Behr v. Hook’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 17 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 26 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““According to plaintiffs, by not obtaining waivers from defendants, the general contractor materially breached the contract, thereby preventing defendants from enforcing the waiver-of-subrogation provision. “We do not find this argument persuasive. ... In any event, the contract does not make obtaining the waivers from subcontractors a condition precedent to application of the waiver-of-subrogation provision. Indeed, rather than specify any consequences to follow from failure to obtain waivers from the subcontractors, the contract provides that a ‘waiver of subrogation shall be effective’ even against those persons or entities that ‘would otherwise have a duty of indemnification’ or ‘did not pay the insurance premium directly or indirectly.’ “The plain intent of the parties was to make the Behrs’ insurer bear the risk of property damage resulting from fire or other perils. Because the waiver-of-subrogation provision required that the waiver be recognized in the insurance policy, the insurer knew the risk when it insured plaintiffs and presumably set the rates based on that risk. The absence of mutual waivers with respect to the subcontractors was not a material breach affecting the primary purpose of the provision, which was to protect the contractor and its subcontractors from liability for accidental property loss.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. North American Specialty Insurance v. Payton Construction Corp.

2. “Waiver of subrogation clauses are intended to allow[ ] the parties to exculpate each other from personal liability in the event of property loss or damage to the work to the extent each party is covered by insurance,” Colonial Properties, 567 S.E.2d at 393 (quoting Behr v. Hook, 173 Vt. 122 , 787 A.2d 499, 503 (2001) (internal quotation marks omitted)), and (2)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Allstate Insurance Co. v. ADT, LLC

3. “`waiver of subrogation shall be effective as to a person or entity even though that person or entity would otherwise have a duty of indemnification, contractual or otherwise.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. LEXINGTON INSURANCE COMPANY v. Entrex Communication Services, Inc.