Aspen Specialty is pulling numerous insurers into a federal fight over who should pick up the tab to defend a developer on California projects.
On December 2, 2025, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company filed a suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against a long list of commercial general liability carriers, seeking court guidance on who must defend Kiper Development, Inc. in a cluster of construction defect cases in Contra Costa County.
At the heart of the dispute are four underlying lawsuits: Freeman, Fleming, Barr and Watterworth, all filed in Contra Costa Superior Court. According to the filing, homeowners in single-family residential developments in Discovery Bay, California, claim construction defects in homes built in projects where Kiper served as developer and/or general contractor…