Last July, we posted that an intermediate level appellate court in Iowa had held that a policy excluding loss “caused by rain” did not bar coverage for loss occasioned by the non-excluded peril of “rainwater.” On Friday, the state’s highest court threw cold water on such nonsense, holding that there was no distinction between rain and rainwater for coverage purposes. No justice disagreed, though the court split 4-3 on another issue. The decision can be found at Amish Connection, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2015 WL 1260085, 2015 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32 (Iowa, Mar. 20, 2015). The insured operated the Amish Connection Store in Crossroads Shopping Mall in Waterloo, Iowa. Rooftop drains discharged into a 4” cast-iron…
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Iowa’s Highest Court: Damage by Rainwater is Damage by Rain
Tagged with: Iowa, Rain, Rainwater
Posted in Anti-Concurrent Causation, Corrosion, Ensuing Loss, Flood, Water
Posted in Anti-Concurrent Causation, Corrosion, Ensuing Loss, Flood, Water
In Iowa, Rain is What Gene Kelly Sang In – Not Water From a Burst Drain Pipe
Earlier this year, an Iowa court recognized that rain becomes rainwater once it has fallen, and it held that policy language excluding loss caused by “rain” – without more – will not operate to bar coverage for water from a burst drain pipe that ruptured during a rainstorm. The decision is reported at Amish Connection, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 847 N.W.2d 237, 2014 WL 1234161 (Iowa Ct. App., March 26, 2014). The insured, Amish Connection, Inc., leased space in a mall in Waterloo, Iowa, and its merchandise was damaged after a 4” cast iron drain pipe above the ceiling burst during a rainstorm. The pipe carried water from the roof drains to a storm sewer. The…
