Columbia Insurance Group, Inc., and Columbia Mutual Insurance Co., Inc. v. Cenark Project Management Services, Inc.; Arkansas Infrastructure, Inc.; David Barron; Michael Collings; Janice Collings; Kim Collings; Debra Collings; Kenneth Winberg; Marianne Winberg; Guy Collings; Catherine Collings; William Miles; Kay Miles; and K. George Collings

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas addressed certified questions concerning whether faulty workmanship causing property damage constitutes an occurrence under a commercial general liability policy and whether policy exclusions bar coverage. The court held that the underlying claim was for breach of contract and that, under Unigard Security Insurance Co. v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., the policy did not provide coverage for the claimed economic losses. It therefore deemed the certified questions moot, with two justices dissenting.

Holdings

1. A commercial general liability policy does not extend basic coverage for a claim seeking economic damages arising from the insured's breach of contract. Because the homeowners' claim was strictly for breach of contract, the policy provided no coverage.
2. The certified questions were moot because the court's controlling breach-of-contract coverage rule resolved the coverage issue without requiring analysis of whether faulty workmanship constituted an occurrence or whether a policy exclusion applied.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the commercial general liability policy provided basic coverage for the homeowners' underlying breach-of-contract claim.
2. Whether the two certified questions concerning faulty workmanship as an occurrence and the applicability of policy exclusions were moot after the court determined that the underlying breach-of-contract claim was not covered.
3. Whether the Arkansas Supreme Court could reformulate or decline to answer the certified questions under Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 6-8.

Disposition

other