Judge Grants Insurer’s Motion for Default, Finds No Coverage for Chinese Drywall Claims Against Installer

GADSDEN, Ala. — An Alabama judge has entered a default judgment against a building materials supplier named in a declaratory judgment action brought by an insurer that claimed it had no obligation to cover Chinese drywall-related claims asserted against the company.

Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama granted Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co.’s motion for entry of default Feb. 12, determining that several exclusions in policies it sold Snead Door LLC barred coverage for the drywall claims.

Snead was named in an underlying state court product liability suit brought by …