A Colorado court affirmed summary judgment in favor of an insurer that had been sued for denial of a water-related claim. The case is Martinez v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co., 413 P.3d 201 (Colo. App. 2017). 

A severe thunderstorm caused rain and hail to collect in the window wells of Michael Martinez's home. The rain eventually leaked into his basement and caused damage to both his personal property and his home. He later filed a claim with his homeowners carrier, American Family Mutual Insurance (American Family) under an "all risks" policy. American Family's examination of the damages showed the culprit had been surface water and flood. As both of these perils were excluded causes of loss under Martinez's policy, American Family denied the claim. 

Martinez sued and asked for a declaration of coverage. American Family sought summary judgment, claiming the property damage had been caused by excluded perils and was therefore outside the scope of coverage. The trial court ruled in favor of American Family; Martinez appealed. He claimed his policy covered "accidental direct physical loss" to his residence and personal property unless otherwise excluded. He argued the trial court had incorrectly awarded summary judgment to American Family because either the damage to his residence had not been caused by surface water, or the water had ceased to be surface water upon entering the window wells.