Bucking Modern Trend, Ohio Supreme Court Refuses to Reconsider Whether Defective Construction Work Can Be a Fortuitous ‘Occurrence’

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 9, 2018, that property damage caused by a subcontractor’s faulty workmanship can never be an accidental “occurrence” within the meaning of the commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy, and is therefore not covered. In reaching this conclusion in Ohio Northern University v. Charles Construction Services Inc., Case No. 2017-0514 (2018), Ohio’s highest court followed its own precedent instead of applying the reasoning used by the vast majority of courts that have reached the opposite conclusion in recent years.