Court Differentiates Faulty and Defective Workmanship from Vandalism or Malicious Mischief

In Carr v. Spinnaker Insurance Company, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s finding that property damage resulting from objectionable and imperfect work performed by an unlicensed contractor did not constitute covered vandalism or malicious mischief under a property insurance policy. Instead, the loss fit squarely within the policy’s faulty and defective workmanship exclusion.