Waterfront Property Not Covered for Imminent Collapse from Fungal Decay

PHILADELPHIA - The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a coverage decision in favor of policyholders who claimed that their waterfront homes were in imminent danger of collapse because of fungal decay in supporting columns. Buczek v. Continental Insurance Co., Nos. 02-2847, 02-4063 (3rd Cir.).

Jack and Marie Buczek and Michael and Sandy Neill, trading as Meadows Condominium Association sued Continental Casualty Insurance Co. and Transportation Insurance Co. after the two insurers denied coverage for their two-unit condominium structure in Wildwood, N.J. The Buczeks and Neills complained that wood-destroying fungi and brown rot had made supporting wooden pilings unsafe …