Pepperell v. Scottsdale Ins. Co

In Pepperell v. Scottsdale Ins. Co. (1998) 62 Cal.App.4th 1045, the court applied a continuous injury trigger of coverage in the construction defect context. The insured completed construction of a home in 1988, the liability policy expired in 1989 and defects in construction were not discovered until 1991 when the home began to leak. The court noted that "in a nutshell, the rule to be gleaned from Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co. (1995) and the authorities contributing to its analysis is that continuing or progressive property damage is deemed to occur over the entire process of the continuing injury." ( Id. at p. 1053.) The court held the insurer was not entitled to summary judgment on the duty to defend issue because it did not "eliminate triable issues of fact raised by the . . . complaint with regard to property damage being a process which began at the time of construction and continued through the manifestation of leakage and the ultimate devastation of the residence." ( Id. at p. 1054.)