A large warehouse collapsed under the weight of dense December snows, causing millions in damage. The loss occurred soon after construction crews had finished an addition to the building. Hoping to find out whether construction or design factors could have caused the loss, the insurer hired a law firm to investigate.

The firm uncovered an agreement between the engineering company that designed the building and the building owner, which limited the company’s liability to $50,000. After the case was dismissed by the trial court, Gaul & Associates, P.C. was brought in to evaluate its potential.

We hired new experts and reviewed thousands of documents related to the case. In the course of investigating, we discovered another company was involved in designing and building the addition. This company was not a party to the contract containing the $50,000 limitation. We also determined that the structural engineer who did the snow load calculations for the project was not licensed in the state where the warehouse was built.

We filed 3 additional lawsuits in 2 states, worked through complex coverage issues and defeated multiple motions to dismiss. As a result, our client received a settlement equaling all of the available insurance coverage for the engineering firm.