Kraemer Bros., Inc., Plaintiff-Appellant v. United States Fire Insurance Company, Defendant-Respondent and…

Summary

The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that an all-risk contractor's policy excluding loss caused by faulty materials, improper workmanship or installation, or errors in design or specifications applies to such defects attributable to a subcontractor, because the exclusion (paragraph 9(c)) contains no language confining it to the acts of the insured, unlike paragraph 9(d) which expressly limits its exclusion to acts 'by any Assured.' The insurer's answer therefore stated a good defense and the demurrer was properly overruled. The court nevertheless reversed summary judgment for the insurer: its counsel's affidavit and the insured's pleadings in a separate federal action against the subcontractor failed to make a prima facie showing that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the excluded peril was the sole cause of the retaining wall collapse, and coverage would exist if the excluded peril were only a contributory cause.