Freedman

A contractor remodeling a bathroom in Bernard and Gail Freedman’s home drove a nail through a pipe while hanging new drywall. The nail in the pipe apparently caused no leak at the time and went unnoticed until years later, when corrosion around the nail caused a leak and extensive water damage. The Freedmans’ insurer, State Farm Insurance Company, denied their claim. The Freedmans filed suit, and the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the basis of jointly stipulated facts. The superior court granted State Farm’s motion, denied the Freedmans’, and entered judgment for the defense.

The Freedmans timely appealed, arguing that the contractor’s negligence is the efficient proximate cause of their loss and that it is a covered peril, so the loss is covered. We conclude, however, that the Freedmans’ argument is based on a form of analysis that has been superseded by the Supreme Court’s decision in Julian v. Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co. (2005) 35 Cal.4th 747 [ 27 Cal.Rptr.3d 648 , 110 P.3d 903 ] (Julian). We therefore affirm.

BACKGROUND

The parties submitted their cross-motions for summary judgment on the basis of the following stipulated facts. The…