Robert L. Murray and Janet L. Murray, His Wife; Bernie W. Rees and Julie A. Rees, His Wife; and Robert J. Withrow…

Summary

The court reversed summary judgment for the homeowners because the policy language and the evidence did not establish coverage as a matter of law. It held that rockfalls fall within the ordinary meaning of landslide, weathering is included within erosion, and the earth-movement exclusions are ambiguous and limited to naturally occurring rather than man-made events. Coverage depends on factual findings concerning whether third-party negligence or an excluded natural event was the efficient proximate cause, and whether the homes suffered covered physical loss by becoming unsafe or uninhabitable.