Completed Operations as Defined

June 6, 2016

The insured was hired by the claimant to trim four trees in the side yard in front of the claimant's house. While the insured was trimming the four trees, the claimant asked him to stop trimming so much of the branches off each tree. At that point, the insured had topped off many of the branches to the four trees. Two days later, the claimant advised the remaining leaves turned brown and fell off the branches. An arborist ruled the trees to be dead.

The CGL policy form is CG 00 01. Would exclusions j(5) and j(6) apply? Are the dead trees considered part of real property? Since the claimant asked the insured to stop trimming the trees, would the insured's work be considered not yet completed or abandoned as stated in the definition of products-completed operations hazard and if so, would there then be an exception to j (6)?

Ohio Subscriber

Since the tree did not die until after the insured had completed his work and left the premises, this is a completed operations claim. PD occurs when it manifests itself or is discovered and that did not happen in this instance until after the insured finished his work. So, exclusions j5 and j6 are not applicable since they do not apply to a completed operations claim. The customer's notice to the insured to stop the trimming does not make this work incomplete; rather, the notice definitely makes the work complete since the insured was not going to be doing any more trimming. The insured completed, finished, his work as to this particular project and the property damage occurred after the work was completed.

The tree is real property since it is attached to the land just like a building or a structure.

Exclusion l, damage to your work, is not going to apply since the work was not damaged; the insured's work caused damage to another's property and that is what the general liability policy covers. Of course, the insured would have to be legally liable for the damage in order for the CGL form to apply.