This is an action brought upon a “builder’s risk” policy of insurance, under which the plaintiffs were named insureds. It was originally purchased by City of Barre, for reasons not here material no longer a party in this action. The premises insured were a recreation building being constructed for the City by plaintiff R. E. Bean Construction Company, Inc., also a named insured. The trial court made extensive findings and conclusions, and rendered judgment for the defendant upon the general ground that the loss was within a sрecific exclusion under the terms of the policy. We disagree, and reverse.
The loss in question occurred during construction, when ten (of twelve) laminated wooden arches, then in place, were blown down by a wind of some twelve knоts, gusting to thirty. These were well within the anticipated wind range. The collapse was found to have occurred because only two guy cables were in use instead of the six called for by the erection plans, an inadequate suppоrt, and because the cables, used, had only about one-third of their original tensile' strength. While variously characterized, the conclusions of the trial court may be fairly summarized as findings that Bean was negligent in the course of construction, having failed to observe contract and recommended erection standards, and having failed to secure arсhitect approval of the methods and materials used in the course of construction.
It is difficult to summarize the close reasoning of the parties. But, in general, the plaintiff contends that “workmanship” connotes a quality inherent in the product itself, rather than the рrocess or procedure in producing the product, under
Equitable Fire & Marine Insurance Co.
v.
Allied Steel Construction Co.,
There is little point in resort to dictionary definitions of the terms in question. Each party can muster support from dictionary sources for the сonclusion it urges. Resort must be had to construing the contract of insurance in its entirety.
Enosburg Falls
v.
Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Co.,
So construed, the interpretation placed upon the policy exclusion by the trial court cannot be supрorted. The policy itself recognizes a difference between materials and equipment by enumerating each, in its first paragraph, describing property covered. This supports the plaintiff’s contention that the cable found defective was not a “material” since it did not go into the structure, but was rather “equipment” used in the construction proсess. Similarly, with respect to the “faulty workmanship” exclusion, there was neither evidence nor a finding that the building was defeсtive at the stage of construction when the arches blew down. What happened was the result of mis judgment of the amount of temporary cable support needed, on that particular day, to support the arches when the wind inсreased.
Despite the close and precise argument on the technical terms employed in the poliсy exclusion, we are convinced that the substance of appellee’s argument is that the exclusion applied, since the loss occurred through the contractor’s negligence. The argument is not without logic, but we do not think it can be upheld when subjected to the tests of policy construction we have referred to. Loss from “external cаuse” seems open to little argument; both the wind and the defective and insufficient guy cable were certainly external to the structure insured. And if the intent of the policy was to exclude liability from loss caused by negligence on the part of the contractor, it is not unfair to require that such intent be clearly expressed, particularly when one exclusion from coverage refers to “loss caused . . . by . . . any intentional act on the part of the Insured... .” Express exclusion оf an intentional act would seem a clear indication that the consequences of a negligent act were within coverage, and not excluded. Fairly read, the policy in question excludes coverage for damage resulting from defective materials incorporated into the structure itself, or from weaknesses in the product caused by faults in the construction process, but it does not exclude coverage for
Because damages were not determined by the trial court, we cannot render judgment for the plaintiff in this Court, and a remand for findings as to damages is required.
Judgment for the defendant reversed, and cause remanded for assessment of plaintiff’s damages and entry of judgment therefor, with costs.
