Oregon Supreme Court Reverses Summary Judgment To Revive Homeowner's Claim For Water Damage From Storm During Roof Repair.
On September 16, 2010, in Dewsnup v. Farmers Insurance (.pdf), the Oregon Supreme Court reversed a summary judgment ruling dismissing a homeowner's property insurance claim for water damage occurring after a storm blew tarping off the top of their home.
A contractor was replacing the insured's roof at the time of the storm. He had removed the wood shake roof and put down with staples a polyurethane plastic sheet. But the storm blew the sheet off the house and the contractor was unable to replace it before water came into the house and caused damage. Under the policy at issue, "for coverage to extend to water damage, the 'direct force of wind or hail' must first damage a building by causing an opening in a roof." Farmer's denied coverage because there was no permanent "roof" at the time of the loss, only a temporary cover.
Because the policy did not define the term "roof," the Oregon Supreme Court focused on the ordinary meaning of the term to evaluate Farmer's position. In doing so, it declined to adopt any temporal standard and instead adopted a functional standard under which "a roof should be sufficiently durable to meet its intended purpose: to cover and protect a building against weather-related risks that reasonably may be anticipated." The Court went on to find that the homeowner had raised genuine issues of material fact by presenting expert testimony that the tarping along with the other materials in place “would have been adequate to protect the home for one or two years if necessary.”
