Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, as Subrogee of Chickasaw County School District v. Fowlkes Plumbing, L.L.C., Sullivan Enterprises, Incorporated, and Quality Heat and Air, Incorporated, 290 So.3d 1257

Chickasaw County School District contracted with Sullivan Enterprises in May 2015 for window restoration at Houlka Attendance Center; a July 2015 fire destroyed the building during renovations.
Liberty Mutual, the district’s insurer, paid $4.3 million and sued as subrogee against Sullivan, Fowlkes Plumbing, and Quality Heat & Air.
Litigation turned on the AIA A201-2007 waiver of subrogation provisions (notably §§11.3.7 and 11.3.5): whether the waiver covers only damage to the “Work” or also to “non-Work” property.
The U.S. District Court held the waiver applied only to damages to the Work and allowed Liberty Mutual to pursue non-Work damages.
The Fifth Circuit certified the dispositive question to the Mississippi Supreme Court: does the waiver extend to non-Work property?
The Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed the AIA provisions as unambiguous and held the waiver applies to both Work and non-Work property to the extent damage is paid by applicable insurance.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Scope of AIA waiver of subrogation (Work vs. non-Work)	Liberty Mutual: waiver limited to damages to the Work, so insurer may subrogate for non-Work losses	Defendants (contracting parties): waiver covers all property damage paid by insurance (including non-Work)	Waiver applies to both Work and non-Work property to the extent the damage is covered by insurance under §11.3.7 or "other property insurance applicable to the Work."
Contract interpretation standard / ambiguity	Liberty Mutual: contract should be read to permit subrogation for non-Work if language allows	Defendants: AIA language yields a broad, plain-language waiver covering insurance proceeds regardless of property type	Court: contract unambiguous; interpret plain language de novo and apply waiver to all insured losses covered by applicable policies.

Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Fowlkes Plumbing, LLC, 934 F.3d 424 (5th Cir. 2019) (certified interlocutory question to the Mississippi Supreme Court).
ASIC II Ltd. v. Stonhard, Inc., 63 F. Supp. 2d 85 (D. Me. 1999) (interpreting AIA waiver to reach all fire damages paid by insurance, not only damage to the contractor’s Work).
Lexington Ins. Co. v. Entrex Commc'n Servs., Inc., 275 Neb. 702 (Neb. 2008) (reasoning that §§11.3.7 and 11.3.5 together effect waivers for both Work and non-Work when owner’s insurance covers both).
Equifax, Inc. v. Miss. Dep't of Revenue, 125 So. 3d 36 (Miss. 2013) (standard: de novo review for questions of law).
Epperson v. SOUTHBank, 93 So. 3d 10 (Miss. 2012) (contract-construction principles; plain meaning controls when unambiguous).