In 1977, the Jacksons bought a home. Over time, small cracks appeared in the walls. The Jackson's investigating engineer said that the home had suffered structural damage because of negligent construction. The Jackson's homeowner policy was with State Farm. State Farm disagreed with the Jacksons. State Farm said that the loss was from earth movement. The State Farm policy in place at the time the Jacksons reported the damage excluded coverage for both negligent construction and earth … [Read more...]
Nevada Adopts the Manifestation Rule in First Party Property Cases involving Progressive Damage.
The Nevada Supreme Courth Finds An Earth Movement Exclusion To Be Ambiguous And Unenforceable
In the 2011 case of Powell v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 127 Nev. Adv. Op 14, 252 P.3d 668 (2011) the Nevada Supreme Court struck down the insurance company’s “earth movement” exclusion as ambiguous and unenforceable. In light of an earlier federal case, the outcome was something of a surprise. In the earlier case of Schroeder v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 770 F.Supp. 558 (1991) the court considered facts very similar to those raised in the Powell decision. The opinion recites those … [Read more...]