American Empire Surplus Lines Insurance v. Hathaway Development Co., 288 Ga. 749

Hathaway Development sued Whisnant Contracting for negligent plumbing work at three job sites, seeking repair costs for water and weather damage to surrounding properties.
Whisnant defaulted; Hathaway sought payment from Whisnant's insurer AESLIC under a commercial general liability policy.
AESLIC denied coverage, contending the damages did not arise from an occurrence because the policy defines occurrence as an accident.
The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that faulty workmanship causing damage to other property can be an occurrence under the CGL policy.
The Georgia Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve whether occurrence includes damages from faulty workmanship; majority adopted a broad view that it can, including when acts are performed deliberately but result in unforeseen damage.
Justice Melton dissented, arguing that the negligent acts of a plumber cannot constitute an accident under the policy's terms.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether faulty workmanship causing damage to other property qualifies as an occurrence	Hathaway: occurrence includes damage caused by defective workmanship	AESLIC: no occurrence because acts were intentional and not accidents	Occurrence can arise from faulty workmanship causing unforeseen damage
Whether a deliberate act performed negligently can still be an accident under the policy	Majority position: yes, deliberate acts negligently performed can be accidents	Dissent: not an accident if acts were intentional	Yes, intentional acts can be accidents if the resultant damage was not intended

SawHorse v. Southern Guar. Ins. Co., 269 Ga.App. 493, 604 S.E.2d 541 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004) (faulty workmanship can be an occurrence under CGL policy)
QBE Ins. Co. v. Couch Pipeline & Grading, 303 Ga.App. 196, 692 S.E.2d 795 (Ga. Ct. App. 2010) (contractor's failure to perform can be an occurrence)
Owners Ins. Co. v. James, 295 F. Supp. 2d 1354 (N.D. Ga. 2003) (insur. policy language identical; injury not intended may be covered)
Hathaway Development Co. v. Ill. Union Ins. Co., 274 Fed.Appx. 787 (11th Cir. 2008) (subcontractor's injury not covered when caused by intentional acts)
City of Atlanta v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 231 Ga.App. 206, 498 S.E.2d 782 (Ga. Ct. App. 1998) (definition of accident in insurance policy context)
Hunnicutt v. Southern Farm Bureau Life Ins. Co., 256 Ga. 611, 351 S.E.2d 638 (1987) (interpretation of contract language; plain meaning controls)
RLI Ins. Co. v. Highlands on Ponce, 280 Ga.App. 798, 635 S.E.2d 168 (Ga. Ct. App. 2006) (contract interpretation under Georgia law)