Calif. Court Dismisses Builder’s ‘Unripe’ Coverage Claims, Orders Dispute to Arbitration

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has dismissed Swinerton Builders’ breach-of-contract and bad faith cause of action against insurers it says failed to settle homeowners’ underlying defect claims, saying any failure-to-settle claims are unripe until the underlying case is concluded.

In the same July 23 order, Judge Samuel Conti of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion by American Home Assurance Co. and National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh to compel arbitration of the parties’ dispute pursuant to a Letter of Understanding that was entered into separately from the policies at issue.

The …