McCollum Crowley Attorneys Obtain Order Denying Enforceability of Multi-Million Dollar Miller-Shugarts.

Following an underlying construction trial that resulted in a verdict against the general contractor, the general contractor then executed two Miller-Shugart agreements totaling five million dollars. McCollum Crowley attorneys Robert L. McCollum and Cheryl Hood Langel brought a summary-judgment motion in a declaratory judgment action in federal court for a ruling that the Miller-Shugart agreements were unenforceable.

After denying the insured’s request for remand to state court, and re-aligning the parties, Judge Tunheim granted the insurer’s motion finding that it had no obligation to furnish a supersedeas bond in the underlying action and that it appropriately relied upon the “Your Work Exclusion” in its coverage position. The failure to allocate between covered versus non-covered damages was ultimately fatal to the enforceability of Miller-Shugart Agreements.

Interlachen Properties, LLC v. State Auto Insurance Company (__ F.Supp.3d ___ (not yet paginated); 2017 WL 3382059.)