Loss of Docks During Rainstorm Caused by Flooding, Not High Winds, 8th Cir. Affirms

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The loss of five docks that became unmoored during a heavy rainstorm is not covered under a commercial property policy because flooding primarily caused the loss, which the policy excludes from coverage, a federal appeals court has ruled.

In an April 28 ruling, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the policyholders’ arguments that the policy’s flood exclusion is ambiguous and that the damage was caused by heavy winds, rather than flooding.

Ray and Debra Hudson own Hudson Enterprises, which operates the River Valley Marina. The marina owns eight docks on the Little Maumelle …