Wilfredo Nunez et al. v. Merrimack Mutual Fire Insurance Co.

Summary

The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for Merrimack Mutual Fire Insurance Company in a homeowners’ insurance coverage dispute. The court held that the policy unambiguously excluded losses caused by rust or other corrosion and that the plaintiffs presented no evidence showing that the oil-feed-line damage resulted from a sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging of a covered heating system.

Holdings

1. The policy unambiguously excluded loss caused by rust or other corrosion, and the plaintiffs' property damage caused by gradual corrosion of the oil feed line was therefore not covered.
2. The sudden-and-accidental heating-system provision did not apply because plaintiffs presented no evidence that the loss resulted from tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging of a steam or hot-water heating system.
3. Summary judgment for Merrimack was proper because the undisputed evidence established that the damage was caused by corrosion excluded under the policy, leaving no genuine issue of material fact.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the homeowners' policy's corrosion exclusion unambiguously barred coverage for property damage caused by a slowly corroding oil feed line.
2. Whether the policy's coverage for sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging of a steam or hot-water heating system applied to the plaintiffs' loss.
3. Whether summary judgment was proper when the undisputed evidence showed that the damage was caused by gradual corrosion and plaintiffs presented no contrary evidence.

Disposition

affirmed