Jeff Siderius recently obtained a favorable ruling on behalf of a general contractor and its insurance carrier in a declaratory judgment action filed by Pekin Insurance Company.   The general contractor, CSR Roofing Contractors, was sued by an employee of its subcontractor who fell off a roof while working and sustained injuries.  CSR tendered its defense to Pekin, which insured the subcontractor, seeking a defense as an additional insured.  Pekin denied coverage and filed a declaratory judgment action in the Chancery Division of Cook County Circuit Court.  Pekin argued its additional insured endorsement, which on its face restricted coverage to vicarious liability, did not apply because its named insured was not a defendant in the employee’s complaint.  The court found the trial court’s refusal to consider the subcontract was error and that the allegations against CSR, when interpreted together with the subcontract, were sufficient to leave open the possibility that CSR could be found vicariously liable for the subcontractor’s negligence.  Thus, the appellate court held Pekin had a duty to defend CSR as an additional insured and reversed the judgment of the trial court.

Pekin Insurance Company v. CSR Roofing Contractors, Inc., No. 14-2473 (Aug. 4, 2015)