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Insurance
Bad Faith
Breach of Contract

Steven Giannetti and Giannetti-Felderman v. The Burlington Insurance Co.

Published: May 11, 2004 | Result Date: Nov. 26, 2003 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |

Case number: CV011633 Bench Decision –  $0

Judge

R. Gary Klausner

Court

USDC Central


Attorneys

Plaintiff

Surjit P. Soni


Defendant

Bryan M. Weiss
(Murchison & Cumming LLP)

Jean M. Lawler
(Lawler ADR Services, LLC)


Facts

In July 1999, plaintiffs Steve Giannetti, an architect, and his architectural firm, Giannetti-Felderman, were sued in an underlying construction defect action. They were named as additional insureds under a liability insurance policy that was purchased by another architectural firm that was also sued in the same underlying action. The insurance policy, which was with the Burlington Insurance Co., excluded coverage for property damage arising out of professional services, including architectural services. The plaintiffs tendered their defense to Burlington, which denied coverage based on the exclusion. The plaintiffs sued Burlington, alleging breach of contract and bad faith.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiffs made a demand for attorney fees and costs from the underlying construction defects lawsuit. The defendants made an offer of $30,000.

Damages

The plaintiffs claimed as damages attorney fees and costs incurred in defending the underlying construction defect action., as well as extra-contractual damages and punitive damages.


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