Opinion ID: 2791710
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Brick

Text: The district court determined that the negligent application of exterior brick coating caused property damage to the brick itself. This issue turns on whether the 17 Case: 14-11639 Date Filed: 04/07/2015 Page: 18 of 22 brick installation and the application of the brick coating were done by a single sub-contractor. If it was done by a single sub-contractor, then the damage to the bricks was part of the sub-contractor’s work, and this defective work caused no damage apart from the defective work itself. However, if the bricks were installed by one sub-contractor, and a different sub-contractor applied the brick coating, then the damage to the bricks caused by the negligent application of the brick coating was not part of the sub-contractor’s defective work, and constituted property damage. At oral argument, Carithers’s counsel conceded that there was no evidence presented on whether the brick coating was applied by the sub-contractor who installed the bricks, or a different sub-contractor. Thus, we must decide who had the burden of proof on this issue. The general rule under Florida law is that “once the insured establishes a loss apparently within the terms of the policy, the burden is upon the insurer to prove that the loss arose from a cause which is excepted.” Phoenix Ins. Co. v. Branch, 234 So.2d 396, 398 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970). We conclude that proof that the damaged property was the work of a separate sub-contractor is part of the insured’s initial burden of bringing the loss within the terms of the policy. As the Supreme Court of Florida has noted, “there is a difference between a claim for the costs of repairing or removing defective work, which is not a claim for ‘property damage,’ 18 Case: 14-11639 Date Filed: 04/07/2015 Page: 19 of 22 and a claim for the costs of repairing damage caused by the defective work, which is a claim for ‘property damage’ . . . .” J.S.U.B., 979 So.2d at 889 (citations omitted). We hold that distinguishing defective work from the damage caused by defective work is necessary to establish “a loss apparently within the terms of the policy.” As discussed, Carithers’s counsel admitted that the Carithers had presented no evidence establishing that the brick installation and the application of the brick coating were performed by different sub-contractors. The Carithers failed to meet their burden of proof on this issue. As noted previously, if it was done by a single sub-contractor, then the damage to the bricks was part of the sub-contractor’s work, and this defective work caused no damage apart from the defective work itself. For this reason, we reverse the district court’s award of damages for property damage to the bricks.