가상 바카라

(1) Background

▷ A 가상 바카라 (the “가상 바카라”) executed a building and construction insurance contract with an insurance company (the “Insurance Company”) in regard to the construction of apartment buildings (the “Construction Project”).

▷ 가상 바카라 cut the hillsides of a mountain located in the construction site and installed walls and earth anchors in accordance with the design maps.

▷ There were displacement twice in the construction site. Accordingly, 가상 바카라 conducted additional construction works such as the placement of pressed soil, and the reinforcement of walls and anchors.

▷ 가상 바카라 requested the Insurance Company to pay it insurance money for additional construction cost incurred by the displacement of the construction site.

(2) Contents of litigation and our role

The insurance contract contained a special clause providing that the Insurance Company shall be released from liability for insurance accidents caused by defects in construction and design. Representing the Insurance Company, we argued that the two displacements had been caused by the unstable installation of earth anchors on the walls, which had resulted from defects in the design and construction works of 가상 바카라, and therefore, the Insurance Company would not have any obligation to pay insurance money to 가상 바카라 pursuant to the liability release clause.

가상 바카라 argued that there had been no defects in the design and construction works, and that the building and construction insurance was a special liability insurance designed to provide the insured with general coverage for diverse damages arising during the construction period.

During the lawsuit, 가상 바카라 requested for evaluation of the additional construction cost incurred by the two displacements. We argued the unreasonableness of the evaluation result on the ground that it was unclear and abstract, and was based on hypothetical conditions unilaterally favorable to 가상 바카라. We requested the court to order 가상 바카라 to modify and supplement the evaluation.

To prove that the displacement was caused by 가상 바카라’s faults in relation to design and construction works, we developed an evaluation strategy to reveal the following facts: 가상 바카라 had conducted physical exploration and drilling investigation that had not met the design standards applicable to the slopes in the construction site, 가상 바카라 had not conducted investigation of the stability of slopes which is required for designing slopes, and 가상 바카라 had not installed a displacement measuring device in accordance with the measuring plan. We also attached related materials to the evaluation application.

The appraiser calculated that the additional construction cost was KRW12,118,712,000, but we helped draw a conclusion that 가상 바카라 had violated some standards relating to the design of slopes and walls and the violation had resulted in designing and construction works not compatible with the conditions of the ground.

Dismissing all the claims filed by 가상 바카라, the court ruled that the two displacements constituted an event triggering the release of liability as set forth in the special terms of the contract, the Insurance Company was not obliged to pay insurance money claimed by 가상 바카라.

▶  We made the plaintiff modify and supplement matters subject to evaluation by specifically pointing out the unreasonableness of evaluation. In addition, without limiting to making defense, we developed a litigation strategy of drawing up an evaluation plan and preparing supporting documents in a meticulous manner. By doing so, we drew an evaluation result in which it was revealed that 가상 바카라 had committed faults in designing and construction works, which led the court’s decision on the dismissal of all the claims filed by 가상 바카라 against our client.

▶ Furthermore, the case has an implication in that it can serve as a model case with regard to claims filed by constructors to seek insurance money for construction works. Constructors watchfully waited for the court’s decision in order to prepare for similar cases in the future. The case has left a meaningful precedent in relation to the release of liability by constructors in construction insurance cases. It is also expected to contribute to reinforcing our reputation.