Assessing risk and understanding insurance coverage are critical steps when a company becomes involved in a major construction project. Currently, Houston-based U.S. Metals, which provides refineries with piping components, is an example of a company that is in a heated dispute with its insurance carrier Liberty Mutual concerning coverage. The disagreement has grown into a complicated lawsuit that centers on whether U.S. Metals' commercial general liability insurance policy covers the company's installation of defective flanges at an ExxonMobil refinery processing unit.

The case U.S. Metals Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Group Inc. is currently up on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Earlier, U.S. Metals reached a $6.3 million settlement with ExxonMobil Corp. The Texas Supreme Court recently answered certified questions presented to it by the Fifth Circuit. The Texas Supreme Court stated the following its opinion: “We conclude that the policy does not cover most of the damages claimed.”

According to case's background set out in the Texas Supreme Court's opinion, U.S. Metals, Inc. sold ExxonMobil Corp. some 350 custom-made flanges for use in constructing nonroad diesel units at its refineries in Baytown, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The units remove sulfur from diesel fuel and operate under extremely high temperatures and pressures. ExxonMobil contracted for flanges made to meet industry standards and designed to be welded to the piping.