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About Brendan Gooley

Brendan N. Gooley is an associate at Carlton Fields in Hartford, Connecticut. Connect with Brendan on LinkedIn.

Connecticut Supreme Court Fortifies Crumbling Foundation Claim Denials in Trio of Insurer Victories

December 6, 2019 by Brendan Gooley

A year ago, we wrote about a rapidly emerging area of insurance litigation in Connecticut: crumbling foundations. As a quick recap, tens of thousands of homes in northeastern Connecticut built over a span of more than 30 years may have been constructed with defective concrete that causes basement walls to prematurely deteriorate and eventually become structurally unsound. The Crumbling Foundation Crisis The problem, known as alkali-silica reaction (ASR), is the result ... Keep Reading »

Second Circuit Confirms: Rolling Trash Cans Are Not “Vehicles” as Common Sense Prevails Again

August 23, 2019 by Brendan Gooley

Trash Bin

In July 2018, we wrote about an interesting decision out of the Southern District of New York in which a court rejected a claim that an exclusion did not apply because a recycling bin on wheels was a "vehicle" under the applicable "all risks" insurance policy. We described the district court's decision that the glorified trash can was not a "vehicle" as a victory for common sense over a claim based on a hypertechnical definition. The Second Circuit has now affirmed ... Keep Reading »

Will Insurance be the Death of Football? Market Constricts Amid Brain Injury Concerns

January 30, 2019 by Brendan Gooley

If you’re a football fan, you probably know that the NFL, despite its continued success, has had to address a range of problems and scandals over the past few years. Those problems range from off-season domestic violence incidents to on-the-field issues involving free speech by players and blown calls by officials. Indeed, the professional football world is currently up in arms over a bad no-call during a key play in a conference championship game that may have cost the ... Keep Reading »

Court Enforces Policy’s Crumbling Foundation Plain Language in Dismissing Claims Against Insurers

December 18, 2018 by Brendan Gooley

Crumbling Foundation

A federal judge in Connecticut recently dismissed claims against insurers related to their denial of a claim by two homeowners whose home’s foundation was crumbling. The case, Hyde v. Allstate Ins. Co., No. 3:18-cv-00031 (D. Conn. Dec. 4, 2018), marks the latest development in what is quickly becoming a major source of litigation. When the Hydes tried to sell their house in 2016, they discovered that the home’s foundation was crumbling. Their foundation had allegedly ... Keep Reading »

Common Sense Prevails Over Dictionary Definitions: Rolling Trash Bins Are Not ‘Vehicles’ Judge Explains

July 23, 2018 by Brendan Gooley

Trash Bins on Wheels

A federal judge recently refused an insured’s attempt to escape a policy exclusion by contending that a large “storage bin” on wheels was a “vehicle” under an exception to the exclusion, which prohibited coverage for costs associated with gas system tests. In 1070 Park Ave. Corp. v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., No. 17 CIV. 2474 (CM) (S.D.N.Y. June 19, 2018), appeal docketed No. 18-1961 (2d Cir. June 29, 2018), the judge ruled that the storage bin was not a “vehicle” as that ... Keep Reading »

“Mend the Hold”: A Nineteenth-Century Wrestling Doctrine Keeps its Grip on Coverage Litigation in the WWE Era

July 31, 2014 by Brendan Gooley

Picture of U.S. Army Wrestlers

The issue confronting an Illinois appellate court in BNSF Railway Company v. Probuild North LLC, No. 1-12-3648 (Ill. App. Ct.  June 11, 2014), was not uncommon.  The plaintiff sought coverage from its insurer under a commercial general liability policy.  In defending the suit, the insurer asserted a different defense from the one it had identified in its original denial letter.  The plaintiff argued that the insurer was estopped from changing its rationale for denying ... Keep Reading »

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