Summary

The US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit held that a subrogation waiver provision in a construction contract barred an association’s insurance company from seeking to recover from an allegedly negligent contractor.

Facts

United National Insurance Company v. Peninsula Roofing Company, Inc.:  Pelican Beach Condominium (“Association”) needed a new roof. The Board, after obtaining specifications from an engineer, entered into a contract with Peninsula Roofing (“Contractor”).  The contract was a standard form AIA contract that is widely used throughout the country.  Peninsula Roofing placed a generator in the Association’s parking garage from which the contractor ran extension lines to power its tools. The generator caught fire and caused about $3 million dollars in property damage.
Continue Reading Association Construction Contracts – What are Risks of that Waiver of Subrogation Term

How much insurance should your HOA or condo carry? Are your directors and officers covered? What happens in the unlikely event of a disaster? Please join Husch Blackwell’s Condominium and HOA Law Team and guest speakers Erica Joyce and Ryan Maloney, as they discuss critical insurance issues every board member, manager and unit owner needs to understand.
Continue Reading Association Academy: Insurance – September 11, 2019

Issue:  If your association was destroyed by fire or some other hazard, and it did not make sense to rebuild, how would the funds be divided?

Problem.  Odds are that you don’t know the answer.  The fact that you don’t know should scare you.  Is every unit in your association worth the same amount?   I doubt it.  Do you each pay the same amount in assessments?  Does that control?  What does your declaration say about the distribution of insurance proceeds if the unit owners elect not to rebuild?  Do you understand what it says? Does it even make sense?
Continue Reading Why You NEED to Amend Your Association Declaration Insurance Provision Before You Have a Loss