The Court found that the complaint “only lists the motor vehicle left running in the garage as a potential source of the carbon monoxide, and the Court cannot infer any other sources to create a duty to defend” (emphasis added).
According to the Court,

Since the source is unknown, Defendants would have the Court find that the carbon monoxide may have been produced by or originated from the building’s heating, cooling, or dehumidifying equipment, so the Exception could potentially apply. However, Plaintiffs’ duty to defend Courtyards HOA cannot arise from an inference that the carbon monoxide could have been produced by, or originated from, equipment used to heat, cool, or dehumidify the Unit.

The Court ultimately found that the facts alleged do not fall within the exception. Therefore, the carriers had no duty to defend in the underlying wrongful death action.
Colony Insurance Co. et al. v. The Courtyards at Hollywood Station Homeowners Association Inc. et al., Case #17-62467, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Peter Catalanotti at pcatalanotti@fmglaw.com.